When I finally decided it was time to sit down and start writing Dawn of Fire, I wanted the atmosphere to be just right. My book begins in a dark forest so where better to write than on a porch swing on a chilly September night, looking out at the woods surrounding my house. So I grabbed a thick blanket sweater, some warm socks, and of course headphones.

I think I probably sat for a good 15 minutes listening to music, watching the trees and slowly getting colder, before I finally started typing. But when I did, it did not come as fast as I thought it would.

Those first few times I attempted writing it was not easy. It had to be under just the right circumstances, everything had to be just so. The perfect music, a non distracting environment, and it would take me hours sometimes just to write a few pages. After I wrote those first few pages in 2019, I didn’t touch it until about a month later on the beach in Rehoboth Delaware.

While the ocean is a great creative stimulant, I must say that sand and laptops are not my favorite combination.

But it wasn’t until January 2020 that I really began to dive into things. I was student teaching at that point and for the first few weeks, I did not have a lot to do in the evenings. I was used to a college workload, but for the first week or two I was mostly observing my co-operating teacher so for the first time in years I had extra time on my hands!

Once I found my rhythm, there were times I could not type fast enough.

While we were all under quarantine in 2020, I found the best routine I have ever had. Now some of you might not approve, but hey, it’s what works for me! I would usually start writing around 9 or 10pm at night and work until 2am. Most nights I was able to write a chapter a night, with a few exceptions of course. Then I would sleep till around 10am, find something creative like baking or crocheting and then start the process all over again.

I always knew I enjoyed being a night owl, but I did discover that it is when I am at my most creative.

Now that I’ve been developing this ‘world’ for a quite a few years, the writing comes a lot easier. I can focus more on story and less on world building. Although every now and again a new idea pops up that makes me have to change more than I want to… but hey that’s just how it goes.

Thanks to my giant MAC monitor and very comfy office chair, I do most of my writing at my desk now. But this book started out on that porch swing.

The series however… that began even before the book was born. The very first thing I ever wrote pertaining to my series (and yes, there are more books to come 😊 ) has nothing to do with Dawn of Fire. In fact, it will probably come in the next book!

I tend to write things as I see them, so I have a collection of scenes that may or may not make appearances in books to come, but they are fun to collect. The series itself, was born in the lake house my family goes to every summer. It was – you may have guessed it – around 2am when inspiration struck and I grabbed my handy laptop to write out a scene I was seeing in my head. Which I must say was probably more difficult to do when you haven’t finished world building. There are lots of “(input name here)” parentheses scattered throughout that scene! But hey, when creativity strikes, you have to write it down before you forget!

So here’s to the porch swing and the lake house, we wouldn’t be here without you!

Dawn of Fire, Book One in Tribes of Fire will be release January 2022!