Some links in this post may or may not be affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link I will earn a commission which supports this site.
Crushing
As a pampered and adored daughter of a wealthy Southern family Rory’s life was seemingly perfect until her troubled childhood crush moves back in across the street forcing her to choose between him and the life that has been chosen for her.
As if that isn’t enough, her quiet island town has turned dangerous. A good friend has gone missing, lending truth to the rumors of a serial kidnapper. In her quest to help she becomes a target and will have to make choices about love, friendship and the inevitable sacrifice that they both require.
Elena Dillon’s blog /Twitter /Facebook /Google+ /Goodreads / Literary Addicts
Elena lives and writes in a suburb North of Los Angeles. She has never lived anywhere besides California which is probably a good thing since she hates being cold and is terrified to drive in the snow. She loves being a wife and a mother to her two kids and three dogs, although really the bulldog is the fourth child who has never matured beyond the toddler stage.
A self proclaimed nerd, she has been writing since she was a child. She has only recently, however, come out of the closet about this to her family and friends. They now understand better, but not completely, why she talks about characters in stories as if they are real people.
Plotter or Pantser?
by Elena Dillion
My new book “Crushing” has a love triangle in it. I don’t want to give too much away but I have to say I didn’t plan it. As far as plotting goes I’m somewhere in the middle of plotter and pantser. In other words I plot some and some of the book is written by the seat of my pants. I know where I’m going but getting there isn’t always as straight forward as it seems.
When I started this one I had a plan and then I met Dominic. He was supposed to be a jerk. Turns out I really like him. He wasn’t a jerk so I had to create another character to be “the jerk”. It was a little like cutting someone in half, metaphorically. All the characteristics I was going to give Dom I ended up giving this new character. Strange.
Also I created Gage with a plan in mind of where he came from. About forty thousand words in, I changed my mind. I went through and took a whole bunch of stuff out and then when I was finished I put it all back in again. I have no idea why I thought it needed to come out in the first place but I’m going to chalk it up to the nerves that come along with writing the second book. Good thing I never throw any of my words away. I create a little file for each book titled “Stuff I took out!” I was never more thankful for that file.
I’m partway through book three and I have loosely plotted the whole thing. We’ll see how this plan works. I’m not sure I will ever find the perfect formula for me. It seems like each book has it’s own idea about how it forms.
In the meantime, Crushing is out and I really enjoyed writing it. I’m pretty fond of the characters but Dominic is one of my favorites. I hope you like him too.
Follow the Tour
