Author of suspenseful action-packed thrillers
BEHIND THE SCENES
WRITING PROCESS
IDEAS
My ideas come from everywhere. From places I've visited, to random things I've seen or heard, or movies and books. This helicopter snow landing in the mountains of Queenstown inspired a story in a snowy setting. The black smoke in Lost combined with the pink smoke from ACFC games and my love of movies and video games like Mad Max and The Last of US inspired a post-apoc thriller. I write these nuggets down and later they turn into stories.
RESEARCH
Research happens in various ways at various times, some upfront, and some while I'm writing. Books, articles, historical societies, documentaries, movies, games, research trips, and experiences all inform details in my stories. I track these sources and information in spreadsheets and my writing files.
WRITING
I write scene by scene, out of order, based on whatever I'm feeling in the moment. Sometimes based on what I need to get done. Scrivener is my favorite writing tool because I can easily drag and drop scenes anywhere. I enjoy using Plottr like having visual story cards to see which characters are doing what when. ProWritingAid, ChatGPT, and Claude are super useful for idea generation, finding flaws, and more!
EDITING
Numerous tools fold into my editing process. First, it's myself refining after the first draft using the Story Grid process and tools like ProWritingAid and Claude, and listening to the story out loud. Next, I get feedback from beta readers. After fixing all the problems I can, I ship it off to my editor for more rounds. After touching each page several times, I move on to formatting.
PRODUCTION
Once polished, I import the story into Vellum for formatting. Next, I write the sales description and work with my cover designer. Meanwhile, I create the book trailer with tools like Claude, Midjourney, Runway, and iMovie. I take care of admin tasks like securing ISBNs, LCCNs, and copyright. When the proof copies arrive, I do a final check, tidying up any errors in the Vellum file then export final epub files.
PLANNING
After the cover design is final and the admin tasks are finished, I sort out the order of operations for uploading final files to the retailers, advanced reader copies, securing book reviews, posting to my website and social media channels, preparing marketing and advertisements, and so on.
PUBLISHING
Press the big button! After all the work, the stories become available to readers! From there, the stories are no longer mine, they are yours to enjoy!
