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Writing contemporary romance, I don’t spend a lot of time creating a world like you would with fantasy or science fiction, but I do try to bring the environment to life. The three books in the Rules Series take place in and around Boulder, Colorado, and there’s a mix of real and made-up places throughout the stories.
When you first set out to write a novel, it’s scary and exciting and the words flow faster than you can type. But sooner or later, you’ll hit a wall and the gushing flow will become a slow drip that slowly drives you crazy. Or maybe that’s just me.
Nature and water have always inspired me. There’s something about being outside that wakes me up and makes me feel alive. And if I can be near a large body of water, even better. The sound of the waves crashing calms me like nothing else—even in the midst of a raging storm. I was born …
This novel, my ninth, is darker and more emotional than anything else I’ve written and I realized I needed help tapping into that part of my brain. So during a road trip over Thanksgiving when we listened to A LOT of music, I jotted down songs that fit the mood of this book.
My goal for 2019 is to write my best book yet, but to allow myself to breathe. To stop the crazy spiral before it starts so I can enjoy life.
Kelsie Stelting grew up in the middle of nowhere. (Also known as western Kansas.) Her rural upbringing taught her how to get her hands dirty and work hard for what she believes in. Plus, not having neighbors in a 10-mile radius as a child and traveling the world as an adult made her develop a pretty active imagination. Kelsie loves writing honest fiction that readers can vacation in, as well as traveling, volunteering, ice cream, loving on her family, and soaking up just a little too much sun wherever she can find it.
I knew going into NaNoWriMo that I wasn’t going to hit the 50K word mark by November 30. What I didn’t know is how MUCH I’d miss it by.
Sally Henson is the author of the More Than Best Friends series. She grew up in rural Midwest wandering through the woods and creeks. She spent some time south of Houston, Texas and loved every minute. Those experience has been a tremendous influence on her writing, which lends credibility to the voice of her characters. She combines ingredients of reality with a dreamer’s imagination to create sweet and delectable fiction.
Two months ago I shared the Writer vs. Business Manager struggle of not being able to write when that’s all you want to do. Well, I’m still having that struggle, but now I’ve started my next novel!
It’s exciting to finally include snippets from that part of my life in a novel. Everything about the way I describe the town is true—at least it was when I left in 2010.