I’m not good with change. I’m the first to admit it. I like order and routine, familiarity. It’s strange though. I grew up with all of those things and couldn’t wait to shake them off. My life has been about constant change the last two decades. New jobs. New cities.
My new book, Unspoken Rules, is a huge departure from my usual fare. Where most of my published work has been in romance, this is a psychological thriller. Romance is the last thing on the mind of my protagonist, Carlie. She’s troubled, almost broken, but she holds it together by the tiniest of threads.
One of the things writers are asked the most is how we come up with the ideas for our stories. Carlie came to me if, not in a dream, in a rush as I woke one day. Her story exploded fully formed, from page 1. I had to scramble from bed to get it all down and I was afraid to let any other thought come into my head and erase what I knew about Carlie and her story.
The only problem now, as I’m writing, is that her story is TOO long! It is developing more as I write it, as the words pour out some days, and dribble others. There are things that are so natural to Carlie and her life and world and they tie into other things easily I know they are meant to be.
Carlie’s story will not be an easy one. It is painful and dark. This will not be the HEA people are used to seeing in my romance. I hope the ending is just as satisfactory however. We’ll see.