By: Winter Austin
Giveaway Alert!
For those of us who have been in the publishing
industry long enough we’ve all heard the old adage: “write what you know.” It’s
a motto many authors have used, writing novels that reflect their careers, past
or current. In certain ways, I’ve done the same with my DEGREES OF DARKNESS
series.
But what made me write the four book series wasn’t
what I knew; it was what I wanted to read.
I’m probably the worst person on earth to take to a
bookstore, something of which my husband thoroughly enjoys doing even though it
means standing for a few hours waiting for me to find that right book I want to
take home. I flit from one part of the store to the next, one genre to another,
grousing about not finding that book containing the right mix of all the things
I love. My tastes are at the whim of whatever I feel like reading and more
times than not I can not find the right book and resort to the tried and true;
buying a writing craft book. I’ve also noticed my oldest son has this
‘indecision’ gene.
In the early stages of my path to getting published,
I was meandering through my local library trying to find a book that had what I
wanted. I’m an odd duck, who wants to read a book with a character or two that
has a profession in the Agricultural world, a few cops, a setting that is
rural, romance, murder, a lot of action—and not always the kind that happens in
bed—and an antagonist that makes your skin crawl. No luck. Fed up, I left empty
handed and decided now was the time to write the book I wanted to read.

I had done what I set out to do. And oddly enough, I
was able to do this and leave the romance plot open to follow the hero and
heroine through the whole continuancy series. Now to follow-up with the three
remaining books. Agonizing over how to keep my antagonists a secret led to many
days and weeks of moaning and groaning to my agent and my brainstorming
partners on how to do it. Eventually, each plot for each book worked out.
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During this time I was hit with a reality check; the
DEGREES OF DARKNESS series was over and now I had to figure out who I was as an
author. For a few weeks I went back and forth; talked with my agent about it, reading
books in my favorite genres, gleaning what I needed to know about myself, and
coming to the point where I wanted to smack my head against a wall. Which led
me back to the same library, in the same situation, fifteen years later. I
couldn’t find that book to read that held the right mix of what I wanted to
read. And this time I had a solution; ‘I’ll go write the book I want to read.”
All four of my books in the DEGREES OF DARKNESS
series are books I tend to go back and read through on occasion. And I truly
enjoy what I wrote; my favorite of the series being book 3, REVENGE, because of
the setting and the focus on the hero and his past. RECKONING, book 4, was
bittersweet in writing and publishing, as it finalizes the storylines of both
the main characters—characters that have been with me a long time. But it’s
time to move on to a new book and a new set of characters.
And as usual, I’m back at it, combining all my
favorite genres in one big mash-up. Writing a book I want to read, and
hopefully a book many more want to read.
**
BIO
Winter Austin resides in the mid-west with her
Beta Hero, four mind-boggling kids, and a bevy of pets. When she's not trying
to kill her characters in some form or fashion she can be found in the kitchen
creating another culinary delight.
To learn more about Winter Austin and her novels
please visit her website: http://www.winteraustin.com
Giveaway:
One lucky commenter will receive their choice of one of my four books!
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST June 3rd. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@justromanticsuspense.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST June 3rd. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@justromanticsuspense.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
The books in the Degrees of Darkness series sound great! Can't wait to check them out!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting series
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
I'm going to enjoy this series.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Your titles are great, Winter.
ReplyDeleteJan
janet_kerr@msn.com
I love reading this series. This is one of my favorite romantic suspense series that I alwasy keep a look out for.
ReplyDeletekmccandle(at)yahoo(dot)com