Blog Hop Questions

Hello, I’m participating in a blog hop.  If this is how you reached my page today, then welcome to L.A. Hilden’s blog site.  Typically, I blog about the Regency period, castles, writing tips, and symbolism.  I was provided a set of questions and have given my responses in this blog.

What are you writing?

Currently, I am writing a new time travel series that involves three sister witches and their fight between light and dark.  I’ve been doing a great deal of research for this series.  Delving into the spiritual dimensions has been fascinating reading for me.  I’m only three chapters into the story, but I love the direction this story is taking.

My Regency historical A Vengeful Earl was released a couple of weeks ago.  A.V.E. is book two in the Bewildering Love series.  Aiden Northwood, the Earl of Sinclair, arrives I England to right the wrongs of his past, only to find his plans thwarted when he falls in love with Lydia Witley, a lady he was determined to destroy in the eyes of society.  I’m doing a final read on The Lady Charmer, which is book three in this series.  I plan to release T.L.C. next year.

I’m also putting the finishing touches to my next time travel release, which is book three in my Destiny series called A Tudor Displaced, which I plan to release next year. This is the story about Phoebe Bennett, a Tudor lady who finds herself in Regency England.  Phoebe is a feisty heroine who is destined to drive the Earl of Insley crazy.

How does your new work differ from past projects?

This time travel series differs from anything I’ve ever written because the love story is not the central focus of the story.  As of right now, I don’t plan to marry any of the sisters to anyone, but there is tons of romance.  My new series delves further into the spiritual aspects of life as well as witchcraft.  The three sisters in my new story are Reiki practitioners.  They are decedents from the supreme witch, Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt.  The Griffin sisters were placed upon earth to help balance the scales of light and dark, regardless to realm or century.  The goddess Isis assigns them the tasks to complete.  The sisters are not in accord in regards to their destiny, and hiding their secrets from the world and their boyfriends is complicated.

Why do you write?

I love writing and using my imagination to create stories.  I tend to favor Regency England for my settings since there is something about that time that resonates with me.  Writing is my passion and I couldn’t imagine not doing so.  Stories enter my head and plot lines develop, which ends with me in front of the keyboard.

What is your writing process?

My writing process starts with an idea of a story and my imagination takes it from there.  I do not outline or plan an extensive plot.  I allow the story to tell me where it wants to go.  I have notes of funny quips, character bios, and minor plot ideas that I want to include in the story, as well as pages of research littered around me, but I don’t keep a set schedule and I tend to write when inspiration strikes.  When I do sit down in front of the keyboard, I usually write a chapter, which is about thirteen pages.  At that rate I could write a rough draft in thirty days, but that never happens.