Romance Writers Weekly #lovewritechat

'Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn't you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all..... About our writing of course! Every week we'll answer questions and after you've enjoyed the blog on this site we'll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.'

How do you find the appropriate setting for the story, or does it find you?

The settings for my stories sort of find me. I start with an idea about the characters, how they'll meet, what their issues will be, and then I write. Somewhere along the way, they tell me who they are and where they're from and it goes from there. Sometimes I'll start off in one place, and the characters lead me to another. My stories write themselves most of the time. lol. I have very little say in what goes on once my characters take over.

What is your support system for your writing? Family, friends, other writers?

I have an amazing support system, both in real time and online. I wrote online for years before I set out to publish, and i met so many amazing people that have become instrumental in what I'm doing now. They have conditioned me, supported me, guided me, and taught me. I really have the best of both worlds.
My friends are very proud and supportive and want me to succeed. They understand that most of the time our plans will fail because I have a deadline or I'm lost in my head and writing. They understand and encourage it, thankfully, and still love me for being such a sucky companion. But I've been able to share pieces and parts of this new part of my life with them, and the enthusiasm they have shown has motivated me further. I recently had my first in person book signing this past weekend, and one of my best friends went with me. Honestly, she dragged me out of the house by my hair and made me go. lol. But that's what she does. She pushes me to be better, to do things out of my element and encourages me to be proud. Just the fact that she was proud and excited to be there with me made the whole event for me. That's where the heart of this is. They believe in me, and it helps me believe in myself.

What is the worst writing advice you ever received and how did you deal with it?

Okay, this is a tricky question because I honestly don't believe anyone has a bad opinion.
Whatever.
That's a lie. I am really anal about getting my way. I listen to criticism--again, the writing and posting my words online gave me a thick skin. 

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But, you learn to take it all with a grain of salt. The good with the bad. I think the worst advice I got was from someone that told me NOT to self-publish. I mulled that over for almost two years and did my homework, checking out all the options availible to authors. The big publishers, agents, vanity press, small press, and finally, self-published authors. I found that the advice wasn't all bad, but they obviously hadn't done THEIR homework. In this day and age, there's no reason why a self-published author can't go hybrid. I have no limitations. I can do whatever I want. Does that mean I'm going to land every submission I send out? Hell no. But it does mean that I CAN if I choose to. And it also means that just because someone else doesn't believe in my story doesn't mean it's meant to get buried or burned. So I think going with your gut is the best way to get by, but you should never disregard anything. Just use your head and make sure you leave no stone unturned. There are always exceptions. 

 


 Thanks so much for hanging out again this week! Be sure to follow the hop and check out what my fellow authors have to say!

Thank you Shannon Kennedy for this weeks questions!

The next author on the hop is :Malone http://www.josiemalone.com