Some behind the scenes sharing!
This is the first time I’ve been able to write a book and have a true native of the setting check out my facts. Jocelynn lived in Cincinnati for a long time and she knows the streets like the back of her hand. I, on the other hand, have never once stepped foot there. So, when it’s my turn to write the bulk of a scene, I pull up Google Earth and virtually roam the streets.
It’s turned into a kind of challenge.
Will I get it right? Will Jocelynn laugh her ass off? Will she even tell me if she does?
Of course, I will get things wrong. No author is perfect. But I have a little more help this time around. I’ll give you an instance. In SHIVER, I did the first round of the car chase scene. (One reviewer pointed out how detailed it was. LOL) and before I started, Jocelynn gave me a thorough write-up of the exact route. I took a stab at it, then it went back to her, and she filled in more details. We had such fun with that scene! (Of course, I love writing Hollis. He’s SUCH a smart-ass.)
In SHATTER, there’s another detailed sort of chase in the beginning of the book. It’s set in Covington, KY. There are actually several scenes set there and in a later one, I pulled out my trusty Google Earth and walked the scene virtually. I sent it over to Jocelynn, who thought I did a pretty good job. She had suggestions, of course. <g> But the earlier scene set there is VERY intense when it comes to the setting, so I turned it completely over to Jocelynn so she could really delve into the details.
Sometimes, while writing SHATTER, I’ll just leave a note right in the manuscript that says, “Setting stuff here.” and Jocelynn will go in and smooth that out. At other times, I do wing it first because it’s fun to see what I get right.
There are a lot of great things about working with a writing partner. We’re only on our second book, but we’re learning a lot about how the other works. For instance, I will admit, my work patterns are harder. I tend to write scenes out of order then thread them together. This isn’t such an easy thing for a partner who writes pretty damned linear. LOL. I’m sure I make her stomp around sometimes. I also tend to go too fast and she will call me out and say it’s time to slow things down. She’s usually right. But I do have my strengths in this partnership. There were actually places in SHIVER where I asked to slow things down. Sometimes, she’ll give me a scene and I’ll say we might need to dial that back. I write pretty awesome sexual tension. But then, so does she. Honestly, I think this works because the person writing that first or second draft of a scene can’t see it from an entirely objective angle. She reads what I write and says, it needs this! I do the same. I expect this will only get better once we work out all the differences because we bring completely opposite strengths to the work.
I’m glad I jumped into this project because I like SHIVER and trust me, I don’t always say that because I’m hard on my work. I hardly ever feel like it’s ready. Most of my editors have had to pry the finals out of my grabby hands! But I’ve wanted to write M/M romance for a long, long time, so I feel great about the work. Now, I’m wondering why I waited so long!
If you haven’t tried SHIVER, you can get it here. Also, check out the wonderful reviews going up for it there and on Goodreads. Thank you to those who love the book and help spread the word. It means a lot to us! Every single time it’s mentioned, rated, or even nominated for an award–yes we saw that and we celebrated!–it helps just that much more. 🙂