A reader asked about my research for WHISPERS THROUGH TIME, the first novel in my series by the same name released in 2021. I had to think about that because, in my memory, the research was all accidental.
It all began when we saw DANCES WITH WOLVES, Kevin Costner's amazing movie about the Lakota Sioux Indians - but it wasn't the Indians' story that tugged at my heartstrings. And even though we owned a wolfdog, it wasn't Two Socks that pulled me in. It was the buffalo thundering across the...
Someone asked how I came up with names for my characters, and that's a great question!
When I'm first beginning a story, I pick the names out of a hat - actually, two hats (one for first names and one for last names) - but the names usually change before the end of the first draft because by then the characters have become real people to me and their original names no longer fit. (For example, a woman who lives in a small town in 2045 and drops F-Bombs like a sailor wouldn't be named...
A reader wanted to know how I start a novel. Do I write a line on a napkin, throw together an idea board, maybe begin an outline? That's a good question I haven't thought too much about. I've written several different kinds of books, and each one put me through a different process.
For example, the first novel in my WHISPERS THROUGH TIME series (the book itself is also entitled WHISPERS THROUGH TIME) has two plots running parallel to each other - one historical, the other contemporary. A...