My writing process (or lack thereof) blog tour

My pal (and author extraordinaire) Jenny Hilborne asked me to join her blog tour.

"It's only four questions, so it's super easy," she said. Actually, she wrote that, but I can picture her saying it in that darling English accent of hers. With only four questions, how could I refuse?

Then I read the questions. Oof. Nevertheless (don't you love that word?) here's my best attempt at answering:

1. What am I working on?
Mostly, I'm working on getting Murder on the Hoof released in May. I just completed what I believe is my last review of it. Now I'm just waiting on a review or two of the ARC to hopefully (if they are positive) boost the release.

In the background, I'm developing the cast of the next Peri mystery. Stay tuned for further developments.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
My mysteries are rather quirky. They are definitely character driven, and the plots are on the unusual side (e.g. a severed hand in a freezer, a group of rich women who are possibly assassins, insurance fraud going back years). Peri, my private investigator, often acts like an amateur sleuth.

For my romantic suspense, I have two strong, good men pursuing a romance with my main character. There is a rule in romance that everyone gets their Happily Ever After. I didn't know that rule until I had already written the story. Without giving anything away, someone in my book does not get to be happy ever after.

I really should start reading some of these rules.

3. Why do I write what I write?
I like mysteries and I like humor, so I try to include them both. I like the puzzle-solving aspect of mysteries, the labyrinth of clues and dead ends, and I like getting into the psyches of the characters, finding their secrets. As far as the humor, well, I can't help myself.

4. How does my writing process work?
After I wrote Freezer Burn, I thought my process was to write an outline and stick to it. Then Hit or Missus came along and I couldn't stick with the outline. Then I wrote The Hot Mess kind of half-and-half outlined and not. Now I realize that the process is different for each book. What stays the same is the amount of journaling I do for the main characters. Just writing a few pages as a character lets me hear their voice, understand how they got to be who they are, and often reveals the plot much more clearly than any outline.

I hope these answers give you some idea of my writing process. Thanks, Jenny, for including me on the tour!