About Amber Daulton:
Amber Daulton is the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. Her books are published through The Wild Rose Press, Books to Go Now, and Daulton Publishing, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats.
What inspires you to write?
Everything around me. Sometimes I can watch a TV show or read a book, and I think of a story idea that’s both completely different and along the same lines. When this happens, the characters keep talking to me in my head, and I cannot think about anything else until I at least write down a basic plot or idea. Inspiration often strikes when I’m sleeping. My dreams are usually pretty vivid and wild, so I take what I can from the dream world and create a story around it.
Tell us about your writing process.
I’m a plotter, and I like to outline chapter by chapter. I use pen, paper, and colored pencils, but sometimes I plot in a Word doc.
Before and during the writing of the MS, I write up character descriptions for every character in the book (no matter how minor) in a Word doc, which usually defines the character’s name, age, height, hair and eye color, important miscellaneous facts, and what articles of clothing they wear in each chapter. Doing these character write-ups helps me keep little mistakes down to zero. For example, it’s frustrating for me as a reader to read a story where the heroine is wearing a blue shirt in one chapter and then wearing a green shirt in the next chapter, and she wasn’t supposed to have changed her clothes. Little mistakes like that always draw me out of a story, so I definitely don’t want to make similar mistakes in my own writing.
I write in my office on my old desktop computer (my laptop crashed a while back), and I love being surrounded by my books and whimsical décor. I work at least five days a week from about 7am to 4pm with little breaks in between. It’s a challenge to write or edit for so long, but there’s no place else I’d rather be, as long as the muse is flowing.
On average, I can usually research, write, and edit a novella (say 15 to 35k WC) in maybe two months or so. For a full-length novel (80k plus), I usually take three or four months to finish it.
I don’t set a word count quota for myself, but I do set personal deadlines in which I try to have chapters done on a certain date, so I can have the entire story completed by another date. Sometimes I make it; sometimes I don’t. I do my best to not get down on myself when I miss my deadlines.
How do you develop your characters?
I like to think I know how they will develop, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes the characters take control and steer my story in another direction. Then I have to get into arguments with my H/h, or even the secondary characters, and force them back into the outline. More often than not, they refuse to get back in line and I have to write what they want.
Heh, it’s a give and a take relationship.
Who are your favorite authors?
I read books from several authors, but I don’t have a favorite or a go-to author or series. I used to, but my tastes and writing style preferences have changed.
My favorite genres to read are romantic suspense and paranormal.
What genres do you write?: Contemporary, Romantic Suspense, Historical, Western, Time Travel, New Adult, Adult, Sweet/Clean, and Spicy
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Audiobook
Where to find out more about the author
Website(s)
Amber Daulton Home Page Link
Link To Amber Daulton Page On Amazon
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
Thank you!
Nice getting to know you! I’m impressed with authors who can outline the chapters. My plots often change as I go along.