“Are you kidding?” I gasped. Visions of screaming, scratching and foot stomping charged through my mind—and that’s only the cat’s reaction. Think of my reaction while my husband furrows his eyebrows, purses his lips and starts crossing out my carefully crafted paragraphs with his number two pencil.
Nope. Vonnie doesn’t run with scissors, nor does she collaborate when writing.
Calvin writes in a more literary style with beautiful imagery. He throws in a dash of the supernatural. He adores an ending that hangs out there, blowing in the wind for the reader to decide what really happened. I like my endings tied into a neat bow, dripping with happiness.
So when the Roses of Prose, another blog on which I contribute, decided to write a progressive story for the holiday season, my mouth kinda went dry. Me collaborate on a story with thirteen other writers? Just the thought made my teeth itch.
As it turned out, a few couldn’t contribute. One was moving, another taking care of an ailing mother and two knee-deep in edits. That left ten of us.
Frankly, it didn’t take long for me to realize ten women can’t all agree on anything. Granted all nine of the other writers are sweet, intelligent, creative women. Yet we all have our ways of thinking through things.
There were so many details to decide. Like what was the premise of our story? Character names? Back story? Time frame? Was this a Christmas story or a politically correct holiday story? Would the bedroom door be closed or open? Well, you get the picture. The emails with "what-if" questions were adding up in my mailbox like ants on a piece of dropped cake.
The project turned out to be a growing experience for me. I learned to pick my battles and mostly to keep my big mouth shut—or my fingers off the send button, as it were.
One lady wrote the first chapter and posted it to our group’s files. The next lady in line took over, adding her own flair in the second chapter, and so on. I ended up writing four chapters to make up for those unable to participate. And wouldn’t you JUST know it, every time it was my turn to take over, the heroine and hero were headed to the bedroom. I think it was a conspiracy.
We’re offering it in December as a FREE read. Thirty chapters (1200-1400 words each) of romance. Why not stop by The Roses of Prose every day this month and read the next installment of A HOLIDAY TO REMEMBER?
Book Blurb: Candy Wright didn’t become a high-powered Manhattan business executive by letting men walk all over her. She watched her mother work herself to death to give her daughter a better life and is determined to make her proud. If that means not risking her heart, not letting any man get too close, then so be it.
Mitch Johnson lives a simple life in rural Georgia. Holding his secrets close. Hiding from the life he left behind. The last thing he wants—or needs—is a woman to remind him of his past.
When the two are thrown together in a freak snowstorm, sparks fly. Mitch is everything she’s worked to escape. Candy is a reminder of his painful past. But the attraction between them won’t be denied. Will love thaw their frozen hearts, or will secrets tear them apart? One thing is certain; it will be a holiday to remember…
