When we first decided to embark on this journey together, neither thought we'd be sitting her two years later with four books on the shelves and six more on the way. And we continue in this vein until we type 'the end.' When we finish a chapter we post it on our online critique group and see what edits, revisions, suggestions these ladies offer. And the way that works for us is one will write the words then send the pages to the other, who then edits those pages and then starts writing where the first one left off. We have a goal of 1500 words or so a day. Instead, we converse through e-mail and Skype on a regular basis. If we tried, we'd never finish any projects. And hopefully, when we're done, we have a well-rounded story that readers will fall in love with.īecause we rarely see each other, we don't write in the same room. Tammy tends to write a little spicier and Jodie focuses on the historical aspects. Tammy is very plot driven and Jodie is very character driven. We balance each others strength's and weaknesses - or at least we hope we do. We both joined the chapter within a few weeks of each other and, introverts that we are, we tended to sit quietly in the back.Įventually we became friends and then writing partners.īut two more different people you aren't likely to find, which in our case is actually a benefit. So, the newer members generally have a way of finding each other. And when you first join a chapter that has impressive NYT Bestselling authors, it can be a little intimidating, no matter how nice they really are. Our local chapter currently has 140 members, but there's usually 50 or so at any given meeting. And we DO see each other at various publicity events, but if we hadn't met through HCRW, Lydia Dare would have never been born. Well, we Do see each other at our local RWA chapter - Heart of Carolina Romance Writers. We live more than an hour away from each other, and even though we write together, we never see each other. The reason we so adamantly spout this advice is that following this path not only led to publication for us, but it also led us to each other.

Find a group or organization where you can meet other writers, preferably with members who share your interests. The best advice we give is to surround yourself with other creative people. Incredibly, we give the same answer - and if you knew how differently we think in real life, you would appreciate this rarity even more. (See Details at the end of the post!)Īt least once a week we get asked, together or separately - what advice we would offer aspiring writers. Sourcebooks has generously offered one set of four books by Lydia Dare for giveaway: A Certain Wolfish Charm Tall, Dark and Wolfish The Wolf Next Door and The Taming of the Wolf. Please join me in welcoming the writing team of Lydia Dare to Debbie's Book Bag today! I'm really excited to have them here with us, because I am such a big fan on their writing.

Tall, Dark and Wolfish by Lydia Dare