I’m so excited to participate in an ongoing blog hop about my writing. I was tagged by James DiBenedetto.  Thank you, James, for including me with some very talented authors. James is an author of the incredible Dream Series. You can check him out at this link: http://writingdreams.net

Now, here are the questions that I have to answer as part of this blog hop:

What am I working on?

I am currently working on Chaysing Destiny. This is the final installment of the Chaysing Trilogy. I’m only on Chapter Five, but I’m hoping it’ll be available by Spring of 2015. I’m excited, yet apprehensive to be done with the series. I’ve gotten so attached to the characters… I’m sure it will be bittersweet when I write the conclusion.

How does my work differ than others of its genre?

Well, to be honest, I have to admit that my books are multi-genre. The first book, Chaysing Dreams, could be classified as young adult, new adult, romance, suspense, thriller, action… But it’s still so much more. It talks about family, friendship, growing pains, depression, perseverance, and sacrifice. The main character, Tess, is a young girl of fifteen in the beginning and grows up to be a young woman of twenty-two by the end of the first book. This is very different than other books… my character grows up from an innocent young girl to a strong young woman.

In the second book, Chaysing Memories, Tess’s story continues. Again, this is very different because we watch Tess grow even more through her life experiences. But outside of that, we see the other characters change and grow through their experiences as well. Again, many dynamics are brought into this book. Friendships are tested, lost love comes back in her life, and there’s just more action in this one. Very difficult to just label it into one genre.

I think the books are unique because the readers go through the same emotions as the characters. They can feel their pain, happiness, fears, sadness…I really enjoy getting inside my characters’ heads. I have a Bachelor’s in Psychology, so I believe this helps me to really understand how to accomplish this. Many readers have said that the stories made them “feel.”

Why do I write what I do?

I write because I have this crazy head that’s got an imagination out of this world. All these years, it’s been screaming at me to get my thoughts down. I’ve always been an avid reader, so one day, I decided to listen to the voices in my head and began writing. A year later, Chaysing Dreams was produced! And now, I realize how therapeutic writing is for me. I love creating stories. I love bringing my characters to life. I’ve always read to give myself some escape from the craziness of the real world. Knowing that my books have done the same for others is enough of a reason for me to keep writing.

How does my writing process work?

My laptop is my best friend. I work full-time during the day, so I try to get my writing done either in the evenings or on weekends. When I can, I try to go to Barnes and Noble with my laptop. For some reason, this really creates the right mood/atmosphere for me.

Also, I do have an idea of how my stories will go. I’ve taken notes on each story. I know how I want them to start and how I want them to end. But sometimes, when I’m writing a particular scene, the characters kind of take over, and the scene develops into something completely unexpected. I love that- it’s as if the characters are directing me on how they want their story to go. Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy. But hey, I’ve never claimed to be completely sane anyway.

Ok, enough about me… Let’s now move on to some amazing authors that I’m about to tag:

Regina M. Joseph is the author of The Alterran Legacy Series, her first foray into fictional writing. Colony Earth was published in October 2012, Khamlok on March 1, 2013, and on Resurrection May 1, 2014. She is at work on the concluding volume, Redemption. All three novels have been 5 stars by Reader’s Favorite. www.alterranlegacy.com

Errika Lee is a registered nurse dedicated to spreading positive messages of esoteric truth through various routes, her favorite being those that allow her to make use of her creativity. The Kingdom of Dala is her debut novel and marks the beginning of her story-writing ventures. Devoted to her spiritual studies, Errika intends to publish a sequel to The Kingdom of Dala shortly after the first book’s release in hopes of realizing a powerful message. http://www.errikalee.com

Lisa Sommers was born and raised in San Diego, California. She graduated from the University of Phoenix majoring in Business Management. After working in the Accounting field for more than fourteen years she decided to become a stay-at-home mother to her four children. Moving out of San Diego after 37 years, her, her husband and their children moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to be near family.

Lisa is just as much an avid coffee drinker as she is a reader and writer. Her genres of reading and writing have been in the romance/erotica/suspense arena. Although, she has been writing for a couple of years she just recently published her first series called, Caught Off Guard, in February 2014. http://www.lisasommers.blogspot.com/

Give these wonderful authors some love!