“My Writing Process Blog Tour”: Passing the Torch

 One of my favorite things about being a romance writer is the immediate kinship you feel with other romance writers.  My new writing buddy Suzan Colon, passed the torch to me for this fun blog hop about the writing process.  To learn more about Suzan and her many great books including her most recent Sea Glass, visit: http://suzancolon.net/.

 1. What am I working on?

I just finished the last of the copy edits for my debut romantic comedy Worth the Weight.  Copy edits are never ending.  Just when you think you’re done, it’s time to do another read through.  I can honestly say I know my book inside and out now!  What’s cool about e-books is that you can update the manuscript anytime.  So if you find a typo in your e-book that I missed, let me know by emailing me at info@eileenpalmaauthor.com so I can fix it in all future digital copies.  Then I’ll send you a free signed print copy of Worth the Weight!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Honestly, not very much.  I grew up watching Nora Ephron films like When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle.  Some of my other favorite rom-coms are While You Were Sleeping, (not a Nora movie but still fabulous) and another Nora classic, You’ve Got Mail.  I loved how all of those movies had you laughing one minute and then boom out of nowhere you’re reaching for the tissue box.   In rom-coms the reader knows the two protagonists will eventually live happily-ever-after.  The question is how? The fun part is the ride along with the characters to see how they get to that happy ending.

3. Why do I write what I do?

 Who doesn’t love to laugh?  There have been many times when a rom-com novel or movie pulled me away from my life and put a smile on my face.  I suffered from a life threatening medical condition when I was pregnant with my daughter Molly and for the past twelve years I have been struggling with my health.  When I was at my sickest, I would lose myself in a Sophia Kinsella or Jennifer Weiner book and for that short period of time I forgot how bad things were.  I really wanted to write a book that could help other people escape, whether it is from day-to-day chores, a stressful job, or from a difficult time in their life.  Love and humor are the strongest plot devices to help a reader lose themselves in a book or movie.

4. How does your writing process work?

 I write, revise, write, revise, write, revise until my gut tells me the book is done.  I wrote Worth the Weight while enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College’s The Writing Institute.  I would write 50 pages, then workshop those pages in class.  Then I would revise the workshopped pages endlessly while I wrote another 50 pages ahead.  Then I would workshop 100 pages at once, then revise and write ahead to 150 and worshop those pages ...  You get the picture.  OCD behavior at its finest.

 Now I will pass the torch to another new writing bud, Susie Orman Schnall author of On Grace, http://www.susieschnall.com/.  Susie will post about her writing process on April 21st.  Susie and I will be signing books at ATHLETA in Scarsdale, NY from 7-9 PM, on Thursday, May 8th for a fun National Moms' Night Out Event.  Hope to see you then!