Many thanks to Jean Bull for tagging me in this blog hop. Jean is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme, and her 1929-set novel, Gypsy Moth, is available on Amazon. You can read the lovely reviews she’s had and find out more here. Jean also blogs, and you can follow her on Twitter: @jean_bull. On 19th May, please look out for the next article in the series, from R J Gould. You can read more about his work at the bottom of this post.
What am I working on?
I’ve just finished editing a romantic mystery set in my home city of Cambridge, UK. It’s about Ruby, who’s house-sitting for a man she’s never met, having made a bolt from home. Within days she’s caught up in the unhealthy relationships he’s formed, and, when one of his contacts finally snaps, she finds herself enmeshed in a chain of deadly consequences. It’s a race against time to discover who’s meting out their version of justice.
My novels are crime/thrillers with love interest. I try to combine drama, danger and romance with witty one-liners, warm characters, and feel-good endings.
As a teenager, I lapped up books with mystery and love interest: things like Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier, the entire output of Mary Stewart, and M M Kaye’s ‘Death in…’ series. And then there was Jilly Cooper’s Bella… I was (and am) also an avid reader of general crime, and indeed, love stories. So the answer is, I write in the genre I enjoy reading.
How does my writing process work?
I usually start with a tiny spark of an idea and spend weeks mulling it over, thinking of all the places it might take me. I love this bit and find that the mulling works best when I’m doing something mundane, like cleaning the bath. This is quite handy, since it means I actually do some housework every few months… The approach also has scientific approval, as I noted in this blog post on creativity.
My other latest writing read, is The Arvon Book of Crime and Thriller Writing. I blogged about it here, and I find its guest articles by crime authors really interesting.
Next Week’s Blog Hop
R J Gould lives in Cambridge, England. His contemporary romantic fiction introduces quirky characters and explores their relationships using humour and a strong sense of irony. His e-novels are published on Amazon Kindle, and have received great reviews. He’s a member of Cambridge Writers, winning the group’s annual short story competition in 2010 and receiving commendations in 2012 and 2013. He’s on the New Writers’ Scheme of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. He works for a national educational charity and has written non-fiction texts and articles for a wide range of journals and newspapers – but writing fiction is his passion. You can find out more at www.rjgould.info and on Twitter @RJGould_author
Clare Chase 
Thanks for taking part in My Writing Process, Clare. I like the image of you setting out your plan on the floor and whisking away important plot points with your cardigan!
LikeLike
Thanks for inviting me to take part, Jean! Jane Wenham-Jone's book suggests ordering plot ideas in a loose-leaf folder. I think I might upgrade to that!
LikeLike
Lovely to hear how you write Clare – very similar to my process, but I leave out the post-it notes in the fireplace stage and go straight to putting my rough plot points onto a word document 🙂
LikeLike
…which sounds considerably more practical!! :0)
LikeLike