September 10, 2012

Anatomy of an eBook:  Something Real

It sounded so simple...Answer reader's requests to know more about a strained romantic relationship that was in the background of my book The Heat of Heat, and since the female half of this duo, Olivia (Liv) Oliveira had been introduced in my book Save The Best For Last , why not have her share a story with the heroine's other friend from that book, Francesca (Cesca) Perry?  I'd already set the stage by having Cesca harbor an intense dislike for policemen...and I'd included a scene where the heroine, Gen, encounters a policeman who is initially suspicious of her marriage when she is unable to give him a contact number for her husband other than, "Four pound" on her cell phone speed dial.  He quickly reverses his opinion when he witnesses Gen's husband Dexter rush to her hospital bed and interact with her tenderly, unaware that his first suspicions were correct...it was a sham marriage, but the two of them were actually falling in love.

I decided to put Cesca and that suspicious policeman, Terrence, in what would be a complete romance, with the requisite happy ending, but that the relationship between Liv and her love Brian had the potential for more angst, so their tortured relationship would not be resolved this time around (Let me say that again, will not be resolved).  Because this book would be divided into Book I and Book II, with the first beginning the spring after Save The Best For Last ended, with a jump forward for Book II to after the end of The Heat of Heat, I would have an opportunity to let readers witness the start of Liv's love affair with Brian and see what drove them apart.  Then I threw a wrench into the story that really twisted it up, because there's nothing like giving the readers a good surprise that they (if I'm lucky) won't see coming.

Yes, it sounded simple.  Yet, this book is turning out to be Extremely, with a capital E, difficult to write.  I'm not sure why.  Like all my books, I had this story outlined before I started to write.  But as I do a read-through I'm finding that I need additional scenes here and there, need to move this scene up and push that scene back...in other words, this thing is driving me nuts.  The only thing that is keeping me going is that I absolutely loooooove the way it's turning out!

Which brings me to the point of my post (yes, I know, it's about time).  Why are some books so hard to write while with others I can't get the words out fast enough?  My last two eBooks, Isn't She Lovely? and A Kiss of a Different Color, were both easy to write.  Sure, I added scenes here and there when transitions seemed too harsh, and characters needed more development so readers could really feel they knew them.  But they were quick writes, with the former following the latter to publication by just five months.

It has now been over six months since Isn't She Lovely? was put on sale, and I'm still working on Something Real.  My goal is to have it turned over to the editor by the end of this month and to publish by the end of October.  But I'm not sure why some stories are soooo difficult while others are so easy.  If anyone has any ideas, please share!

And wish me luck!