Monday, January 7, 2008

Howdy from California

Hello, friends. Delia Latham here. I'm honored to be a part of the Daily Muse for Writers! I've lived in Bakersfield, California my entire life. I have four grown children - all of whom live close by - and four beautiful, wonderful, absolutely perfect grandchildren. No, really - they are!

I write inspirational romance. My historical novel, Goldeneyes, will be released March 30 by Vintage Romance Publishing. I'm currently working on a follow-up to that book while pitching a couple of other completed works.

As a writer, I have to admit to being a SOTP-er, which means I rarely, if ever, plan anything. I write the same way I live - by the seat of my pants. All those authors who actually sit down and outline their books before ever writing a word of it ... wow! I stand in awe of them ... but I can't do it. I start with nothing but an idea and run with it. As I write, the characters start to take over and tell me where the story's going. It works for me. Much as I'd love to have it all laid out in my mind prior to the first chapter, I truly doubt that's ever gonna happen.

Here's the rub, though. I am THE WORST procrastinator ever! I kid myself into thinking I'm working out ideas for my book (in my head, ya know?), and just keep putting off the actual task of applying the seat of my pants to a chair and writing. Every day. So far, my writing "schedule" has been either/or: Either I'm not writing at all, or I get so deep into a story that I write every waking hour of the day. Where's the balance, for pity's sake?

Soooo ... my resolution for 2008 is two-fold:

1. Stop procrastinating and WRITE - every day, whether it's blogging here or on my personal blog (www.themelodywithin.blogspot.com), working on my novel, or whipping up magazine articles. The important thing is to write!

2. In addition, I will work out a schedule wherein I write at a certain time of day, for a set period of time. While I can be flexible, there needs to be some consistency in my writing life, and this is the year to find it. Yeah, boy!

Books by Delia Latham:



Goldeneyes - Releasing March 30. Read the excerpt here.

5 comments:

Kathleen said...

Hi Delia! I like to read whatever you write and I sure do like contests. Here is my e-mail address for when I WIN.........
khw4christ@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Hey, Delia! --Jay

Anonymous said...

Delia, not a writer but I am a SOTP-er. THanks for the smile. I like the new blog. I haven't met the other ladies yet so I am off to read about them. Sign me up for the giveaway.
b.werts (@) sbcglobal (.) net

Anonymous said...

Delia, your one of the first authors I met (online) since I began the publishing process with my first book and you've help me a lot with many different things (I get so many compliments on my bookmarks!) that you'll always have a special place in my heart. I have yet to read one of your books, though. It's one of the resolutions I have for 2008!

Lily said...

2 blogs... that must be a lot of work!

My e-mail is: dnlily(at)hotmail.com