#RomFicFeb26 Part Two

I’m blogging this week my amalgamated part two of the #RomFicFeb26 prompts that a lot of brave writers are posting daily!

Day 17 – Where Do You Write?

I’m lucky to have my own study, but having said that, I can write anywhere. I love writing in cafés, trains and waiting for appointments. I also have a lap tray, so that I can use my computer anywhere in the house.

Day 18 – How Do You Write? Computer? Phone? Pen and Paper?

I write on my laptop, in numerous notebooks and if I’m inspired in the middle of the night, I sometimes use my phone. I am a serial notebook collector, so have many beautiful notebooks already being used, or waiting patiently for their time to shine!

Day 19 – Are You Inspired By A Song or Playlist?

When I am settling into a story, I will very often make a playlist on Spotify to enable me to recapture the mood of a book whenever I settle down to write. Although in truth, if a song is important to my story, I’m usually singing it in my head, or in the shower!

Day 20 – When Do You Write?

All of the time, even if it’s only mulling over a story. I don’t have a set routine.

Day 21 – Do You Plot Out Your Books?

I rarely plot in detail, but I will have a general idea where my story is heading. What I really love is the magical feeling when the characters take over and tell me the story – I just wish they wouldn’t quite so often do that when I’m in the shower!

Day 22 – What Are Your Support Systems As A Writer?

I have met so many lovely people since I started writing seriously in 2008! I joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers Scheme in 2012 and that led to lots of fun with conferences and local group (chapter) meetings.

One of my first writing friends was Janice Preston and we still go to Birmingham Chapter meetings together 14 years later!

My local coffee writer’s group now meet weekly online as some of them have moved to other parts of the country since we started meeting. There are really too many writing friends to mention as I might forget someone, but one of my favourite groups is the RNA Cariad chapter.

Day 23/24 – What Is Your Main Character’s Greatest Strength? / What Is Your Main Character’s Greatest Fear?

Talking in general terms, my heroines tend to be down to earth people with strengths and fears that I hope my readers can understand. I try to write so that my readers can imagine themselves in my characters’ shoes and relate to their situations.

Day 25 – Which Film /TV Series Is Most Like Your Book?

That is a very interesting question and a difficult one to answer. Possibly The Holiday or Love Actually, although that feels arrogant as they are two of my favourite films.

Day 26 – What Romance Book Is On Your TBR Pile?

I read quite a lot of advance, before publication books and at the moment I am reading a Heidi Swain (Walking On Sunshine) and have a Rachel Hore (The Sisters of Hope Square) up next.

Day 27 – Best Advice For New Writers?

Write lots, experiment with different forms and ways of writing, enter writing competitions, join writing groups and find your style of writing and your tribe.

Day 28 – What Is Your Next Book About?

The book I’m currently writing is about a woman who goes to work as housekeeper for a motorbike accident injured, very grumpy, because of what has happened to him, guy. It’s a book about finding yourself again after life throws curved balls and that applies to both the hero and heroine. The working title is The Art of our Lives, which may give a clue that art and art therapy play a role in the story!

So, that’s the rest of my #RomFicFeb26 responses – some in arrears and some in advance. I hope that readers of my blog have enjoyed these insights. Look out for the posts of the many others who are bravely doing this daily by searching for the hashtag.

This is the blog for Morton S. Gray, a writer of romance with a mystery to solve The Secrets of Borteen Bay Series set in the fictional seaside town of Borteen for Choc Lit Publishing an imprint of Joffe Books.

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A New Arrival In Borteen Bay, the seventh book in The Secrets of Borteen Bay Series is available as an EBook and in paperback. Links here.

Summer at Lucerne Lodge, the sixth book in The Secrets of Borteen Bay Series. This is available as an EBook, on Kindle Unlimited, Audio and Paperback. Links here.

Christmas at the Little Beach Cafe the fifth book in The Secrets of Borteen Bay Series is available as an EBook, on Kindle Unlimited, Audio and Paperback. Links here.

Sunny Days at the Beach the fourth book in The Secrets of Borteen Bay Series is available as an EBook, on Kindle Unlimited, Audio and Paperback. Links here.

Christmas at Borteen Bay the third book in The Secrets of Borteen Bay Series is available as an EBook, on Kindle Unlimited and Audio. Links here.

The Truth Lies Buried the second book in The Secrets of Borteen Bay Series is available as an EBook, on Kindle Unlimited, Audio and Paperback. Links here.

The Girl on the Beach is the first book in The Secrets of Borteen Bay Series is available as an EBook, on Kindle Unlimited and Paperback. Links here.