A Mind of Their Own

My mom finished her first read through of book four and we were sitting around talking about it. She was telling me about how frustrating some of the characters were this time. I agreed and said that as I was writing I was thinking, "Oh man! He's going to do that and it's going to be so bad!"

My dad laughed and said, "They're your characters! Can't you control them?"

To which I very honestly replied, "No! They have a mind of their own. I didn't even realize that Isabelle's sisters were twins until halfway through."

My dad found this very amusing. It seems strange that it could come from my mind and yet sometimes I feel like I have very little control over the story, Sometimes as I write I almost gasp and think, "I did not see that coming!" It's very weird.

I don't know if this happens to every author or if I'm just strange. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the latter. The thing is that my characters almost have a life of their own in my head. Sometimes I sit there and shake my head at their actions and sometimes they make me smile. But they always keep me on my toes.

I honestly wasn't sure how I would do writing Isabelle's story. She's probably the character that least resembles me. She's bold and confident and extremely creative! I have to say that I really enjoyed developing her more. I don't know that I have a favorite character - it's sort of like choosing a favorite child - but Isabelle is such a positive person that she was a joy to write about. And I know she's just a make believe character from my imagination, but it's still true. I hope that my readers enjoy getting to know her better.

While Mom and I were talking about the book, my mom said that she was reading about the bridal shower that Isabelle plans for Brooke and she thought, "Isabelle is so creative!" Then she thought for a moment and realized that Isabelle was fictional and really it was out of my imagination that the idea for the shower came! I'm not sure I could have come up with it though, if I hadn't been looking at the world through Isabelle's eyes. That bridal shower has been talked about by all three of my editors who all think it was such a fun idea!

My mom has finished her first read through and I've made the edits she gave me. My sister has finished, but I haven't received her edits yet. I know that Meghan was close to finishing the last I heard from her. She told me that she had been reading before work and hadn't wanted to stop! I'm always happy to hear things like that.

And . . .  I've ordered the book cover! In about a week I should get the first drafts to go through. Sometimes they send me a couple to choose from and sometimes I give them some requests to change their initial design (usually it's slight things, they do such a wonderful job!) As soon as we get the finalized cover, I will share it and the title with you all!

In the meantime, I have been continuing to write the next series. With my kids in school, I am getting some nice, long, uninterrupted segments of writing in and I'm very much enjoying how quickly it's coming along! I can't wait to share Isabelle's story with you and then for you to join me on my next journey! Writing is such a fun adventure!