I was a journalist for about twelve years with a daily newspaper in the Midwest and am now the author of the Emily O’Brien series. When I’m not writing, I enjoy reading, hiking, cooking, gardening and spending time with my family.
How did the Emily O'Brien series come about?
Actually, I started writing the books just for the fun of it. I never intended to let anyone else see them.
I'm an avid reader, always have been. But I found myself increasingly in a tough spot when it came to choosing my next book. I love female detective novels, but so many of the secular books go overboard with the bad language, sex and violence. But I also get tired of Christian books that are nowhere near realistic. I found myself either settling for a book I really didn't want to read or holding my nose while I picked up a book with a good story but horrible values.
I started writing something that I would like to read, realistic Christian fiction. Once I got going, I found I couldn't stop. Soon, I'd finished book one, three, four and six. (No, I did not write them in order. If I had an idea, I ran with it.). After much persuasion from my husband, I decided to finish book 2 and start publishing my own books.
What is your writing process?
I usually write on a laptop in the living room. My family is watching TV or playing video games, just hanging out. Years of working in a newsroom made me very good at tuning things out and concentrating on writing. But long before I actually write a story, I'm thinking about it a lot. I tend to plot out the major points in my head, then start writing the story, thinking about it along the way to see if I like the way it's going before I ever type a word. Once I have the whole thing worked out, then I can really push through to the end -- then the challenge is finding enough hours in the day.
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