Guest Post: Lisa Orchard, author of the Super Spies series

Today, I'm happy to have Lisa Orchard here to talk about her writing process. So without a further ado...

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Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you. I’m Lisa Orchard the bestselling author of the Super Spies Mystery/Thriller Series. I’m a guest of Lauren’s today and I’m here to talk about my writing process.

I have to confess, I’m a seat of my pants writer. I feel better already! (Big Sigh) I’ve finally admitted it! I can’t plot. It destroys the creative process for me. I’ve tried it and once I got the outline down I felt like I couldn’t deviate from it. It was like a rule that couldn’t be broken and the writing turned into an unwelcome chore.

So, what I do is I get an idea and start fleshing out the characters. Once I get them on solid footing I start writing. But I must say, before I start and while I’m fleshing out my characters, I’m thinking about my story. What I want to say and how I want to say it.

I know how I want to begin and I know how I want the story to end. However, in the middle I let my characters run the show. For example, in my Super Spies series, Sarah is the main character and what I’ll do is put her in situations and see how she reacts. This is what makes the writing so much fun for me. Because I don’t even know how we’re going to get to the end. But it’s amazing how the story just takes on a life of its own.

Since I am a seat of my pants writer, I don’t have a problem making major changes in my story. For example, in “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer,” I wrote the first story in first person. Then when an agent rejected the story, I asked her what she didn’t like and she said she felt it would be better written in third person. So what did I do? I rewrote it and it got accepted for publication very quickly.

If I were a plotter I don’t think I could have made that change. It would have broken that outline rule, you know? Weird, I know but we writers all have our quirks.

The only drawback I can see from being a seat of my pants writer is; there is a lot of editing that happens before I even submit the story for publication. Although, this part doesn’t bother me because I love watching my manuscript grow from a rough draft to a polished product. I love going through the scenes and making them stronger and more descriptive. I enjoy this part just as much as I enjoy the actual writing. 

Thanks for stopping by today and reading my post. I’m excited about my series and my new coming of age novel. There are three books in the series and their covers and blurbs are below. Check them out and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you.

The age range that seems to love my books are anywhere from 8-16, so if you know of anyone in that age group mention my books to them especially if they’re looking for something to keep them occupied for the rest of the summer. 

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Thanks so much stopping by, Lisa! :) 

About The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer (Book 1):

In a small town in Michigan, fifteen-year-old Sarah Cole is stuck spending the summer at her Aunt and Uncle’s with her sister, Lacey. She’s not happy with the situation until she befriends a girl named Jackie. The three girls stumble upon the ruthless murder of a reclusive neighborhood woman and what's worse? One of the officers investigating the crime believes the girls are responsible for her death.

Fearing that this officer will frame them for the murder, the girls organize their own detective squad. They become the Super Spies and start their own investigation. The Super Spies can’t understand why anyone would want to murder the “Cat Lady” until they start digging into her past and discover a horrible crime that happened thirty years ago. They uncover a connection between the two crimes and attempt to bring this information to the police, only to be reprimanded for meddling in the investigation. Not only are the girls upset by the admonition, but they also struggle with the fact that their exuberant investigating could provide a legal loophole allowing the killer to go free. Frustrated by this turn of events, the Super Spies realize it’s up to them to snare the Cat Lady killer.

Or die trying...

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