Ask the Author: Alina K. Field
Answered Questions (10)
Alina K. Field
As much as I'd love to see Regency England up close and personal, I think the place I would visit would be California during the period when it was part of Mexico. This is a period I'm researching for a project I've had tucked away for a very long time.
Alina K. Field
Right now I'm in the midst of reading books submitted for judging in the Book Buyer's Best contest (and I can't share the titles!). And once that's done, I'm going to read The Reluctant Bride by Carolyn Warfield, and Jude Knight's new release, A Raging Madness. I have more novels sitting on my Kindle from Lauren Royal and others, and some nonfiction books as well that I want to read for research. So many books, so little time!
Alina K. Field
My life is really so boring in so many ways! Not much mystery here. But...a few years ago I learned that my home is built on the site of an early adobe, and that the U.S. army camped here shortly before a decisive battle in the Mexican-American War. That set my imagination buzzing with a time travel story. What if the message carried to warn the army about an impending attack had never been delivered? Some day I hope to write that story!
Alina K. Field
I can't limit myself to just one fictional couple! I love Doyle and Maggie of The Forbidden Rose for their determination and ingenuity. I also love Lady Clara and Raven from Dukes Prefer Blondes (great book in spite of the 1950s title). And then there's Sherlock and Watson! Their partnership and friendship are legendary.
Alina K. Field
Inspiration is not generally a problem for me, but when it drags, I spend some time thinking about the conflict between my characters, how to increase it, how to sharpen it.
Alina K. Field
I'm working on a Christmas novella set in my Regency story world. I'm also very excited to be working on a committee putting together the March 2017 California Dreamin' Writers' Conference in Brea, California. We are going to have a fantastic program: a book camp with Debra Dixon of GMC fame, and keynote speakers Robyn Carr (#1 on the NYT list 11 times!) and Sarah MacLean, an amazing Regency romance author and NYT bestseller.
Alina K. Field
1. Start right now. Write in whatever scenes have come to you in the snippets of time you can manage. 2. Carry a notebook with you and jot down ideas when they come to you. 3. Read widely, fiction and nonfiction. I'm always finding inspiration in the Wall Street Journal! 4. Study craft. There are many, many inexpensive online classes sponsored by Romance Writers of America chapters that cover POV, Showing vs. Telling, hooks, etc. Janice Hardy's Fiction University blog is jam-packed with great craft articles. 5. Get feedback from critiquers but watch out for the craft Nazis, joy killers, and the folks who want to pull apart your story but won't share theirs. Take some time to think about the critique, and if it doesn't feel right, it's okay to walk away. 6. Join a writing organization, especially if you write genre fiction. The support is invaluable. 7. This is an industry in the throes of volatile change. Follow bloggers like the Passive Voice and Jane Friedman and stay on top of the business. 8. The right way to write? Do it your way!
Alina K. Field
The best part of being a writer is the story telling. Sometimes that can be the hardest thing too!
Alina K. Field
I think writer's block might be an old school excuse to stop and have a cocktail. Which is not always a bad thing, but you have to get the words on the page first.
Actually, I do find myself stuck sometimes. Sometimes it's my inner critic beating me over the head. Sometimes I've dropped a thread, like dropping a stitch when you're knitting.
I have three proven strategies to get unstuck: 1) take a step back and review the characters' goals for the scene I just worked on, 2) give my self permission to write garbage, 3) glue my bottom to the chair and keep writing.
Actually, I do find myself stuck sometimes. Sometimes it's my inner critic beating me over the head. Sometimes I've dropped a thread, like dropping a stitch when you're knitting.
I have three proven strategies to get unstuck: 1) take a step back and review the characters' goals for the scene I just worked on, 2) give my self permission to write garbage, 3) glue my bottom to the chair and keep writing.
Alina K. Field
The main character of my latest release, 'Bella's Band' is Annabelle Harris, who was a backstory character in my novella 'Rosalyn's Ring'. Annabelle never actually made an appearance in the novella, but she kept popping up in my imagination and I knew I had to tell her story also.
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