10 More Things About How I Write

Michele in front of Palo Dura Canyon

Okay, as promised, more about how I write.

  1. While I have had critique partners in the past, I don’t currently have them.
  2. My ideas often come from the world around me. A story might inspire me, and then I take the idea and twist it. Over a decade ago, I read a story about a local meteorologist who adopted twin boys. That became the jumping off part for A Texas-Sized Fake Out, which will kick start my Legacy Canyon series coming at the end of January 2026.
  3. I’m not afraid of AI, yet. While I don’t use it to write my books (as I said last week, I type every word from what’s in my head), I do use it to create my story bibles. I pay for a program and I drop my manuscript in once finished. Doing so allows me to maintain series continuity.
  4. I also use AI to help me write my blurbs and marketing materials. Again, I drop in my work and let it work. Then I review and edit as needed.
  5. I find the characters drive the plot. It’s the characters who make the same old tropes become fresh and new.
  6. However, I’m a heavy plotter. I like stories to make sense.
  7. Thus, I love research. I’m constantly online searching, or I’m going in person to a place.
  8. This is why places I’ve been become settings for my stories. My newest series takes place in the Panhandle of Texas, and yes, I’ve been there. It was a 105 degrees dry heat and God’s blow dryer was turned on.
  9. I’ll use real places and fictionalize them. The Love in the Valley series combines real St. Louis places with the fictional town of Beaumont, which is based on Washington, Missouri, and Old Town St. Charles, Missouri. The final book, The Playboy Project debuts at the end of this month.
  10. Watch for the Easter eggs. I always include a reference to something literary in the book. The story about moving the eagles’ nest for a highway? That really happened in Missouri.