And Then You . . . DARE!

Last week I was determined to get as much done as possible, so this week I could spend my time writing. Late in the week, Doug and I decided to try to work a ski trip in, which would've cut into my writing time significantly. I can't say that I'm happy Doug had a tooth abscess, but since he did, we didn't go skiing, and I've been able to write. 

At first I thought I'd work on the third book in the Linger series. The characters have been on mind so much. But after more consideration, I decided it would be more prudent to write the fifth book in the Crested Butte Cowboy series. After all, that series outsells the other about a hundred to one.

I've planned the CBC series out to another four books, at least. There may be more. I also knew which book was next. 

One of my beta readers told me she'd love to know Billy Patterson's parents' backstory. She said it to me over dinner one night. The wheels immediately began to turn. What fun to write Bill and Dottie's story, I thought. I also wanted to write the story of young, up-and-coming bull rider. The two ideas fit nicely together, and DARE was born.

Like the others, this book is practically writing itself. The ideas come faster than I can type them. I started writing late yesterday afternoon, and by the time I called it a night, I had written over three thousand words. That number of words is the equivalent of ten or eleven pages. Which, I can tell you, is A LOT for a writer to get out in one sitting. I've been at it a little over two hours today, and have added another thousand words. Like I said, I simply can't type as fast as the ideas are coming to me. 

Already I love this book, the idea of it, and the writing style I'm applying to it. I can see and hear the characters so clearly. As I get further into it, we'll see some of our old friends again (characters from the first four books), but to this point, it's mostly new character introduction. Bill Patterson is one. He's an old character, but the way we're meeting him, makes him seem like a new one.

I love this. I know I've said it countless times, but I do. I love the process. I love when a story begins to take shape, and the scenes come to me as though I'm being given a gift. As a writer, I cannot imagine a better feeling. Not even selling a book, or selling a thousand books, feels as good to me as writing one does.