Passion. Ambition. Demolition.

There are probably better taglines. But honestly, that one felt like the one that encapsulated Echoes of the Heart for me. There’s a ton of passion, Marina’s ambition…and the issue of demolition standing between them.

I’m a pantser. I start writing with a vague idea of the characters, a simple idea of the plot, and I know how I want it to end. But everything in between is up for grabs, and I love it that way. I get to explore the characters and let them take the lead when we’ve gotten to know each other well enough. I learn who they are, what made them that way, and how they need to change by watching how they react to the story happening around them. It’s pretty cool, honestly. And that’s why I was surprised when I learned something about Marina I wasn’t aware of.

She was guilty and grieving. But for who?

That character turned up in an unexpected way and when I realized who it was, I had a lovely, “Oh. Nice to meet you, thanks for coming along,” moment. And from that moment my understanding of Marina deepened exponentially. It also meant I got to touch on grief and the way it messes with families. This is a romance, though, and I wanted to keep it light, so I did it with a light hand. Maybe one day I’ll revisit that aspect in a short story of its own to give it some time to play out properly. Marina is a lot like me, really. She’s clumsy, ambitious, lost, accident prone, and definitely attracted to butch women. But then, I’m a bit like River, too. I read tarot cards, I’m sensitive, and I love being part of the LGBTQ community.

I suppose there’s always a bit of the writer in the book. I wonder what you might know about me without even realizing it?

Today is the day. Echoes of the Heart, my 5th sapphic romance, is officially out in the world.