WELCOME TO A BLOG TOUR!

by Kathy Cannon Wiechman

Writing Process Blog Tour

I was invited to participate in this blog tour by Kerrie Logan Hollihan (author of the new non-fiction book REPORTING UNDER FIRE)

The blog tour requires me to answer the four questions below and invite others to answer the same questions on their blogs.

1. What am I currently working on?
I am doing preliminary promotion for my novel LIKE A RIVER (due out in Spring, 2015 from Calkins Creek). And I am sixteen chapters into a new novel set in Kentucky coal country during the Great Depression.

The sinking of the Sultana is one of the misadventures described in Kathy's new historical fiction book.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I try to find events from history that few people are aware of, and build everyday fictional characters who could have lived at the time, and tell their stories.

3. Why do I write what I write?
History was a subject which bored me in school. But reading historical fiction was a way to “live” the history through a person’s eyes. It fascinated me. People are what bring history to life. I hope my stories can draw in a reader the way I was.

4. How does my individual writing process work?
After I have done a ton of research, I create characters to tell my story. I flesh them out in a series of questions I ask myself about them. When they “breathe,” I know it’s time to write.

I begin my writing time each day by re-reading what I wrote the day before, tweaking it as I do. Going over the previous day’s work re-sets my focus, getting me back into the mind of the character and the flow of the story.

While I am writing one novel, I am doing research for others. That way when I finish, I have a beginning place for my next project instead of a blank page.

Those are the questions and my answers. For the next leg of the blog tour, check out CityMuse/CountryMuse on June 23.

If you’d like to take part in the tour, you can answer the same four questions on your own blog. Just mention Swagger in your intro, and leave a comment below to tell us when and where to find your answers.