Pam Crooks
If you’re reading this, then it’s because you love Harlequin Historical romances, right? Or maybe you’re here because you’re curious about us, the authors at HH.
Well, as long as you’re reading, I’m Pam Crooks. I write westerns for Harlequin, and my seventh book, WANTED! was just released this month.
Ironically, many years ago, I entered the very first book I ever wrote in a contest. One of my judges was intrigued with Lark as a secondary character. She noted that she would’ve made a great heroine, and for some reason, that kind comment stuck with me. I always knew I’d write Lark’s story, and WANTED! is the result.
I think of all the books I’ve written, I’ve never had a heroine as conflicted as this one. She’s the only one who knows the location of the stolen money she helped bury when she rode with an infamous outlaw gang. Her case is the only one the hero never solved. He has some personal stakes in the money. So does Catfish Jack, a desperate outlaw from her past. To reveal the money’s location would expose her guilt, ruin her new, law-abiding life and throw her back into jail. If she doesn’t reveal the location, Catfish will kill her. What a quandary to be in, eh?
As for the woman behind the author, well, they don’t come any more ordinary than me. I’m a wife of thirty-one years, mother to four beautiful daughters, and grandmother to the sweetest angel in the world. In the last five years or so, I’ve become increasingly aware that I’m getting older, which I deplore, so I’ve been making a concentrated effort to take care of myself. I try to eat better and exercise more. I’ve done some traveling and loved it. Unfortunately, deadlines have kept me away from airports lately, but I have a growing list of places I want to visit. It’ll happen eventually.
Currently, I’m hard at work on book one of three I’ve recently sold. I’ve been re-thinking my writing process, concentrating more on writing that first draft and less on perfectionism.
I’ve found it fascinating how differently we writers write. If you’re a writer, what works best for you?
5 comments:
I haven't the patience for detailed outlines, so I like to write and revise. I do multiple drafts. That's the price I pay for impatiences. *G*
Writing for me is like combing out a head of tangled hair. My first draft is a mess, then I start with the brush and comb, pick up the blow dryer, the mousse, whatever it takes to get the story right. Eventually the strands are where they belong. It's not the greatest method, but it works for me!
As much as I'd love to be a multiple draft writer, that never works for me. I keep smoothing and editing as I go along; by the time I finish the book, it really is pretty much done other than a read-through for continuity and to pick up typos. While this might sound like a good thing on some level, it's actually frustrating--you don't have the darned thing finished in any way or form until the final one. It can (and often does!) seem like it takes forever.
Vicki, I love your tangled hair analogy!
We Sharons write alike. I can do a messy chapter, but then I have to fix it before I can make another mess! I'm also a deadline writer, which isn't fun, but there's something intense (for me) that seems to make the words flow more easily. I truly envy those people who can write a certain number of pages a day.
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