Readers can learn more about Nancy through her Web site: www.nancymehl.com. She is part of The Suspense Sisters: www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com, along with several other popular suspense authors. She is also very active on Facebook.
Shane Layle writes inspirational contemporary romance and cozy mystery. Her work often features small towns with a vintage feel and love interests who have history with one another. She enjoys focusing on the restoration for emotional brokenness that only the true Redeemer can bring.
Writing has always been a constant in her life, from childhood puppet show scripts to college chapbooks and novellas. Aside from writing novels, she also currently dabbles in the world of the word with weekly blogging and monthly podcasting. Libraries are near and dear to her heart, as she worked for nearly ten years as Youth Librarian for a regional, rural library system. She's married to the love of her life and is a blessed mama to two adorable little boys. You can learn more about her by visiting her website.
The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Co-Authoring
Recently,
it was my privilege to co-write a book with my wonderful, beautiful
daughter-in-law, Shaen. I’d never co-authored a book before. Would it work or
would it be a disaster? I have an incredible agent, but he’s very cautious. He
warned of possible problems, and I listened. But sometimes you just know when
something’s going to work. And in my heart, I knew this would.
And
it did.
Were
there differences between us? Yes. Shaen is a plotter and I’m more of a pantser.
A pantser is a writer who goes “by the seat of their pants.” I do plot toward
the end of a book, but at the beginning, and well into the middle, I like to
let my characters go in a different direction if I think it will help the
story. So, Shaen and I sat down and plotted. And then, as we were writing, I “pantsed.”
As we took turn writing chapters. Shaen stuck to our plot, and then I’d send
her a chapter that had nothing to do with it! I’d had a great idea! LOL!
Through
it all, Shaen was a champion. We never got upset with each other. She went with
my “pantser” ideas and I worked harder to stick to the plot…sometimes. We loved
writing together, and we were surprised to find that at times, we couldn’t
remember who wrote which chapter. The writing sounded the same!
Anyway,
I hope readers will enjoy our first book together, WAVES OF DOUBT. Leave a
comment about this post, along with your contact information, and on Friday, I’ll
pick someone who will win a copy of our book!
Nancy
WAVES
OF DOUBT
As pressure builds to find Virginia and the missing priceless artifacts, she begins to doubt her own instincts—especially when she spies Gerald having mysterious dinner meetings with a lovely blonde-haired woman.