Image used courtesy of The Public Speaking Project under a Creative Commons license.
This could probably go into an FAQ section. A lot of times, I’m asked how much research do I do for my books.
The easy answer is: It depends on the book. Some require more research than others do.
Here’s the thing.
I like to research things. I can easily get lost in Google searches and following tangents until what I’m looking at bears nothing to the original search. So what do I do?
Honestly, I start writing. When I need to know something, I look up that thing. For example, in Navajo Rose, I needed to know some police scanner codes. I did a Google search on that phrase and got a pretty good list on various scanner codes used in law enforcement.
Doing research like this keeps me on track and I don’t go off on very many tangents.
It should go without saying that if I’m writing anything historical/semi-historical, I do a lot more research up front, but I do enough to get going and then look up whatever else I need to know.
I’m still hoping to find an old map of Ireland, the older the better.
In writing posts for this blog and looking for other resources that you might find relevant, I often wonder what it is you really want to see here.
If you would, take a few minutes and humor me. Please fill out the survey linked here. It will open in a new window/tab, so if you have popups blocked (who doesn’t anymore?), you will probably need to hold down the “Ctrl” button (on a PC; I don’t know what it is on a Mac) when you click for it to open.
Your responses will help me plan content for you into 2019.
Amber Daulton is the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. Her books are published through The Wild Rose Press and Books to Go Now, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.
Amber lives in North Carolina with her husband and four demanding cats.
Blurb: Once you’re in a prison gang, you’re in it for life. That’s what Mason Harding thought until the boss accepted his resignation. After the State releases him on parole, a sexy divorcée behind the wheel of a car almost ends his life quicker than a shank. His chance encounter with Mia Eddison results in a night of passion, but her brother—his parole officer—catches them together and doesn’t approve.
Mia falls hard for the cocky ex-con, but not because of his chiseled body. She vows to break through his walls and discover his secrets, but never expects those secrets to threaten her life.
When members of an organized crime ring kidnap Mia to force Mason’s return to the gang, he goes up against an old friend to save the woman he loves. Will his sacrifice be enough or will everything fall apart in a blaze of gunfire?
Excerpt: “Which one is your car?” She glanced around the crowded parking lot. A few streetlights pushed back the darkness and shadows. The restaurant served customers until midnight on the weekends, but no one loitered in the lot, at least from what Mia could see.
“Don’t have one at the moment.” Mason hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his jeans. “I took the bus. It stopped a few blocks from here.”
“Would you like a ride?” She pulled the car keys from her purse. “I feel a little ridiculous we met here tonight. I just wasn’t sure if you were some kind of freak.”
His eyebrow lifted, and he closed the distance between them as a tiger would zero in on its mate. A sexy, masculine smile curled his lips. “Have you made up your mind yet?”
“I’ll let you know in the morning.” Desire trickled down her spine. Mia nodded toward the passenger side of the car for him to hop in.
He confiscated her keys instead to unlock and open the driver’s side door for her like a gentleman. Then he leaned closer and nuzzled her temple with his nose.
Not sure if he planned to seduce her in the parking lot or if he merely wanted to tease her, Mia pressed her hand to his chest and tried to think straight. “You’re the first guy I’ve gone on a date with since my divorce. I haven’t slept with anyone since Evan.”
He tunneled his fingers through her wavy, chestnut-brown hair. “I haven’t dated anyone in a long time either. We’ll take it slow or fast, whatever you want, but I promise you one thing. After I’m done with you, you won’t even remember that bastard’s name.”
Oh, God. She almost melted right then and there. “Fast. I want you, Mason.”
“Take me to your place and you can have me.”
Q&A JNO: My blog focuses on creativity in general. What is your creative/writing process?
AD: I like to daydream first, then plot in as much detail as possible—either on paper or the computer, doesn’t matter to me. I often get new ideas in the middle of the first draft and sometimes the second draft, so the characters just take over the story for a while, and I have to find a way to reel them back in and get the story back on track. On average, I can usually write a novella (15 to 35k WC) in maybe a month or so. For a full length novel (80k plus), it usually takes three or four months to finish the first draft. I have ten books published so far, the eleventh book is currently in edits, and there are several more manuscripts collecting digital dust on my computer.
I try to write a little every day, but it can be difficult. Life happens. Trust me. Even if I can’t get to the PC to write, I’m always plotting my current or future story in my head.
I don’t have children—so no distractions there—but my cats are demanding little creatures, so I have to appease them. My husband Gregory is the cook in the household, so luckily I don’t have to worry about fixing my meals. Otherwise, I’d probably go hungry. Anyway, I usually start writing early in the morning and keep going until the afternoon, but of course I have little breaks in between.
JNO: What prompted you to write this book?
AD: Arresting Mason is a redemption story about a flawed man struggling to right his wrongs and finding love in the most unexpected of ways. I came up with the main plot—a feisty divorcée starting a HAWT relationship with a tattooed ex-con—in a little place called dreamland. I’m always the leading lady in my dreams, and I fell head-over-heels in love with a mysterious former gang member. After I awoke from that seriously mouthwatering dream, I couldn’t stop thinking about Mason, his past, and his current problems. His seductive voice kept whispering to me, urging me to write about him, so I wrote out a rough plotline and quickly finished the manuscript I was already working on. I’ve changed quite a bit in the story from what happened in the dream, but the main premise has remained the same.
I originally wrote this book for a bad boy anthology call, but I had exceeded the maximum word count and still wanted to add more scenes by the time I finished the first draft. So I forgot all about the submission call and kept revising this story until I was finally happy with it. At long last, the manuscript clocked in at 80 thousand words and sparked ideas for more books. It’s now book one in the Arresting Onyx series, a five-book series about five sexy men—brothers in blood and in life—and the stubborn women they can’t live without.
JNO: What advice would you have for anyone starting to write their first book?
AD: Writing is the easy part and it’s only half of the work. Handling rejections and bad reviews with finesse is a must, taking care of marketing and publicity demands is a handful but a requirement, and writing your next book while dealing with everything else is cause to bring out the vodka. But ‘tis the life of an author. You gotta love it, and I do with all my heart.
Make friends with other authors and readers via social media. Don’t be shy. Start a blog even if you aren’t published yet, so you can join blog tours. A tour is a great way to get a free ebook as long as you write a review and post it on your blog. The author’s readers will then come to your blog to read the review. They’ll know YOUR name, and that’s what you want—to get your name out there.
Just keep trying. I know it sounds cliché, but there’s nothing else to do. If you don’t try, you won’t succeed. Period. Keep your hopes up, take rejection letters in stride, and if a publisher or editor gives you feedback on why he/she rejected your work, listen to their feedback. They know what they’re talking about.
JNO: Also, where can people find you and your book?
AD: If you want to learn more about me, Arresting Mason, or my other books, please click on the links below. As you can tell, I hang out on several social media platforms, so feel free to message me, follow me, or send a friend request. I’d love to meet you!
From time to time, I do a search on creativity on YouTube, Google, etc. In doing that today, I was reminded of Sir Ken Robinson. In this video, he talks about “Can Creativity Be Taught?”
How many of you write things on a calendar? Over the past year, I’ve found my calendar is one of my most valuable tools.
I know many people have kids they have to schedule for as well. I don’t know how they can do it without a calendar. It seems like it would be a necessity for keeping up with dentist appointments, soccer practices, t-ball games, and work requirements.
Like I said yesterday, putting things in writing has helped me remember things. So has using a calendar. Back even a year ago, I could keep track of deadlines without one. I can’t do that anymore. There are too many things going on for me to know exactly when one thing is happening when compared to another one that is in a similar time slot on a different day.
I know people who swear by Google Calendar. If you have an Android smartphone, this will put your Google Calendar on your phone as well and keep the two synchronized. I’ve used it. I’ve found that it’s not for me. When I go to look at a calendar to see what’s coming up I don’t tend to turn on a computer, go online, or look at my phone.
I look at a paper calendar. It’s what works best for me. My current calendar is an At-a-Glance 2014-2015 calendar with one day per page. It’s what works for me.
