When I’m asked how I write novels, the only answer is I stick around long enough to see what happen next. Often the really good stuff comes to light well into the fourth, fifth or even the final draft of the book. For example, my outline for a new series set in Carmel has the following note:

She asks if she blew it. They have a very honest conversation.

Compelling, yes? Even I have no idea what this conversation will be about! The only way I’ll find out is going back day after day. Finishing a book requires discipline, faith and patience. From a few random lines, a book can grow and take on a life of its own.

By the way, here’s a line from The Ballad of Aracely Calderon, which I’m editing while simultaneously outlining new books that made me laugh:

“Her mother frantically shook the urn. The sniffling and quiet sobs in the church abruptly cut off, replaced by horrified and delighted whispers that Lario was such a macho, even in death, that women couldn’t stop fondling him.”