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Dear Reader,
Today's guest columnist, D.E. Ireland, is really two people in one. No, D.E. Ireland doesn't write science fiction, D.E. is the pen name for two writing partners, Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta. And to keep you on-your-reading-toes even more, Meg and Sharon wrote today's guest column, describing their writing process, in third person.
Please welcome authors Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta aka D.E. Ireland, and their third person alter-ego. They are excited and waiting to hear from readers, they would love to hear from you. Their email addresses are: megmims@gmail.com and sharonpisacreta@gmail.com When you email to say hello, you just might win a copy of their delightful new book, Move Your Blooming Corpse, which is being released today. They have five copies to giveaway to readers.
Thanks for visiting the book club. Take it away Meg and Sharon, (written in third person)...
Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta, writing as D.E. Ireland, are long time friends who collaborate on a mystery series based on George Bernard Shaw's witty play, Pygmalion (the inspiration for My Fair Lady), featuring Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins. Sharon and Meg both live in Michigan, have patient husbands, brilliant daughters, and share a love of good books, tea and history. Their first book in the series, Wouldn't It Be Deadly, was a 2014 Agatha Award nominee for Best Historical Mystery.
Their collaboration began when Meg was driving to visit Sharon. During the three-hour trip, Meg listened to the soundtrack of My Fair Lady and had a 'lightbulb' moment. When she arrived at Sharon's home, Meg announced that not only would Eliza and Higgins make great amateur sleuths, but that she and Sharon should write it together. Since both women were award winning authors and old college friends, it seemed a great idea. But could they write a book together without ruining their friendship?
A method was quickly drawn up. First they brainstormed the plot, followed by a detailed outline. Both women read and reread Shaw's play many times. Shaw wrote essays on his characters which proved invaluable, even if Meg and Sharon decided they would take several characters in different directions than Shaw imagined.
They also created secret boards on Pinterest where hundreds of photos and links to research websites could be archived. And both women added dozens of books on Edwardian England to their libraries.
With outline in hand, the actual writing began, with each partner being assigned different chapters to write. All revisions were done in WORD's Review Mode, which allows each of them to revise the other's chapters (and their own). Eventually they decide on a "nail down" final draft. This is done on the phone as Sharon and Meg take turns reading all the chapters aloud to each other. This goes on for days (thank you, Verizon Friends and Family plan), but reading aloud is a great method for "hearing" characters' dialogue and ascertaining if all the passages flow as they should.
Unlike some writing teams, Meg and Sharon are equally involved in plotting, first drafts, and revisions. Both must approve every word that appears in the final manuscript. Here is where it's helpful to be such good friends. When disagreement over the books gets heated (and it does happen), both realize the manuscript is not more important than their long friendship--and a compromise is invariably reached. As for whether they could write a book together without ruining their friendship? Two published books later, the answer is "Yes."
--Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta
Send an email to be entered in their drawing: megmims@gmail.com and sharonpisacreta@gmail.com
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE CENTURIONS by Jean Larteguy. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin tote bag:
http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqQ1AFE3FA7EE4&c=CLASSICS
AUTHORBUZZ: HARD AS STEEL: A Hard Ink/Raven Riders Crossover (Fiction) by Laura Kaye
After a midnight break-in at her apartment, close friends and Hard Ink Tattoo co-workers Ike Young and Jessica Jakes are forced into hiding--and forced to confront the feelings they've always denied for one another. I have always adored friends-to-lovers and forced proximity stories, and this book delivers that and more.
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on HARD AS STEEL to find out more about the book and the author, Laura Kaye. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.
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