This week I was able to participate in the Writing Process Blog Tour. I’d like to thank my fellow Winslet Press author Heidi for asking me to join along in the fun. In this post I’ll tell you a little about her. I’ll also answer some questions about my own writing process. Then I’ll introduce you to three other author friends who will take the torch from me and carry on this tour. Let’s go!
Heidi McCahan
A Pacific Northwest girl at heart, Heidi was blessed to spend her formative years in Alaska. Her unique upbringing, coupled with Alaska’s breathtaking scenery, fueled her active imagination and loosely inspired her debut novel, Unraveled.
Heidi graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington and a Master’s Degree in Athletic Training from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After a brief career as a Certified Athletic Trainer, Heidi married her husband, Steve. They live in North Carolina with their three active little boys.
When Heidi isn’t stepping on Legos, chauffeuring the boys around suburbia or watching one of their many sporting events, she loves to read and write heartwarming romance.
My writing process:
1. What am I working on?
I’m currently putting together a collection of personal stories/essays on parenting. It’s my passion and one of my favorite things to write about. I am prone to blog on things relating to my children, such as the love I feel, the frustrations I experience, and even the feelings of inadequacy at times. The book I’m working on will be a conglomeration of these experiences.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
That’s really a tough question for me to answer. My writing is so multi-faceted and spans across several different topics. Most of my writing is non-fiction. It’s often raw, and always truthful. I like to expose the most vulnerable in myself to show others that I’m human and very flawed, but God loves me anyway.
3. Why do I write what I do?
My writing serves so many purposes. For one it’s an outlet for me. It’s a way I can express my feelings, but it’s also a way in which God speaks to me. When I write about a topic or issue with which I’m struggling, God somehow reaches through the words and speaks to me. As the words pour out of me I am enlightened personally by what He wants to speak to my life. If somehow what He shares with me helps someone else as they read my thoughts, then I’m doubly blessed.
4. How does my writing process work?
I always pray before I begin. Even when my mind feels blank, like I have nothing to say, I will pray. I pray for God to reveal to me what He would have me share. I typically get an idea right after that. Although, a majority of the time my ideas don’t really get flowing until I get started. Some of my best writing seems to come out when I have no idea what I’m going to write. It just somehow comes. I take a leap of faith so to speak.
My Christian Memoir “The Journey” releases this August from Winslet Press. You can read more about it here.
The next tour rolls out May 26th with these three fellow authors.
Abby Vanderford is a twenty-something living in a small Mississippi town with her husband and four cuddly, chubby cats. She is a 2011 graduate of Mississippi University for Women, and is expecting her first child in September 2014. Reading and writing fiction have always been her two passions in life. Abby is thrilled to be publishing her debut novel this year. Her other hobbies include writing for her personal blog, playing video games with her husband, and meeting readers and other authors.
Website: abbyvanderford.weebly.com
Alfred Cedeno believes human beings are made of three parts: saint, sinner, and robot. He explores all three in his fiction.
When he isn’t writing fiction, he teaches literature and writing, watches Doctor Who with his wife, and plays the types of imaginary games that a father of toddler girls plays—that is to say he is often the king of a castle.
He blogs about technology, education, and theology, but he primarily writes stories about larger-than-life poet Rey Pescador, and his equally famous friends, The Genius Brigade. He began blogging about these characters in 2006. His upcoming novel chronicles Rey Pescador’s search for meaning and adventure in a metal world that has forgotten both.
Website: alfredcedeno.com
Christina Yother is a historical and contemporary romance writer. She has been involved with writing, blogging, and social media for several years and earned a PhD in 2012 by writing one of the first dissertations to explore how women build community through writing online. She lives in small-town Georgia with her husband and three children.You can find her writing at christinayother.com or at projectunderblog.com where she runs a submission-based collaborative writing blog that celebrates the smaller voices in the blogging community. You can also find her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ccyother) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ccyother).
Hope you enjoyed meeting the new faces and hearing about my writing process. Come back anytime!