I’ve been invited by horror writer, Mark West (click on Mark’s name to see his post), to take part in this blog hop – the title pretty much explains what it’s about. So here’s my contribution.

Three Things I Do Write

1. Romance

All my books so far have had romance in them, but to varying degrees. United States of Love is a full on romance but Closing In, although it does have a romance, it isn’t the overriding story. I’m working on book 3 at the moment and, again, the romance is there but not pivotal.  Why do I write romance? It’s all about feelings and emotions which make us human.

2. Mystery

I always enjoy reading books where there is some mystery or secret to solve. Something that keeps you guessing again and again. I like a good crime story and have enjoyed weaving mini-mysteries into the plots of my books. It gives it another dimension.

3.  Themes

When I wrote my first novel, I had no idea what the theme was, I just knew I wanted to write a romance which, I suppose, is quite a broad theme itself.  I attended a workshop run by Julie Cohen and the subject of theme came up. It was a light bulb moment for me, I realised if I knew my theme and kept that at the front of my mind when writing, it would keep the story tight and on track. So now, I always identify my theme before I begin, it’s the starting block for me.

 

Three Things I Don’t Write

1. Horror

I don’t think I could ever come up with anything that was scary. I’ve read some horror books in the past – I distinctly remember reading a James Herbert book when I was about 14 and it scared me so much, I was literally checking the air vents before I went to bed. I just don’t think I could create anything that frightening. It’s a lot to live up to.

2. Historical

I haven’t written anything historical … yet. I would like to but I’m painfully aware of the huge amount of research that I would need to undertake and, currently, I just haven’t got the time. It would do historical writing a great injustice if I didn’t get the facts as right as possible. One day, when I have more time, I do plan to start gathering together information that will allow me to write in this genre but, for now, it’s a bit of a way off.

3. Fantasy

I know there are some great books and films out there, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter – the list is endless, but, it’s just not my thing. I wouldn’t know where to start writing some alternative world, I prefer to write what I know in the real world. However, as with historical writing, I can’t rule it out for ever. I may suddenly wake up one morning with a whole new world in my head with a story desperate to be told but, until then, fantasy is not for me.

 

It’s been an interesting exercise and wasn’t as easy as I thought. I’m ‘nominating’ Nic Tatano and Anneli Purchase to take part next.