Deborah's Journal

Over on my blog, Lois Gresh talks about writing, genre, and how she finds the heart of a story.

I usually have a pre-planned idea of how the story will end, but does it end that way? Very rarely. Typically, the characters take on lives of their own and twist my endings for me. I don’t get writer’s block (knock on wood, etc.) I always have too many stories floating in my mind that I want to tell for the amount of time I’m able to write. As for where I write, anything will distract me. So I write in a secluded environment, and I even blast a white noise machine to drown out household noises.

The most important elements of good writing are the triad of character, plot, and theme. You need characters with real emotions and needs. Your characters require conflicts to overcome. One or more themes -- such as “be good to other people” or “it’s not cool to lie to somebody who loves you” or “love can overcome anything” or “love is more important than where you live or what you have” -- provides your story with emotional impact.

Her most recent release is a wonderful play on the tropes of Twilight (hence the cover). Instead of a passive, bland heroine, she gives us a reincarnated voodoo queen (who in this life just graduated from college with a math major), an animate gargoyle companion, Venus de Milo with her arms intact, and a bunch of other deliciously wacky twists. Plus some juicy 18+ scenes.