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I had my idea for a series and identified the heroes. Now I had to pick the heroines, after all, these are romance novels - there must be both a hero and a heroine to make the circle complete.

So how do you choose a heroine? Good question. My heroines (in all my books not just Devils on Horseback) tend to be tough, outspoken, sassy dames who basically don't take crap from anyone. They're not all the same - some are tougher than others - but I don't write any TSTL (too stupid to live) weeping fools that you want to strangle.

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When I first started thinking about the series Devils on Horseback , I learned from my past mistakes and identified the characters in each book. You see, if you publish book 1, everything that's in that book is set in stone. You can't simply decide to change someone's name, eye color or age.

There is a war on drugs. I’ve seen it on the news. People go to parties and take drugs. The drugs are dangerous. I’ve seen that on the news too. They have all sorts of adverse affects on people, including depression, mood swings, manic episodes, sleep disorder, possibly even death. You have to watch out, because many of these drugs are physically addictive, which means, you start taking them and end up trapped.

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Hello out there Novelspot! My name is Beth Williamson and I'm going to be posting blogs this week on Behind the Scenes. I write romance novels, spicy and sensual (sometimes erotic) for Samhain and Loose Id. I'm going to be discussing my newest series, Devils on Horseback and letting you in on my cranial meanderings when creating a series.

Robert Jordan passed away today. He was 58 years old. It was a tragic loss for the fantasy community.

Best known for his bestselling Wheel of Time series, Jordan has a vast fan following.

We at Novelspot wish to offer our sympathies to RJ's family and friends.

You can view Robert Jordan's blog, and read the annoucement of his passing here. http://www.dragonmount.com/RobertJordan

A novel with 64 authors? Yes, the new paranormal suspense fantasy Bloodchained was written by award-winning romance writer Diana Laurence with assistance from her team of 63 reader partners. It's now available in paperback and ebook formats from Living Beyond Reality Press and online retailers. Bloodchained is the story of Grace Gilder and her brother Sebastian, who run an elegant inn in the city of Audacacia, home of the famous Temple of Love.

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As a writer, you want to put together the best manuscript possible, and with historical novels, decisions have to be made about using archaic words, language styles and dialects. Sometimes I bang by head against the desk trying to come up with the right answers. This can be one of the most frustrating parts of writing for me and someday I hope to be able to find an easier way to deal with stylistic choices.

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I seem to have no trouble coming up with the beginning of a story and the ending comes to me pretty easily. It’s the middle of the story that seems to be the most difficult for me to create. The question I always ask myself is ‘what are my characters going to do to get to the climactic ending?’ They have to do something interesting or the story will be boring. There is a lot to think about. Does it need some suspense here? Tension? Action? Humor? Sex? Drama? Interesting plot twists? What about giving away too many details too early? And in a romance, there is sexual tension and trying to develop a relationship. The middle is where the meat of the story happens. I tried writing outlines, thinking that was the proper way to organize my thoughts, but they always ended up changing as I write the story so I gave up on that process. Each writer has to find the writing process that works best for him or her. I discovered that most of the story unfolds as I go along. If I try to over think it, it will not happen.

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I never thought of being a writer. My first love was music. For many years I played in rock bands and most of that time was spent in one all-female hard rock band. Being a musician/songwriter was my goal in life and I never thought that would change. Ever. I still wonder how my life could have changed so much and so fast.

I guess all good things must someday come to an end and that’s what happened to me with music and playing in bands. One thing after another piled up and I found myself questioning what I was doing with my life. The major turning point was health issues and dealing with a chronic condition. I had to change my lifestyle if I wanted to be around longer and live without pain. I could have gone out with guitars blazing and a bottle of Jack Daniels in my hand. Call me chicken, but that did not appeal to me. So, as I was deciding what to do with my life while on the road to recovery, I started writing short stories, and I actually loved doing it. I still never thought I would tackle a full-length novel, but as always, life is full of surprises. I took some writing classes and my Creative Writing teacher encouraged me to turn a short story into a novel. Of Water and Dragons was born. I will admit it was not an easy task and it certainly did not happen overnight, but I found that I enjoyed doing research, developing a story line and characters. And although being a writer can be lonely at times, I also liked working by myself. Anyone who has been in a band can relate to the fact that it can be difficult trying to get along with the other band members and their different personalities. Musicians, as with any artistic people, can be kind of crazy at times. Hey, I can say that because I am one of them.

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Once I had finished my first manuscript I had a decision to make. How would I go about getting it published? Should I self publish, try to get published with a large company or go for a smaller press company?

I will admit I was pretty naïve about the whole self-publishing process. I had a whole different idea about self-publishing, but I was set straight on one group. It was more involved than I had thought. I liked the idea of self-publishing because I am one who likes to have control over my work, but I really did not have the knowledge to do all areas involved in publishing a book, especially with cover art and all the distribution a publisher does for an author.

Recently, I heard a blurb for a book called, Why We Read What We Read by John Heath & Lisa Adams. Supposedly, by listening to the authors talk about their book on the Diane Rehm show I would understand what makes a bestseller. Hey, I’m all for that—what writer doesn’t want a best seller. I planned my lunch hour around listening to the show in hopes of picking up some great insights. The best I got was a good Reuben on rye; the show was disappointing and well—incorrect. Let me explain. First, the authors detailed that 54% of all books sold in the US are romances. I don’t dispute that part. It’s the type of figure that makes me set up and say, “Amen!” Here comes the part, I strongly protest.

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Research is a huge part of my writing process since I write about historical time periods. I love doing research, but for the time periods I write in, this can be a bit of a challenge. Also, not much is written on the Celts, especially the Celts (Picts) of ancient Scotland. They kept their history alive with an oral tradition.

What is written about the Celts is from their enemies, the Romans, so it’s hard to believe everything they have to say. Archeological evidence seems to contradict what their enemies have to say about the Celts—that they were barbarians. Archeology proves that they were an intelligent society and highly skilled in metalworking. One of the most challenging areas is that no one knows where these people came from. I used what knowledge I was able to find from various textbooks and the Internet, and like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, I brought to life the mysterious tribes of northwestern Scotland. One of the tools I used was my imagination. I just tried to think like they would have using the data I had. It also helps that I read anything I can find on Celtic mythology, which gives some insight into how they lived. Reading other works of fiction on the Celts also helped me to develop their society.

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Ravenwolf is a sequel to my first book, Of Water and Dragons. When I wrote Of Water and Dragons I had no plans for a sequel, but the characters had more to tell, especially Nemu, my half-faery woman. I think sometimes, too, it’s hard for a writer to let go of the characters they spent so much time creating. These characters became a part of me. It took me a while to come up with the sequel. I went through many re-writes, which can be aggravating, but I finally came up with something that pleased me and helped the characters grow.

I was out of commission for a few weeks very recently and had to spend a lot of time on the couch. This unasked-for holiday didn’t allow for much in the way of creative energy, but it did make me lie down for long periods of time. My husband was sweet and bought me some DVDs to enjoy. Since then I’ve been thinking about movies in general. Like many folks, there’s times when I’d just love the opportunity to re-write certain film scripts. There’s some on my personal list which I honest-to-god hate. Movies that the world would have been better off not ever being witness to. But then there are some, which while enjoyable, just piqued me with the desire to at least touch up.

A lot of authors try to sell their books. This might work if they only have one or two in roughly the same genre, but as an author's repertoire grows, it becomes harder and harder to promote that way.

Case in point: Under my real name, I write fantasy and science fiction. I've also written non-fiction. Just taking my fantasy, I've written high fantasy, swords and sorcery, surrealism, slip-stream, short stories, novels, modern humorous fantasy, even fantasy serials. I have books with Double Dragon, Twilight Times, Zumaya and Bucks for a Buck. Selling each book separately would require me to break open my piggy bank (it's really a goblin bank, but don't tell anyone). What's an author to do?