About Belinda G. Buchanan:
I am an author of edgy, women’s fiction & mystery novels. My books include: After All Is Said And Done: A Novel of Infidelity, Healing, & Forgiveness, The Monster of Silver Creek, Seasons of Darkness, Tragedy at Silver Creek, and Winter's Malice.
My books are filled with emotion, drama, and angst. I create stories that deal with very personal and social issues: Alcoholism, mental illness, adultery, and domestic abuse as well as some other taboo subjects. My women are not weak, and my men are not always strong. You will find that my characters are not perfect – they are far from it, actually, because even heroes have a chink or two in their armor. It’s what makes them human, and I find that fascinating.
On a personal note, I'm a wife to my soulmate of 32 years, mother to 2 boys (1 who loves me unconditionally, & 1 who loves me only when we’re not in public), professional hamster wrangler, and firm believer that Krazy Glue fixes everything. 🙂
What inspires you to write?
Anything that has to do with drama. Why, you ask? Because drama is raw, drama is pure, and drama evokes emotion like no other can. And when you combine it with tall, dark, and handsome it’s positively electrifying!
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
I like Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts, but I find new authors to love almost every single week!
Tell us about your writing process.
As I begin each novel, I make an outline of the major incidents that are going to occur. This is rather easy for me, because I’ve already daydreamed my characters doing these very things. Watching my book unfold in my mind allows me the ability to make bold decisions where they are concerned. By doing this, I see the hurt in their faces, the subtle movements of their hands, and hear the inflections in their tone of voice. It’s like making a movie and then putting it down on paper, scene by scene.
The hard part for me is writing the scene the way I see and hear it using only words. There have been times I’ve stayed up until two in the morning feverishly pounding away on my keyboard and have fallen into bed with a sense of pride regarding the chapter I just wrote. In the harsh light of day however, I re-read it and think it sucks. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to critiquing what I’ve written, so much so, that at times, I think it hinders me from moving on. If there is a scene that just isn’t working, I’ll ponder it every waking moment I get until I like it. In the past there have been instances where I will wake up in the middle of the night and immediately start thinking about the scene or paragraph I’m stuck on.
Once I am satisfied with my draft, I will edit it chapter by chapter, reading the last chapter first, and then the first chapter, and go back and forth until the pages meet in the middle. Then, when I am happy with every breath the characters draw, every movement they make, and every word they speak, I put my name on it.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Mostly, I listen to them, and over the course of the story they dictate what they will and will not do. I don’t talk to them, but I talk about them ALL-THE-TIME to my husband. I go on and on about them as if they were a part of our extended family.
What advice would you give other writers?
1. Never give up. If you like writing, keep doing it.
2. Join author support groups and learn all you can about the craft of self-publishing, marketing, promoting, and of course writing.
3. Write for yourself and not what you think others want you to write.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I wrote my first book years ago and then life happened. I got married, had kids, and stuck the manuscript in a drawer and forgot about it. Then one day my husband came home from a trip with an article he’d clipped from USA Today about Amanda Hocking who had self-published on Amazon. After I read the article, I pulled out my manuscript and decided to go for it.
Four years later, I can honestly say that I’m glad I went the indie route. Why? Because going rogue allows you the freedom to publish on your own terms, and your own time. Your royalties are yours (you don’t have to give a cut to the middleman), and the rewards are instantaneous. It’s a wonderful feeling to be a published author.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think in the next few years the indie revolution will evolve and the stigma of it will fall away. Right now, more and more readers are discovering that an author doesn’t necessarily have to have a big time publisher to write a great story.
What genres do you write?: Mystery, Suspense, Women's Fiction
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Belinda G. Buchanan Home Page Link
Link To Belinda G. Buchanan Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on All Author
Your Social Media Links
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
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