This Week's Guest Blogger - Laci Paige

I would like to extend a warm welcome to this week's guest blogger on our Tasha Turner Coaching - Virtual Blog Tour, the charming young author, Laci Paige. Welcome Laci!

Pretty Much A Pantser

Doug thank you for having me as a guest on your blog page this week! I am glad to be here with today’s question; Plotter Or Pantser?

I am what you’d call a pantser when it comes to writing. Sometimes I will type up a quick five minute one page info dump before I begin a manuscript. Which is weird. For my young adult books I don’t do anything of the sort, but for some reason with the adult stories I need a little more guidance in my head.

It’s not like I need a written full blown outline or diagrams and charts (like a plotter might utilize). I don’t even use those sticky notes. Just a one page document I type up on my Word program keeps my head straight. And oddly enough, after I type it up I may never look at it again.

I read how some authors for the big publishers use outlines, and one day thought maybe if I used outlines I could become a better writer. Not so.

I find that if I write an outline I try to follow it too much and that distracts from the free flow of my creativity. Basically it holds me back and hinders my thought process. So I choose not to be a serious plotter because writing by the seat of my pants is what works best for me.

What works best for you when you write a blog, a school paper, or a novel? Do you plan it out, or wing it like a pantser?

Laci Paige is the author of Let’s Keep On Truckin’ by Decadent Publishing. Laci lives with her husband, children and a cat in the state of Virginia. When she isn’t writing or reading she enjoys photography. 

Blurb from “Let’s Keep On Truckin’” (By Laci Paige and Decadent Publishing, heat level 4).

Lily loves traveling on her job since no one can do it better than her. Being out on the open road gives her plenty of time to reflect and avoid unwanted attention, but somehow it always finds her....

When she comes across Ryder, first at a grocery store, then at a rest stop, sexual desire sparks and she knew she had to have him. If only her ex hadn't shown up, igniting a fantasy she never thought possible.

Seeing Alex in a whole new light, Lily realizes second chances are in order, but will she have to choose between the two men? Or could she be happy with both?

Available for purchase from: http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Keep-on-Truckin-ebook/dp/B00816ZX9S/ & http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=540&osCsid=1okloom7mnbvupdk81i3741s21

http://lacipaige.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/#!/laci_paige

https://www.facebook.com/lacipaige

https://www.facebook.com/authorlacipaige

Thank you for joining us today, Laci. It has been a pleasure visiting with you!

Writing Secrets Escape!

Oh Oh! Allison Bruning let my writing secrets out of the bag. Check it out at http://allisonbruning.blogspot.ca/2012/07/ttvbt-unorthodox-writer.html#.UBVOHGEfTj5

Edgar Cayce's Earliest Psychic Readings visit Laci's Place

How did Edgar Cayce, America's legendary mystic, discover the remarkable abilities that he was apparently blessed with? Find out athttp://lacipaige.blogspot.com/2012/07/edgar-cayces-earliest-psychic-readings.html?zx=effd285029c327d6

Author Bruce Blake Talks About His Passion

My guest blogger today as part of our Tasha Turner Coaching - virtual blog tour, is Canadian author Bruce Blake who writes about something dear to the heart of all authors - our passion for writing. Welcome Bruce!

On Writing and Passion

by Bruce Blake

What makes a writer want to write? Why do we sit down at our blank screens to stare at a blinking cursor and torture ourselves into conjuring up words when we don't want to?  I've asked myself these and similar questions many times, often at 5am as I drag my sorry ass out of bed to get some writing time in before I head to work for the day. What makes a reasonably sane man get up at such an insane hour of the day? At one point in my life, I would have told you there was only one 5 o'clock in a day. Sometimes, I still wish that was the case. But something drives me to set that alarm for an hour before the worms who are trying to avoid the early bird get up.

Is it money? A quest for fame and recognition? A desire to see my name on a poster at the front of my local bookstore and a pile of my books on a table inside? Do I want to hit the road for a book signing tour and have to fend off hordes of rabid book groupies? Is there such a thing as book groupies?

Truth be told, the answer to all of the above is yes. I would happily accept money, fame, recognition, a rock star style tour, and women throwing themselves at me. Who wouldn't? But none of them are actually what get me out of bed. If there was no chance of earning a dime, or being famous, or having to run from a mob of crazed babes like I was starring in a Beatles movie, I'd still write.

Why? In one word: passion. It's not a great explanation but, plain and simple, I don't write because I want to, I write because I have to. If more than a couple of days goes by without some writing happening, I begin to get antsy in the way my lungs feel distress if I stop breathing for more than a short while. I may not die without writing, but I'm sure not pleasant to be around. So passion is both a blessing and a curse. It drags me out of bed when I don't want to get up, but it lights up my day even when it is still dark.

There are billions of people in the world, many of whom never find their passion, so I consider myself fortunate. My wish is that everyone find theirs and live a more fulfilled life. And maybe then I'd have someone to talk to at 5am.

What is your passion? What do you do or sacrifice to feed it? How do you feel when you're living your passion? How do you feel when you're not?

Biography

Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog sled to the nearest coffee shop to work on his short stories and novels.

Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words like "colour" and "neighbour" then he does shovelling (and darn that extra L). The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy husband of burlesque diva Miss Rosie Bitts.

Bruce has been writing since grade school, but it wasn't until five years ago he set his sights on becoming a full-time writer. Since then, his first short story, "Another Man's Shoes" was published in the Winter 2008 edition of Cemetery Moon, another short, "Yardwork", was made into a podcast in Oct., 2011 by Pseudopod, and his first Icarus Fell novel, "On Unfaithful Wings", was published to Kindle in Dec., 2011. The second Icarus Fell novel, “All Who Wander Are Lost”, was released on July 17, 2012, and the first book in the four-part “Khirro's Journey” epic fantasy is due soon. He has plans for at least three more Icarus novels, several stand-alones, and a possible YA fantasy co-written with his eleven-year-old daughter.

On Unfaithful Wings

I was alive, then I was dead, now I’m stuck somewhere in between.

My name is Icarus Fell. I am a harvester.

The archangel Michael brought me back to collect souls and help them on their way to Heaven--that’s what a harvester does. If I get enough of them before the bad guys do--if I do a good job--I can have my life back. Now people I knew in life are dying, killed by a murderer’s knife, their bodies defiled, and the cops think I’m the killer.

I’m not, but I think I know who is.

But how does a dead man, a man who no longer exists, stop a psycho? I’m not sure, but I’m going to stop him before everyone I know is dead.

I have to stop him before he gets to my son.

Thank you, Bruce, for being my guest today, and sharing your passions with us. Bruce can be reached at the following links.

www.on-unfaithful-wings.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/bruce.blake.585

Twitter: @bruceablake

Kindle: http://amzn.to/GKi7mq

bruceblake@hotmail.ca

Dacque LaRose, Just an Average Nice Guy

Dacque LaRose is the hero in my first three completed novels, and he will certainly retain that honor in future manuscripts. Only the first novel, Soul Awakening, has been published. 


The following article outlining Dacque's story and his rise to hero status was written as a blog post for a blog tour that I am joyfully participating in as part of the tour organized and sponsored by Tasha Turner Coaching.


Dacque LaRose, just an average nice guy. How did he become the hero in a series of inspirational novels? Take a peek at http://lindabolton.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-next-guest-on-blog-tour-is-doug.html?spref=fb

Linda Bolton - Aspiring Contemporary Romance Writer

Today is a beautiful day! Today my guest blogger is Linda Bolton, a beautiful young lady who is diligently working on making her dreams come true. They will come true! Linda receives inspirations from 'unknown sources' just like I do. That is all of the support she will need to become a successful author. Welcome Linda!

Where Do Writers Get Their Ideas

Where did the idea for my book, Perfect, come from? Well, it started as just daydreaming at first. They were about my favorite actor, Gerard Butler. Then, I joined one of his fan sites. ( I know, I know, don’t judge me!!) And the final straw? I watched every interview I could find. I realized I was a bit obsessed and decided I had better find a sane outlet for all this. I began writing.

Obviously, Gerry was my main male lead. I paired him with an everyday, run of the mill, woman he just happen to run into. She just happens to have the qualities he wants and needs in a partner.

The two of them travel to places I have seen or wish I could visit, Scotland being at the top of my wish list.  I took them to the Island of Dominica, Haiti, Vegas, Dallas and, of course, California. Iceland was my other personal favorite.

You might be asking, “How did you plan it out?” For this book I just went with the flow. It just came to me. I didn’t plan a thing. I outline at the end. The voices, or muses, in my head take over and control everything. I am, unfortunately, a terrible date. I will stop mid-sentence, fish out a piece of paper and totally ignore who I’m with to get an idea down before it eludes me. I’m also notorious for waking up in the middle of the night and having to write. I get my best ideas at 3 am.

Am I crazy for writing a book based on an actor? Based on an obsession? Do you have favorite vacations/dream vacations? Send them my way...need ideas for the next book!

Thank you very much, Linda, for dropping in today and sharing your inspirational story with us. All the best wishes to you for the future, make that near future, publication of Perfect.

Publishers, and the rest of us too, can find Linda in the following locations.

Linda Bolton is an aspiring contemporary romance writer.  She is looking for a publisher for her first book, Perfect.  While working on a future projects Linda can be found:

On Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/linda.bowersbolton 

and http://www.facebook.com/lindaboltonauthor

On Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/#!/lindalou42  

Her romance blog at http://www.lindabolton.blogspot.com 

www.beachbodycoach.com/lindalou42

www.shakeology.com/lindalou42

www.getfitwithlindalou.blogspot.com

See The Elephant Fly by the Window?

See the Elephant Fly by the Window? Don't tell me you missed it!! Read this intriguing article at http://networkedblogs.com/zJ37H