Sunday, January 17, 2016

Hotseat with Author Renee Adams

Today on  the blog is Author Renee Adams and I put her in my hotseat. So shall we?


1. If you could go back and reread any one book for the first time what would it be?
Rome by Jay Crownover, her writing is amazing, and one day I hope to meet her.

2. What is the greatest piece of writing advice you ever received?
My Mrs. Miyagi as I call her told me that I just need to write, and that people will start to catch on and read it. It is a great way to keep out of the drama in the book world too.

3.What is your biggest pet peeve?
Ah, gah, biggest pet peeve in life is to hear someone chewing. Even if they chew with the trap shut I can still sometimes hear the jaw clicking and I freak.

4. Do you prefer to write during the day or night?
I am a both writer. I prefer day so I can sleep, but sometimes the night holds the best secrets and stories.

5. You are stranded on an island...you get three items what do you bring?
Well, I am going to buck the reader tradition of a kindle and all that, but I am going to say my blanket, an unlimited supply of Pepsi, an unlimited supply of Ferrero Rocher candy as I affectionately call them, The Devils Balls.

6.Name one song you could listen to everyday and never grow tired of it.
Wild World by Cat Stevens, I'm old school like that :)

7. What is your favorite dessert?
Oh boy, this is a hard one. I'm gonna go fancy and say creme brulee. 

8. If you could tell your younger self one thing what would it be?
I would tell little me, that hold on just a little longer it will work itself out.

9. Coke or Pepsi?
Pepsi

10.Chocolate or vanilla?
 chocolate.

11. Do you outline your story or fly by the seat of your pants?
Fly by the seat of my pants and it gets me in so much trouble. I feel like I get to a point in my story where I start to babble. That is when I stop, reread what I have written and see what I have. Then I finally realize that i am not babbling and curse myself for not outlining, promise myself that I will outline then next...Then I don't.

12. If you could sit down with any Author for dinner who would it be and why?
 Jay Crownover. I want to tell her how much her writing means to me. She breathed new life into a tired, weary reader when she wrote Rule and after that, my course was set. 

13. If you were a secret agent what would your codename be?
Ok, don't laugh y'all....Large Marge. It is also my biker momma name.

14. You get to choose the car of your dreams what do you get?
I am a country girl, so it would have to be a Dodge Ram.

15. Love at first sight or lust at first sight?
I think that some of us have experienced our love at first sight and it is an amazing thing I am sure, but most of us experience that lust at first sight. 

16. What's one author you wish more readers knew about?
Besides the ladies in my group of friends, if I had to go with someone outside of that it would be Cambria Hebert. I devour her books in one sitting sometimes. Then I get rage-y because I want more. lol. 

17. What are you currently working on?
Behind The Mask, which is Cori's book. This is will be darker than Behind The Gate, because Cori has been through so much. Her "life mate" has been through just as much. 

18. Finish the sentence...If I wasn't a writer I'd be____.
Nurse. I am actually a nurse as well as a writer and housewife.

19. Finish the sentence...A world without books would be _____.
Beauty, because how would we know the words to describe the world that we see? It would be a sad fucking existence. 

20. Tell me something about you that would surprise most. 
I can fish and hunt. When I was a kid, I earned the Junior Angler Award by catching a flying fish.

About the Author
Renee Adams is a wannabe spunky girl who is generally too tired to be spunky! She hails all the way from NC but spent most of her life in VA. When she is not writing, she is spending time with her 2 kids, husband and Doodle the dog. She also accomplished her dreams of becoming a nurse and working in a prison, but since enjoys staying at home and keeping her family in line and providing lots of laughter. You can find her on Facebook where she posts her Spam Email of the Day, or on the Twitter @homeskilletbsct. She cracks herself up and more often than not is off posting memes somewhere. Come stalk me on Facebook.

Behind The Gate

Olivia Ambrose is the epitome of strength, she just doesn’t realize it. For a single mom, being a nurse in a maximum security prison has its risk. She encounters the worst of the worst, day in and day out, but continually strives to make it home to her son, Jack. She’s never been shaken…until Damian. 

Damian Shaw is the hit-it-and-quit-it type, never staying longer than zipping his fly. Until he lands himself in prison. His first day inside, he meets Olivia…just another pretty face. He soon realizes he feels a magnetic draw to her, but being on the inside doesn’t help the urge to protect her. When tragedy strikes and Olivia comes face to face with her greatest fear, will he be able to help her Behind The Gate?

Get it here 

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Adventures in Writing

Sometimes I get messages asking me what my writing process is like and I never have a clear answer.  I don't have a concise process. Each book is different and takes me on a different journey creatively.  I never know which road I will take. Will I outline precisely or wing it?

I can say most of my books come from a mixture of both. I go in with an idea of where I want the storyline to go, but most of the time,  my characters throw me a curve ball, and I sit and scratch my head for days, wondering how in the hell I can stitch it all together.

The one constant in my process is music. I can't write without it. Some would say my preferences can be a bit odd. If you hear me listening  to Elvis gospel, chances are I am plotting a death in one of my books. While other days, I find one song that can capture the essence of my main character, and that song will be played on a loop continously while I am in the mindset of that particular character.

The key to writing is to find what works best for you. You can read thousands of how to books and advice columns on the subject,  but you never know what will be the thing to make everything fall into place with your writing. 

Try different things. Maybe voice recording your thoughts will be the key to breaking through.  For me, it's calling my best friend Morgan and chatting about our plots.

So go out into the world and put your pen to paper, voice to recorder,  or fingers to keyboard.  But however you do it have fun with it.