Join me today in thanking  Robyn DeHart for making time to write this guest post for me. She’s the author of The Legend Hunters series. It’s chuck full of adventures, romance, and excitement. It’s like Romancing the Stone meets Indiana Jones, except much better. (remember that movie with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas – that’s Romancing the Stone).

Desire Me (The Legend Hunters)
by Robyn DeHart
Mass Market Paperback
List Price: $6.99
Published in 2010
ISBN-10: 0-446-54197-4

Ladies and gents, here’s Robyn DeHart!

For today’s guest blog I was asked to discuss my writing process and whether or not I plan or outline my stories before I write and what my schedule is like. All great questions and that’s something I always want to know about other writers. It seems like we’re always wanting to know if the way we do it is right or normal so I think it’s a natural conversation for writers to share.

My writing process is full of steps and I have lots of tools in my writers toolbox that I like to use–though I certainly don’t use all of them on every book. That’s the thing about writing, no book is the same as the last one. Every one of them writes a little bit different than the last. That isn’t to say you can’t have a similar process for each book and for me there are some things that never seem to change like the fact that I’m a draft writer–meaning I write several drafts of the book before I ever show it to critique partners, my agent, or editor.

I am what you would consider to be a plotter. I do a significant amount of work before I start writing, work that mostly consists of character work (archetypes, goals, characteristics, physical appearance, etc.), and story structure. I do scene-by-scene plotting though nothing is ever truly set in stone and I tend to be flexible with myself so that if something isn’t working, I go back to the brainstorming and figure out a new plan or if while I’m writing I get a new scene idea I’ll go ahead and write it.

That first draft, or discovery draft (or crappy draft) is where I’m figuring out what’s working about the external story, where the holes are, but primarily who the characters are. I’m definitely a character driven writer so they dictate a lot about where the story goes. If something doesn’t feel true to a character, I either change the character or change the plot to fix it. I’m a pretty analytical writer and though my characters become very real to me while I’m writing, I’m always aware of the fact that they aren’t truly real and I, as the writer, can change anything I need to change in order for the story to be right.

So after the discovery draft comes the subsequent drafts (usually 3 or 4) where I layer in emotion and texture and description and strengthen conflict and sexual tension and all those wonderful elements that go into great books. Then I send it on to my critique partners. I go through the book once more with their suggestions before it goes to my agent and editor. It can be a lengthy process depending on how difficult the book is because some books are more challenging than others.

As for my actual day-to-day schedule, well that can vary depending on what’s going on. But for the most part I like to write in the mornings after my husband has gone to the office or if he’s working at home, then after I have breakfast and check email and whatnot I’ll get to work. Some days because of deadlines or because the story is flowing I’ll keep going after lunch. But most of the time if the words are rocking I can get my pages done by lunch or shortly thereafter. Then I can spend the afternoon either reading or doing some administrative work related to the writing–answering fan mail, updating the website, etc.

When I’m on deadline or when I’m doing my subsequent drafts, I tend to work longer hours. My head gets further entrenched in the story and characters and I plow through. I also do a lot of these drafts by hand, with a red pen on a printed manuscript. I find it’s easier to see where the holes are that way.

So that’s pretty much my writing life.

Check out Desire Me at your local bookstore and let me know what you think of Max and Sabine’s adventure. Dare to love a Legend Hunter.

Thanks for letting me join you today and for participating in my blog tour.

Giveaway:
Open to US and Canada. No Po Box please.
Answer the question below, and fill this form.

Imagine yourself a writer. What kind of routine or life do you think it will be?

Winners will be chosen on July 8.

Tags: Robyn DeHart

Please contact me with your mailing addresses (NO PO Boxes please), or information if I need to draw an alternate winner. When you contact me, make sure to mention the following:

Title of the book you won
Name as you signed it when you won
Name
Address

Seduce Me (Legend Hunters)
by Robyn DeHart
Mass Market Paperback, 320 Pages,
List Price: $6.99
Published in 2009
ISBN-10: 0-446-54200-8

Winners:  (International)
Austenfan – Philippines

Winners: (US & Canada)
Lena Lee
Joan O’Toole
Aliya D.
Lori Barnes
elaing8

Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz: A Quinceañera Club Novel
by Belinda Acosta
Paperback, 336 Pages
List Price: $13.99
Published in 2009
ISBN-10: 0-446-54051-X
Winner: (International)
Ylef – Germany

Winners: (US & Canada)
gaby317 @ Starting Fresh
Cindi
susan
DarcyO
CherylS22

Cleopatra’s Daughter: A Novel
The Heretic Queen: A Novel
by Michelle Moran

Winner:

Carol Thompson

Tags: Belinda Acosta, Michelle Moran, Robyn DeHart

Seduce Me (Legend Hunters)
by Robyn DeHart
Mass Market Paperback, 320 Pages,
List Price: $6.99
Published in 2009
ISBN-10: 0-446-54200-8

My Take:
I’m a sucker for romance. I like feisty heroines. I like my alpha males slightly sensitive. I enjoy reading about misunderstanding that will all work out in the end. I don’t mind getting annoyed and angry at the characters in the middle of the book as long as I can look forward to the happy ending. That’s just me.

And when all those above is combined with a touch of magic and harrowing adventures in the tradition of Indiana Jones or Romancing the Stone, I am thrilled! This is my first book by this author, and it won’t be my last. Looking forward to more. Thanks to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for the contest and the books.

About the Book:
Fielding Grey is the second son of the Marquess of Eldon and fortune hunter by night. He’s on a mission for the Legend Hunters–a group of wealthy, titled, and heart-breakingly gorgeous men, each of whom are after the find of the century–he has his eyes set on obtaining the illustrious Pandora’s Box. But before he finds it, he encounters an equally alluring treasure–the woman bold enough to look inside.

Esme Worthington can’t resist taking the tiniest peek inside when fate drops the real Pandora’s Box in her lap. Thus, she unleashes one of Pandora’s irresistible curses: the curse of lust. Now, both Esme and Fielding must deal with this passionate curse–or blessing?–before unknown implications of Pandora’s Box overpower them both.

Guest Post:

Put your heart on the page

There are so many elements to the business of writing, there’s the actual writing which involves craft and persistence, then there’s promotion and networking and with the internet and social networking sites, this is becoming bigger and more complicated everyday. But what about the emotional impact of writing?
The Professor (aka my husband) gave me this quote from Rocky Balboa, the newest movie in the Rocky franchise:

“But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. “

This really hit (sorry for the pun) home with me and my writing career.

Every profession comes with its own unique hard stuff, it’s just like life, not everyday is perfect and shiny and wonderful. But sometimes the hard stuff is the best stuff. Bear with me.

I knew this business was a difficult one before I sold (hell, it took me 7 years to sell my first book, that was part of the difficult!). I didn’t realize HOW difficult it could be though until after I’d sold. I don’t say this to discourage any of you aspiring writers out there, but rather to give you insight into the reality of the profession you’ve chosen.
When I first started writing, I was under the delusion that it would be easy. I don’t think I consciously thought, “oh, this will be easy”, but I just didn’t realize all the challenges that would arise. I hadn’t really considered the business end at all, so I was missing out on the difficulties in that area. And I was so green that I didn’t realize that when you write well, it’s VERY hard to do. That old adage that good reading is damn hard writing. I just didn’t get that. I expected writing to be the easy part.
I don’t remember when it hit me, but when it did, it became like a mantra to me, “writing is hard.” I repeated it (whined about it) often (frankly I still do). But at the same time, it gave me a strange sense of freedom. Acknowledging that it was difficult somehow made it more appealing and more of a challenge and it started me on my quest to master the craft of writing. I wanted to tackle the beast and win.

One of the first realizations I had was that writing is intensely personal. Not only the actual writing, but every aspect from your process to your career goals. For whatever reason it took me a while to grasp this concept, especially the part about the actual writing being personal. Again I’m showing my stupid side (hey, I was young when I started writing) but it was actually a surprise when I realized that my own emotional junk would end up on the page. Somehow I expected I’d just make everything up and it would go smoothly. Try that and you’ll end up with flat characters that no one cares about. But to put yourself on the page, your fears, your dreams, your pains, that brings characters to life and makes readers give a damn.

Now let me be clear, I’m not talking about writing autobiographically. I can assure you that I’ve never traipsed through castle ruins hunting for Pandora’s Box nor have I brutally murdered someone, but I have felt obsession and anger and passion and humiliation and those emotions get transferred to my characters, get put on the page. It’s not easy to do. It’s not easy to let yourself go and it’s just not easy having to relive some painful moments to make them real in the book. But to make emotion authentic, to lay it on the line for your readers and your story, sometimes you have to bare your soul.

This is just one aspect of the writer’s journey, there are plenty of other difficulties along the way, just as there are so many joys. But I wanted to share this with you, readers. I think readers appreciate knowing that their authors put themselves into the stories. It’s part of why you sometimes feel as if you know an author after reading several of their books.
Thanks for letting me join you today. I hope you’ve all enjoyed this insight into a writer’s life. Please look for my newest book, Seduce Me, on your next trip to the bookstore, it’s an exciting romantic action adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones.

About the contest:
Five winners on September 10 to US and Canadian addresses. No PO Boxes please.
One (1) international reader will also win my slightly used copy of this book. International readers, please sign your name as follows:

Name: Name – Country
Mail: your valid e-mail so I can contact you just in case.
URL: your website
Comment: then you say something else here.

this will make it easier for me to sort later on. Thank you.
Winners will be announced within a week of the deadline. Please make sure to subscribe to this blog’s feed to find out if you’re a winner.

How to Win:
+1: Link to this contest on your sidebar.
+1: Tweet about this contest.
+2: Bring a friend, and make sure your friend mentions your name. Both of you get extra entry.

Participating Blogs:

Tags: Legend Hunters, Robyn DeHart