The first few sentences of... A HUSBAND FOR DANNA
Panting from the short dash from the church to the curb, Danna looked around wild-eyed, spotting a limo at the
curb. The fact that it wasnʹt her bridal partyʹs limousine didnʹt
matter. She ran around to the driverʹs side and flung open the door. The sound of her wedding gown tearing broke the silence in the big empty car. Frustrated, she shoved away the seat belt
and fumbled with the ignition key.
* * * * *
FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT CHRISTINA
What was the first
romance you ever read?
I actually started with romantic suspense novels by
Phyllis Whitney and books by Victoria Holt and Kathleen Woodiwiss. My
grandmother was a voracious reader and always had a stack of books from the
library. I would read hers and find new authors for myself.
Tell me about the
first novel you ever wrote? What ever happened to it?
The first novel I
ever wrote was a YA. Actually there were 3 YAs that I wrote but it was long ago
and I was a teen. Around senior year I landed a job writing for a local paper
and once I saw how writing articles could pay money almost instantly, I packed
up my fiction dreams and those 3 manuscripts. To this day I don’t know what
happened to them. I’m thinking they’re buried in the attic of my parents’ house
never to see the light of day again.
What’s the first thing you do when you start writing a new story?
Like anything else
that’s new in life, starting out is the most exciting part. When I’m ready to
start a new story the first thing I do is head to my local office supply store
to pick out a notebook. For each novel I write I keep a novel notebook. Since I
don’t do formal outlines and I’m basically a pantster, the notebook is where I
jot down the beginnings of the story. I write out the basic premise, the names
of the hero and heroine, the setting and other details that I know at the
start. Even when I’m not writing I’m planning that book so the notebook is
where I jot down insights and sudden ideas and details. I play with this
notebook for quite a while. Then when the actual writing of the first draft
begins I keep the notebook next to my laptop. At the end of each writing
session I jot down notes about what I wrote that day. If I have concluded a
chapter, I write up a summary of what happened and to whom in the notebook. The
notebook is also excellent for keeping track of things like days, time, months,
hair color, eye color. It’s easy to start out with a blue eyed hero and then
suddenly find yourself writing “his chocolate brown eyes” chapters down the
road. The notebook helps with continuity, which is vital to authors because
readers do notice.
MORE ABOUT CHRISTINA
Christina Lorenzen started writing as a young teen, jotting
stories in wire ring composition notebooks. Her first typewriter made it faster
to get all those stories out of her head and down on paper. Her love of writing
has sustained her through a myriad of jobs that included hairdresser, legal
secretary, waitress and door to door saleswoman. Luckily for her, writing
proved to be successful and a lot less walking than going door to door. A
Husband for Danna is Christina’s first novel. She is busy working on her next.
When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found walking her dog, talking to
her herd of cats and spending time with her family.
