I’m currently working on the
sequel for Second Chances. In the novel, Regina and Alex are on a journey
that’s a very emotionally driven quest for both of them. The choices they’re
faced with and the decisions they make will have life changing implications for
both them.
The bulk of the story takes place
outside the United States so I spent time reading and researching the Dominican
Republic’s sugarcane plantation industry, its history and present day work
environment. The internet is an amazing wealth of information, videos,
photographs and first hand accounts that just twenty-five years ago wouldn’t
have been available the way they are today.
I’m a very visual writer. If I let
my mind be quiet and give myself the chance, I can see the characters and what they
are doing. Sometimes it’s a snippet of conversation that comes to me that gets
me started on the next scene. That’s when I tend to write my best scenes. Music
is another important motivator that helps me tap into the right emotion and get
it all out onto the paper. There are usually a handful of songs that I find and
somehow in their own way they fit the mood of the story. “Angels on the Moon”,
“Tennessee Line”, “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” and “Amazing Grace” were on
the top of the list for a good part of the time I’ve been writing this story.
