The Beginning and the End...Filled with Possibilities by Jannine Gallant

So, I may have mentioned a few times that I'm working on a new series called Born To Be Wilde. This has been a fun project, chronicling the adventures of the Wilde brothers in the first three books. I finished the third book not long ago, then breezed through edits on the first one. Afterward, I sat down to start the fourth and final book. This one belongs to the little sister of the clan, Eden Wilde. Maybe my readers would rather have another brother, but I wanted to change it up. I'm determined to make my heroine just as tough and adventurous as her brothers while keeping her vulnerable. Should be challenging and fun.

I love the first stages of writing a book, the joy of an empty page and endless possibilities. Granted, I already have established characters who will be featured in this story. But there are new ones to weave into the mix, and a whole new plot to work out. I had a rough idea of the overall suspense conflict, so I jumped in with both feet and started writing. No outline. No list of new characters. I was just winging it! After the first chapter, I hit a few bumps. Hmm...might be nice to know who my red herrings would be in this mystery. I needed to start feeding them in. So, I stopped writing and started thinking. I bounced ideas off my CP. (Thanks, Margo!) I actually made a list of new characters and figured out how to introduce my villain. But that's as far as the planning stage went. I like the idea of keeping the mystery alive for me as well as my readers. As I get to know my characters better, they may surprise me and take the story in new directions.

Then there's the fact that this is the final book of the series. I get to bring back all my old heroes and heroines. I get to show their happiness and tie up their lives with a big shiny bow. I love that part about writing a series. So, even though it'll be sad to see the series end when I finish this book, there's a feeling of satisfaction that goes with it. I'm looking forward to the whole process.

So, for all you authors, share your favorite part of a book to write. The beginning shining with possibilities or the fulfillment of racing toward the finish line? Or maybe it's the plot twists thrown in along the way. Do you plan the whole story ahead of time or wing it like me? Please share.

For info on all my books, visit my WEBSITE. Have a great day!

The Shrinking Woman by Rolynn Anderson

“Billions and Billions,” Carl Sagan would say, with that weird bombastic emphasis on the ‘B’ that we liked to mimic.  I believed him when he told me that the universe was bigger than I could ever imagine.  Even if I didn’t understand the concept of infinity, I got the enormity bit, and I started feeling small.  Tiny.

The other day, I saw a video, a visual representation of a gargantuan universe.  Carl, it turns out, should have been saying ‘Quadzillions’ instead of Billions.  This is a quick video, three amazing minutes, well worth your time.  You may want to look at it before you read on-it helps get your mind around the breadth of the universe.  Turn off the music...you don't need it and it's annoying.
https://www.facebook.com/iReleaseEndorphins/videos/1246708738676586/?theater

Do you see my point?  I have shrunk (in relative importance/meaning) to a size you couldn’t even see with the human eye.  I used to think I was as big as a grain of sand.  Now, I'm smaller than one of the 100 species of insects hanging around our homes…that we never see.  (Creepy that they’re there, huh?  But true.)  This makes Jonathan Swift a terrible under-estimator in Gulliver's Travels!

Relatively, says Hubble, I am less than itsy bitsy in size, and my importance diminishes with every new discovery.  My effect: a lot less than a butterfly winging it.

Usually I rise each morning buoyed by big ideas and tall purpose; we writers live by making comparisons and setting hefty goals.  But I have to admit that size does matter and my ideas and purposes seem whittled down by the ballooning universe.   

So I’m interested.  How are you dealing with the your shrinking importance in the world?  Humor is welcome, of course, whenever we have these crazy existential conversations.  Example: One good outcome-I have lost ‘weight.’  ;-)  

To go with my 'diminished' theme, I’ll trot out FAINT, the third in my Funeral Planner Suspense series.  Here are a couple tweets:

Thoughtful #dog, sweet man with #Alzheimer’s, #blind forensic investigator FAINT-3^rd in series http://amzn.com/B0180LJBRI #suspensest #romance

Criminals challenge brains & relationship of freelance embalmer & blind forensic investigator #suspensest #romance http://amzn.com/B0180LJBRI