Author Rita Herron discusses her writing process

THE DEMONBORN: DARK HUNGER

Rita’s Writing Process:


Dear Reader,

Plotter or by-the-seat-of-your-pantster? Characters first or story line? Setting? Villain?

What comes first?

Where did the idea for the Demonborn series and DARK HUNGER, my latest book and the newest in the series, come from? And what is my process?

I admit that I’m a plotter, and normally the hook (big story idea) comes first. With this series, the characters (both the heroes and the villains), actually gave birth to the story idea.

I’ve always been intrigued by the nature/nurture question. Are people born evil? Or do they become evil? And do we all have the capacity to kill?

I was turning these questions over in my mind one day and it sparked the idea for the Demonborn series. Not only would my heroes be crime fighters a plot I’ve used in my other romantic suspense novels, but I’d give it a twist to make it unique. They’d also have to battle their own ingrained pull toward evil.

Vincent’s voice came first so I made him the hero of INSATIABLE DESIRE, the first book in the series. He was tortured and teetering so close to the dark side that he had almost lost his soul completely. After Vincent, I needed a hero that was a little less intense but with a wicked sense of humor. So Quinton’s voice filled my head next and he became the foundation of DARK HUNGER. The villain from INSATIABLE DESIRE whispered to me next – he was a demon who used a person’s greatest fear to kill him.

For book two, DARK HUNGER, the Death Angel swept in in the form of a vulture to wreak destruction, posing the question- can death be stopped? Once the voices climbed in my head, they spoke to me day and night, haunting me with their struggles until I told their stories.

But I’m not as organized as I’d like. Ideas for scenes and dialogue tend to pop into my head at the oddest times: in the shower, while I’m driving, when I’m supposed to be sleeping (I’m an insomniac!) So I have notepads everywhere, and no, I’m not organized.

I’m not an early morning person either, so my friends and kids know not to call me before ten a.m. (unless they’re bleeding, of course.) But I do write full time, so I set page count goals daily and weekly, usually shooting for ten pages a day. Basically I hit the computer midmorning, write a scene before lunch, another in the afternoon, another in the evening.

And here are a few little secrets about me during the writing. Diet coke gets me through the day. A glass of wine sets the mood for the love scenes. I pace and talk to myself out loud as I work out story problems. And sometimes I close my eyes and act out the scene in my head as I’m writing it!

I hope you enjoy DARK HUNGER and feel free to visit my website at http://www.ritaherron.com/ !

Rita