Apr 14 2015

It’s Important To Listen To Your Characters – They Know What They’re Talking About

Somewhere near the 2/3 done mark of Someday In Dublin, I hit writer’s block. I hit it bad. I had to figure out a way to reconnect these two after having blown them apart and I knew how the story had to end up (and another big reveal to resolve it) but the pathway to getting there…not so clear.

So I put it down for a bit, and I picked it up again. I reread and I wrote a bunch of stuff that took the story off track so I cut it and put it in my slush file and I tore my hair out and ground my teeth and wrote some more.

And then I went back and reread it again.

Now this is where my theatre training saves the day. I was all alone for the weekend because my kids were off with their Dad, so I printed up the damn manuscript and I started acting it out. Walking it through. Talking it through.

Back in the day, back before I even started trodding the boards, I actually won awards for playwriting. Dialogue has always been my strong suite, and when all else fails, I talk that scene through. I have that argument, or act out that love scene. I turn dramatically or stare longingly out a window or tenderly caress my cat’s face.

Don’t judge.

It works like a charm. Once I start channeling the characters and let them do the talking, the story gets legs again and off we go. And so it went with Someday In Dublin. And so Michael and Amy found a way.

You’re going to love this one. You’re just going to love it.

Someday In Dublin will be breaking for eBook soon, and in print shortly after that. I’ll keep you posted!

Apr 13 2015

My Next Book Is Breaking Soon – Here’s Another Taste!

Someday In Dublin is nearly ready!

I’m re-reading and reworking, and have a cadre of beta-readers going through it for me, as well. Once all the revisions and edits from that process are done, Someday In Dublin will be ready to roll.

Unlike my previous works, I’m also going to be using CreateSpace to offer the book via Print on Demand, just because I honestly love the idea of holding this one in my hands. It’s that good of a story.

I’m hoping you’ll think so, too. And here’s my little snippet for today to give you another peek into Michael and Amy. This is the second half of their “meeting” scene. Enjoy! Continue reading →

Apr 7 2015

And Here It Is – Your First Teaser From “Someday In Dublin”

This is a sexy, steamy romance novel. You know how I love my steam, but this one…this one is mostly about the romance.

I mean, this is pure, straight-on romance. This is Mr. Darcy, touching your hand in a crowded ballroom. This is John Cusack standing outside your window with a boom box. This is Khal Drogo looking you in the eyes as you sit astride him.

You get what I mean. This story is a love story, set in the present day, with no gorgeous aliens or fantastical realms, like I usually like to escape to. This time, I escaped to Ireland, and oh, what a journey we go on with this one.

So here, for your reading pleasure, is a bit of Michael and Amy’s introduction. Enjoy! Continue reading →

Mar 24 2015

That Great Fist-Punching Moment When Your Plot Takes A Twist You Didn’t Anticipate

I’m winding up my work on Someday In Dublin, and doing a few chapter reworks, when all of a sudden, one of the major twists in my plot suddenly branched off and became this whole other thing that added an entirely new layer of depth between these two people and oh, holy cow was it amazing when it hit me.

I actually jumped back and shouted “Yeah!” at the top of my lungs, startling a cat and nearly burning myself because I was cooking dinner at the time the inspiration hit.

You don’t always get a fist-pumping moment like that as a writer. Despite the romance of the written word, part of the time the story flows and a lot of the time you’re just slogging along, putting words down, ripping words out, rearranging words, and doing it all one-handed because your other hand is tearing your hair out.

But this time? This time it was right. It was perfect. Yes.

So that’s my big happy for this week. Now here’s yours: Today is your final day to get Eight Nights At Sea at a discount! The Kindle Countdown Deal ends tonight at midnight EDT (US) so get it while you can!!

Mar 4 2015

Doing Your Research – Sparingly

I’m three-quarters of the way through “Someday In Dublin,” and of course, I’m doing my research.

That’s the problem, though. Since I haven’t been to some of the places I’m writing about, I want to make sure I’m being as accurate as possible. I’m trolling the internet for tourist videos and traveler recommendations and personal travel blogs. I’m polling various internet friends who actually live in Ireland for their thoughts on certain things, and of course, they’ll be my beta readers when I’m done to make sure I’m not making a mess of any of this.

But there comes a time when you have to say to yourself: “Back away from the internet.” Especially when you’re researching someplace you’d love to go and see.

I can’t tell you how many internet rabbit holes I’ve fallen down, how many hours of writing time I’ve frittered away watching videos and checking out the websites of every national park and quaint little B&B I can find. I spent one entire evening reading pub menus from various watering holes in Dublin!

It’s all great fun, but it’s also not keeping me focused and not helping me toward my goal, which is finishing the damn book, after all. So I’ve learned a trick that helps me, and so far, it’s working.

When I’m writing the story, I keep certain things generic and then when I’m going back and revising, I’ll add in the specifics. I work in MS Word, so I use the highlight feature to mark the place in the manuscript, so I know I need to tweak it later. It looks something like this:

Later, I’ll go back and add in the name of a nearby village, and somewhere a little further down I’ll put in some details about something they saw there to flesh it out. By keeping it generic as I’m writing, I’m staying focused on what they’re doing with each other, how we’re moving the plot forward, what they’re saying and how they’re saying it. And most importantly, I’m not spending an hour on the internet when all I needed was the name of the damn village.

Writer tricks. They’re what’s for dinner.

And now, back to Michael and Amy, and Ireland. Can’t wait to share this one with you all!

Feb 24 2015

Falling In Love With Your Characters

I am so in love with Michael.

He’s the man from Someday In Dublin, and he’s very devil-may-care and impulsive and crazy fun. I could write about Michael, talk like Michael and let Michael get naked and do all sorts of wild and exciting things to me all day long.

The problem is, the story isn’t just about Michael. The story is about Amy, too. Continue reading →

Britt DeLaney

Romance Author

Tag Archives: Someday In Dublin