It's a rainy day here in Minneapolis, so I thought I'd sit down and answer some of the
questions you've been asking, and corral them into a blog of such.
First, for those of you reading Heir Apparent, thank you so much for your support! It means
a great deal to me, and I want you to know how appreciated it is!
I've been having a wonderful time reading and listening to some of the feedback you've
given me -- especially in regards to the beginning of chapter two! Brighton Jones...
Q. Did you base the character Brighton
Jones on anyone in particular?
A. Brighton Jones is an exaggerated amalgam of all the bad characteristics of all the men
I've dated in my lifetime (excluding John, my WONDERFUL husband!).
I suppose Brighton is a glaring commentary on my choice of dates in the past, but really,
they weren't all that bad. Writing Brighton was very cathartic; I believe it helped me to
recycle a lot of the garbage I went through in my twenties.
Q. How did you come up with the story?
A. The story developed from various files stored in my brain. First, I knew I wanted to write
something about the sixteenth-century, about Henry VIII; and second, the name "Brighton
Jones" kept popping into my head at all hours of the day -- even while I was sleeping.
As I usually do when I'm bothered by a potential character, I wrote Brighton's name in
my notebook and set it aside. About a month later, the scene that takes place at the
beginning of chapter two kept popping into my mind's eye (nice, eh?). Anyways, I knew
this was Brighton, and I knew he needed to escape from my brain as fast as possible. So,
I sat down and started writing. I knew I couldn't use the rotten scoundrel, Brighton, as my
main character -- oh no, he definitely made it clear that he wanted to be the antagonist,
so at first, I just started writing his story. Eventually, the other characters presented
themselves to me.
Q. How do you actually write something like "Heir Apparent?"
A. I'm not conventional in the way I write. Most novelists sit down and outline each chapter,
each plot point, and each conflict. Many use note cards and tack up a story board on the
wall in front of their desks.
I don't.
I can't write like that; it seems too confining, it 'pressures' my imagination, and I can't get
into "the zone."
Nope, I just sit down at my computer, read the paragraph where I left off the day before,
and then dive in. When I'm in "the zone", as I call it, three or four hours will pass, and
suddenly the phone will ring, or the dogs will bark, and I'm snapped back to the real world.
Truly, I really have no awareness of what is going on around me, and I'll have actually
been 'in' the scene or chapter I've just written. Sometimes, if I'm writing an intense scene,
it's pretty damn scary when the phone does ring or the dogs do bark! It's like being
jolted awake from a deep sleep by someone in a panic.
Q. Are you writing a sequel to "Heir Apparent?"
A. Not at the moment. I have some ideas rolling around in my brain, but that's all they are --
ideas. I've not even written them down in my notebook yet.
Actually, what I'm currently working on is a novel called "My Lady Knight". It takes place in
the early years of the "Wars of the Roses". I'm only about 50 pages in, but now that
winter is coming, I'll be hard at it every night. I just hope it doesn't take nearly five years
to write, like "Heir Apparent" did!
I see this new novel turning into a trilogy. There's a lot of fodder there, and I have a clear
view
of the main character 20 years in her future; at present, she's only sixteen years old. But
I'm getting ahead of myself... One book at a time!
Q. What the heck is the Richard III Society?
A. The Richard III Society is a society whose members are, "Dedicated to a reassessment of
Richard III's life and reign and the study of fifteenth-century English history and culture."
What does that mean, you ask?
Click on the 'Richard III Society' link on my homepage, and see for yourself!
Hi Everyone!
Okay, so I'm not good at keeping up with the whole "blog" concept.
I'm still plugging away on the sequel to Heir Apparent. It's called Most Beloved Queen,
however, the writing is going mighty slow as the characters are steering the plot in their own
directions and I'm scrambling to keep all their loose ends tied up nicely in the plot. I know
that probably sounds a bit odd, but that's the way of it when you're writing a book. I'm
beginning to realize this is the reason it took me five years to write 'Heir'.
Soon -- I will have a synopsis posted soon. I promise!
Sheri
