Here it is! The answers you’ve been waiting for to the questions you didn’t know existed!
1) What am I working on? Now that Blue Belle has been released, I’ve been working on Shy Violet again. Shy Violet is my third Wildflowers of Scotland novel, and it takes place at Eilean Donan Castle and in Dorney, Scotland, on Loch Alsh, just before you get to the Isle of Skye. I started Shy Violet in November and am a little over half done – and loving it!
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? There are two things that set my work apart from others in the romance or romantic suspense genre. One, my characters range in age from their early to late thirties to their mid-forties. My stories are second-chance at romance stories about characters who have been there, done that, maybe even been burned or badly hurt, and are brave enough to give love another go. Two, my stories contain a unique, real-life blend of typical Midwestern culture, family, and faith, and real, vulnerable, not perfect, messy people – which includes sometimes steamy, sexy scenes. My stories are character based, and since each character is different, so are their stories. As a result, my books are hard to classify, tend to mix elements of different sub-genres, and cross lines that some might not feel comfortable with (on both sides of the spectrum).
3) Why do I write what I do? I’ve always been a bit of a rebel, and shall we say, unique? I write what’s in my heart, and that includes characters who are as one of a kind as I am, stubborn but not afraid to change, and complex. My books have been called the thinking woman’s romance. I also write what I know, and tend to include elements like old-fashioned bicycles, a favorite quilt, Victorian or medieval architecture, ethnic foods, bed and breakfasts, or other funky things, places or props to make my stories fun. I am NOT my characters, but the way I think and feel about things is very much reflected in their responses and choices and reactions to the obstacles and dilemmas they encounter. When people say they don’t like my books, or the kind of books I write, I often think, then you really don’t like me.
4) How does my writing process work? I live in 2 different houses, 85 miles apart, and write on the run whenever I have a spare minute. If my husband is driving, I usually have my laptop propped on the door of the glove compartment, working on a scene. I don’t get much writing done in the summer, when my B&B is at its busiest, so I try to make up for it in the wintertime. Once I have my rough draft done, I do extensive editing and smoothing out, including writing my transition scenes, and at least one session of reading the book out loud.
Thanks to Dellani Oakes for nominating me! Please check out her blog and her answers to these questions at www.dellanioakes.wordpress.com.
I’m tagging two Iowa authors to carry on the blog tour:
jordynmeryl.wordpress.com
Blue Belle Books... a Blog by Author Sherrie Hansen 
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