Writing a book is always a journey! Even for authors who have written multiple books, there are still twists and turns in the road.
Today, 8 of our authors with a new release join us on the blog to tell us about the easiest, hardest, or most fun part of writing their new books.
Arctic Pursuit by Anna J Stewart
The most fun I had writing Arctic Pursuit was researching the setting. Splendor, Alaska, is inspired by Whittier, Alaska, a town so small one apartment building houses most of the businesses as well as its residents. That there is only one way in or out played really well against the backdrop of a suspense story. There’s only so many places to hide! I ended up expanding the town more than expected, mainly because I love adding all those small-town elements including secondary characters, but creating the setting for this book was one of my favorite projects.
Cold Case Mountain Murder by Rhonda Starnes
The most fun part of writing Cold Case Mountain Murder was writing a heroine who is a true crime podcaster. From the time I read my first Nancy Drew book as a young girl, I have always loved a good mystery. When I hear of an unsolved crime, especially a cold case, I will read everything I can find on the crime. It’s a puzzle that must be solved. So, writing a character who questions everything and won’t back down until she finds the answers she is searching for came naturally to me, making the entire process more fun.
Room for Two More by Michele Dunaway
A writer always brings some of themselves into their stories, and incorporating snippets from my real life made creating Room for Two More extremely fun. I’ve done catering, which made the scene where Lexi sets up the bar easy to write. I’ve hiked in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Front Range, so setting some of the story there meant reliving wonderful memories. The TV show Hannah Montana, a favorite of my kids when they were young, inspired Lexi’s double life. I find creating fiction from slivers of reality tons of fun and love dropping in those “Easter eggs.”
Shadowing Her Stalker by Maggie Wells
I had the best time plotting the carjacking scene at the beginning of the book. Writing resourceful women is a blast, and it was so much fun figuring out how my heroine would rescue herself from a precarious situation. I played it over and over in my head — from her abductor’s approach to the moment she makes a break for freedom. I even asked my husband to sit in my car so I could work through logistics and make the scene play out in as realistically as possible. My vivid imagination may have scared him a bit.
Ring for an Heir by Annie West
I adored writing the opening. Lex and Portia had been in my head for years and I knew their story intimately. It’s a reunion full of unresolved feelings. Their emotions are incredibly intense as they grapple with past pain and an attraction neither can deny. I loved that each had secrets to reveal and that they try so hard not to fall for each other again. So sizzle, drama and high emotion — what’s not to love? Plus, the London settings are real, so the scenes felt particularly vivid. I felt I was there with them. I hope you do too!
The Valentine Plan by Laurie Batzel
The hero of The Valentine Plan is a cheesemaker, so the easiest and most fun part of writing this book was buying lots of different, gourmet cheeses for “research.”
The hardest part was sharing my delicious research with my family 😉
Their Altar Arrangement by Natalie Anderson
Their Altar Arrangement was one of my most fun to write books! Partly because Elodie and Ramon have such scorching chemistry, I basically burned my fingertips as I typed, but also because Elodie works at an Escape Room and at one point she locks Ramon into one as a ‘test’. As he has to work out the clues, I had to research a bunch of Escape Room tricks, traps and secrets. I totally fell down a major online rabbit hole that day! I hope that scene makes you smile as much it did me…
Find Her by Katherine Garbera
The hardest part of writing Find Her was the fact that I have two separate investigations happening in the book. Lee is looking for a missing teenager and Aaron is undercover to bust a drug gang. Until their paths cross, I had to manage them like separate threads of the story.
All of these titles are out today! Check out these books and more on Harlequin.com
