between the sheets: one writer's journey from chapter one to the end

A fresh blank white page. A blinking cursor.

This means I am about to start a new book, my forteenth, and a Romance novel for Harlequin. And as I do I will be blogging about my experience. My process and my progress. My habits bad and good. The days where the words (hopefully) flow like honey from my fingertsips, and the days (hopefully few and far between) where I feel like I am banging my head against a brick wall as the story refuses to be found within the mush that is my brain.

my first steps in starting a new book...

Step One: The idea:

The specifics of which I will not be blogging about - I find if I tell anyone my story, it kind of disspiates. It bleeds out of my head making the excitement and the pressure dissolve until it all feels watered-down. But it's there. Soft, out of focus images running through a scene. Like the memory of a dream.

I can tell you that the initial idea came about after watching Cocoon. You know the 80s movie about the aliens starring the guy from the Police Academy movies? And that my husband, who usually is allowed to contribute no more than the name of a secondary character's pet per book, actually helped me come up with the intial meeting idea! I never thought I'd see the day.

Step Two: Heroine inspiration:

A brunette Rachel McAdams. I love her to bits and I've not yet used her. Easy as pie choice. My heroine Kendall is a spitfire. Stubborn. And hard work. Rachel McAdams is all that and more. I even rented Mean Girls last night to get a fix.

Step Three: Hero:

Once again he is being illusive. J. Hudson Bennington III. Better known as Hud.

I had ideas of using Josh Hartnett but he's too young. Too pretty. Colin Farrell may have the glint in the eye but he feels too short. Is he short? I have no idea, but I think of him in that way so he's a no. James Purefoy? Lovely, but too slim. Liev Schreiber. So smart. And that voice. But perhaps not rough enough. Eric Dane - otherwise known as Grey's Anatomy's McSteamy? Perhaps.

Though I'm leaning a little ways towards Joachin Phoenix. I know so little about him and he has the requisite sadness and strength I'm looking for. And the love that shines off the screen in Quills. Phew! Or maybe I should just give in and use Christian Bale as my inspiration for every book. It would save me a heck of a lot of angst!

Step Four: Working Title

Kissing a Fool - a beautiful George Michael song. Check it out on Amazon. Click here, scroll down and you can listen! I love the imagery that comes from those words. Which is the fool? Him or her? Or both.

Step Five: Begin at the beginning.

Through the book I may jump around, or I may write in sequence. But I always start at chapter one. The initial meeting is the first thing that always comes to me.

So now, after having done a half hour of yoga (as per my new year exercise kick), having drunk half a cup of coffee from my favourite inspirational mug (as per my new year realisation that if I add "stop eating and rinking the things you love" to my kick it will NEVER last), I now sit here, fingers hovering over the keyboard, with the filaments of an idea wafting through my mind. And not much else.

This book is due mid-March and has a current word total of nil. Wish me luck!!!