Christmas in July??

No, I'm not going to tell you about my Christmas obsession just yet--I'll keep you wondering and checking back...

It's been an awesome couple of months with back-to-back books. Actually it's been an awesome year, because I had a book out in February, as well. I don't know which one has received the most positive feedback. Everyone told me they cried their eyes out, but they loved PRAIRIE WIFE. Then everyone said they laughed themselves silly at MILLION-DOLLAR MAKEOVER. Now for HIS SECONDHAND WIFE I'm hearing the words "beautiful" and "lovely".

Yesterday I had a email chat with a reader and she was interested in knowing a few behind the scenes facts about the story. I thought maybe you'd like to know, too. Ann asked me how I decided to make Kate's baby a girl--if I knew all along or if it was difficult. I had to go back to the synopsis to find out.

I went back to the folder on my hard drive--which always takes a minute because many times my working title was not the same title that made it to the actual book. This one started out as Darlin' Katy. I sell the book by writing a synopsis and the first couple of chapters, then it's sometimes months or maybe even a year before I write the book.

Originally, I had Kate give birth to a baby boy "with his mother's hair and his father's chin", but as I was actually writing and the story was unfolding, the baby's identity changed. It just felt "right."

Ann had observed other books where the couple marry and the woman is pregnant with another man's child, and she noted that the baby is usually a girl. She suggested that "strong man protecting a darling baby girl" was what made that work.

Strong man protecting darling baby girl definitely works, but I don't think I ever actually thought of it like that; the sex of the baby just fell into place as appropriate for the story and the characters.

Back to titles. Here are a few working titles and then the chosen title:

ALWAYS AMY = PRAIRIE WIFE
ALL THAT GLITTERS = MILLION-DOLLAR MAKEOVER
DARLIN' KATY = HIS SECONDHAND WIFE
THE SHADY LADY = THE BOUNTY HUNTER

If you have specific questions about how I create my stories and I'll answer right here.

One more thing...I mentioned how authors propose and sell books, then months later actually write them. Getting back into that story is often a challenge. That's what I've been doing--I'm on deadline right now. I don't believe in writer's block. I believe in the practice of BITC. *Buns in The Chair.* I sit here, I turn off my Internet program, I put my fingers on the keyboard, and words come.

Sometimes it's like starting a car engine in sub zero temperature: erR erRR eerrRRR
then finally VROOOM!!