Chances are, if you’re a writer you’ve been asked to ‘pssst, pass it on’ with a little ditty ’bout how you write. I was dobbed in to answer four questions by the talented and very amusing Miss Imelda Evans. 

Now, Miss Imelda loves happy endings, writes quick-paced stories with snappy dialogue, karaoke (I know, right? So awesome!), a nifty dose of hilarity and quirk — and you know how I love quirk. Also, Imelda never minds if you whack her in the face with a horse blanket-style pashmina several times over the course of a long conference weekend, which is what happened when we met. I oh-so-gracefully slapped her in the face with my wrap at least ten times.

Go on and read Imelda’s Rules Are For Breaking and Playing By the Rules. You’ll love ’em!

Meanwhile, I’ll answer the Burning Questions (but only because they burn in a good way) Imelda asked.

1. What am I working on?  This is the hardest question ever. Can I say I have three stories going at once? One storyline bashes me in the face more than the others, which I guess means I spend a little more time on it, but only because it’s a bit tricky to try to pull off. I like to think of it as my homage to James Bond. The working title is Cleaning House. It’s about a housekeeper, her boss, her husband, a trust fund, a murder, a pasta company, Jane Eyre, and a toilet brush.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?  I never get too serious. I embrace pop culture. Everyone is a little older than the norm. There’s always a coffee scene.
3. Why do I write what I do?  I write the books I want to read.
4. How does my  writing process work?  Oh, oy. Yes, Oy. I’m what I call a puzzler. I write a bunch of scenes that are nothing but dialogue.  Then I have to figure out where these conversations go. It’s like I have all these pieces of dialogue puzzle and I have to fit them together. I tried plotting a few times and it really slowed me down and screwed up my storytelling. Plotting is not organic for me.

That was totally rad to learn, wasn’t it?

Since this is one of those never ending games of TAG, I’m going to lay my virtual hand on Ms Lily Malone. Lily is a fellow Naughty Ninja. She wears a beanie and likes sports.

Her books are witty and enchanting and her romance His Brand of Beautiful makes me want to drink wine, which is freaky because I don’t drink. Check out beanie-wearing Lily’s website and blog for all about Lily (and a merkin photo!). Lily will be answering these same questions next week.  

Dig this: Lily’s awesomesauce book Fairway to Heaven has the coolest “sand trap” cover ever!