Getting to Know Us (and Our Writing)

Welcome to the Virtual Blog Tour

I was asked by my friend Janet Rice Carnahan to participate in a virtual blog tour. The goal of this tour is for each participant to answer four questions that help the blogger to share insight into his or her creative process.

Janet has a way of capturing nature’s beauty through her photography and poetry. I always have a feeling of peacefulness when I visit her work. You may read Janet’s blog tour post at Hear Earth Heart. 

Janet Rice Carnahan was born into a fifth-generation family on the California coast.  She is inspired by the ocean and the ever changing tides of a big family, including a husband, two adult children, a son-in-law and one precious grandson; her love of water is her constant muse! Janet’s journeys have taken her to Lake Tahoe in Northern California; Lake Mead in Southern Nevada; Laguna Beach, California; Hawaii on the island of Kauai; and currently to La Jolla in Southern California. After a twenty-year career in early childhood education, earning a Master’s Degree in Human Development and Family Studies, Janet continued developing interests in spirituality and metaphysics.  Photography and writing—in particular poetry—are her favorite mediums for expressing and exploring her various interests.  Her poetry has been published on several online poetry sites and in three anthologies with a cover photo and caption credit. Janet has self-published four poetry books that are highlighted on her web site, Hear Earth Heart, which includes her blog, Captured Moments.

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My Part of the Tour: On My Writing Process

1. What am I currently working on?

I recently finished a year of schooling to earn my copyediting certification through University of California, San Diego. My big plan has been to work as a copyeditor while pursuing my writing career. My mystery Do Not Disturb moved onto the second round in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Since it did not move onto the third round, I had a developmental editor review it and I will use her notes to go through another pass of edits.

In the meantime, I have also written my way through three-fourths of a Young-Adult novel that is the first in a series of three books. I have an additional novel (a fantasy) finished and ready for edits, but that one is on hold while I work on the first two projects I mentioned.

Lastly, but not least important, I am organizing my poetry with the goal of, by the end of the year, submitting a chapbook for publication.

The job that eats up most of my time—but a job I adore—is raising my twelve- and fourteen-year-old kids.  

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Many of my characters view the world in a spiritual (but not religious) sense. They see beyond everyday living to relate their experiences to the meaning of their own lives in the big picture and beyond, in an unworldly sense. Symbols are a large part of who I am and they usually come out in my writing. Sometimes—in my poetry—I write in a sort of code. I don't know how different that makes my work, but it comes from my heart.

3. Why do I write/create what I do? 

I have always been fascinated by metaphysics and—as I mentioned in my previous answer—writing in code (maybe that's part of the reason I enjoy hand-coding websites so much). I am sure my experiences with death at a young age had a lot to do with my interest in metaphysics. It’s something I have always dabbled in and now I hope to take those interests to another level.

4. How does your writing/creating process work?

My writing changes, so I can’t really say I work one certain way. As far as novel writing, I used to be a pantser and have been training myself to work from an outline. I tend to work intuitively—without thinking too much about what’s coming out (I do edit it later though!). I designate hours to write and I make myself follow through even if I’m not in the mood. Some days when I am too much in my head, I Zentangle or paint or meditate to get into a different mindset. I do tend to get a bit cranky if something prevents me from writing though, even if what I'm turning out is less than satisfying. 

And with that, I pass the virtual torch onto the next three participants! (Their blog tour posts will be up on July 7.)

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Carol Early Cooney is a late bloomer. She finally allowed herself to write consistently in 2011. She has spent the time since then trying to learn too many things in too short a period of time. She works as both a professional blogger (she is the Foot Blogger Chick!) and a property manager. She also writes The 9 Inch Plate, a blog about adjusting to her husband's diabetes,and Carol Early Cooney, a blog with book reviews and book news.  She tries (unsuccessfully) to stay off social media and write stories. As a founding member of Wordsmith Studio, she served on the first steering committee and still is an active member. Visit Carol's blog at Carol Early Cooney. 

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Renee Choi spends her time working with elementary school children in the local school cafeteria, and also writing about her children and life experiences.  She is an avid, amateur nature photographer whenever she gets a chance. She also enjoys writing about her rock-n-roll experiences and writing poetry.  She was recently asked to photograph her first wedding and is ecstatic about it! See more of Renee's photography on her blog Crazy Camera Gal.










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C.C. MCQuain is a mom of four sons, two cats, and one puppy. She lives with her husband and their brood in a suburb of Atlanta, GA. During her rare free moments, she writes, paints, sings, and loves unconditionally. C.C. is also the co-author/editor of the spiritual reflections blog at Words of Wisdom. Visit C.C. on her blog Just a Touch of Love.

I hope you will have a chance to visit each of these lovely people's blogs. And thank you for stopping by the Whatnot Shop!


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