Danni shares insights on crafting powerful first kisses, the significance of world-building in her series, and the theme of redemption through romance. The conversation also touches on the challenges of balancing writing with family life and the importance of finding a supportive writing community.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Weaving Words into Stories

01:01 Introducing Danni Line

04:35 The Influence of Horror on Romance

07:20 Short Stories vs. Long Fiction

10:24 Building Romantic Tension

13:18 Crafting Powerful First Kisses

16:15 Exploring the Artemis Curse Series

19:30 The Trinket Bay Canine Mystery Series

26:32 Balancing Love and Duty

29:30 World Building in Paranormal Romance

33:33 Redemption Through Romance

37:08 Advice for Aspiring Writers

40:15 Finding Your Community

43:43 Writing Romantic Suspense

49:00 The Horror Genre and Emotional Depth

54:27 Sweet and Spicy Short Stories

57:48 Juggling Writing and Family Life

01:01:33 Where to Find Danni Line

In this episode of Weaving Words Into Stories for Genre Fiction Writers, host Selina discusses the importance of balance in writing, inspired by the Temperance tarot card. She encourages writers to reflect on their inspirations, challenges, and the opportunities that arise from them. The conversation emphasises the need for a holistic approach to storytelling, allowing writers to fully express their imaginative visions on the page.

In this episode, Selina with Melinda Sorensen about her debut novel, The Solstice Queen, which blends magical realism with themes of romance and climate change. Melinda shares insights into her writing process, character development, and the challenges of self-publishing. Melinda also reflects on her personal inspirations, the importance of community in writing, and her future projects.

Chapters00:00 Introduction to Creative Writing Journey02:52 Inspiration and Challenges in Writing03:03 Interview with Melinda Sorensen and Her Debut NovelThe Heart of The Solstice QueenCharacter Development and InspirationsThe Role of Climate Change in the NarrativePersonal Interests and Their Influence on WritingExploring Magical RealismCrafting a Unique Magical SystemChallenges in World-BuildingThe Importance of Beta ReadersJourney into Romance WritingDeveloping the Love TriangleThemes and Control in Romance WritingCharacter Agency and DevelopmentExploring Tropes in StorytellingWriting Process and RitualsFeedback and Editing ProcessThe Role of an EditorTypes of Editing ServicesSelf-Publishing InsightsMarketing Strategies for AuthorsFuture Writing Projects

They explore the importance of character development, the balance between emotional depth and spicy scenes, and the editing process.

Georgia shares her insights on social media strategies for authors, the significance of tropes, and her current project, a Christmas novella titled 'Checking You Twice'.

This engaging conversation offers valuable tips for aspiring writers and highlights the joy of storytelling in the romance genre.

Key takeaways- Trust your readers; they remember the story.- Balance emotional depth with spicy scenes.- Character development is key to relatability.- Use tropes to enhance storytelling.- Writing routines can boost productivity.- Engage with your audience on social media.- Short stories can help develop writing skills.- Writing should be fun and enjoyable.- Emotional wounds drive character growth.- Self-publishing requires learning and adaptation.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Weaving Words into Stories

00:26 Exploring Genre Fiction and Creative Processes

00:48 Introduction to Georgia Moore

02:21 Exploring 'Four Nights Stand' and Its Inspiration

05:09 Tropes and Themes in Romance Writing

08:25 The Editing Process and Trusting Readers

10:07 Balancing Emotion and Spice in Romance

12:12 Character Development and Relatability

14:16 The Importance of Emotional Wounds

17:10 Favorite Tropes and Their Appeal

18:16 The Joy of Being a Romance Author

20:38 Writing Rituals and Routines

22:43 Transitioning from Fan Fiction to Original Works

25:48 Writing Spicy Scenes with Confidence

27:23 Exploring Spicy Scenes in Writing

32:54 The Impact of Intimacy on Character Development

38:30 Engaging with Readers through Social Media

45:50 Balancing Personal Insights and Professional Updates

48:12 Upcoming Works and Self-Publishing Journey

50:23 Inspiring Conversations with Georgia Moore

52:30 Empowering Writers and Building Community

Today, I’m going to explore the Tower tarot card and how it can help us writers with character conflict.

Normally, when I pull the tower card, it comes with a warning that the rug may be about to be ripped out from under my feet and life may about to take a turn I wasn’t expecting. In fact, for a month before I found out that my job was to be made redundant in 2024, I kept pulling the tower card and wondering what was on the horizon. Then bam, the redundancy happened, which, in truth, I knew was coming but wasn’t ready to accept.

What’s this got to do with writing, well, lots actually. The tower card is big disruptive energy and it can represent a major upheaval in our character’s life.

And that’s a good thing because it brings about conflict in the character’s life and world, both the inner world and the external world, and they will be forced to respond to what cannot be controlled.

I’ve put a photo of The Tower card by D.J. Conway and Lisa Hunt above. Take a moment to look at the tarot card. Before we get into what I think, I’d love for you to consider the card and what it might mean to you in relation to your character’s story…

For those who are listening to me on audio, the card had a stone tower which has been struck by lightning. Two dragons wrap around it, mouths wide open and spewing flames. They’re falling from a place of comfort down to the ground. Down to an unfamiliar place where they will be forced to consider different perspectives and maybe even live a different way.

Now, when it comes to characters, we want them to go through difficult experiences and see how they handle it. If your characters aren’t struggling with something. If they aren’t taking action, making decisions and struggling with the consequences of those decisions, then they are passive and that means… they can come across as boring.

We don’t want boring because that means readers put the story down to do something else that’s more interesting instead.

So, the tower tarot card is your friend when it comes to writing fiction.

Take a moment to think about how the tower card energy might showing up in your story.

* Are your characters too comfortable in their story world? What beliefs or ways of thinking do they need to have challenged so they can become who they need to be to achieve their story goals?

* Do your characters need to let go of outdated ideas, approaches, or beliefs? If so, how does that affect their family, work, and friendships? Because when one person changes, it affects others, and that can lead to some juicy conflict.

* As the writer, are you creating scenarios that become the catalyst for change in your characters? Are you making your characters work against obstacles to get what they want? Or is it a little too easy? A little too comfortable for them? If you said, ‘Yes,’ to too easy or too comfortable, then it’s time to rip that rug out from under your characters and be meaner to them. Go on, you can do it!

* If something has happened in your story that is out of your protagonist’s control, how are they trying to control the uncontrollable? This could be the incident incident that throws them off their original path and they realise they have no choice but to respond to the situation, but then they do everything the wrong way, only making things worse for themselves, until eventually they realise that maybe… just maybe they are part of the problem and a deep internal change needs to happen.

If you haven’t watched The Break-Up with Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, I highly recommend doing so. Why? Because Vince’s character goes through the tower energy, doing everything the wrong way until he begins to realise the truth about how his actions are affecting the situation, and putting distance between himself and what he truly wants.

I hope you’ve found this tarot card insightful and it’s got you thinking about conflict in your stories too.

If you want to explore your characters and their goals, motivations and conflicts, you can book a tarot card reading with me via my Empowered Words website contact page.

And, if you need support while writing your short story, your novella or your novel, I am here to help. Just contact me via my Empowered Words website, or you can DM here.

Thanks for reading Weaving Words into Stories! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Unburnt - a short paranormal horror story by S M Shapland

I’m stoked to share with you that I have finally fully self-published my first short paranormal horror story. It’s called Unburnt, and you can find it on Amazon if you’re interested in checking it out.

I’ve had a few people buy it (sending out a huge heartfelt thank you to you guys who’ve done that) and a few people have reviewed it. I’m so grateful for the reviews.

All writers know that reviews help other readers find our stories, so they are vitally important for an author’s brand and book sales. And, if our stories are the best we can make them, then hopefully, they’ll fall into the kindle or into the hands of our ideal readers thanks to those reviews.

I’ve placed an image of my short story, Unburnt, in this substack post for you to see. The cover is amazing and I got it from Louisa West at Covered Up Book Cover Design. It was a pre-made cover, but when I saw it, I knew it was the right one for my little paranormal horror story, so I purchased it.

In my previous post, I wrote about the publishing process behind the scenes of my first experience of self-publishing. As it turns out there was a glitch and my story got stuck between ‘publishing’ and going ‘live’ on the platform.

I waited days and days until I couldn’t wait any longer. My patience is pretty good but I couldn’t keep waiting, so I found a way to contact Amazon and they were so good at looking into the issue. Within about half an hour my story went from being stuck to live on their platform.

It was so exciting to see my little short story finally out in the world with my name on the cover. I’ve written in the shadows for years, and after so much time learning and developing my ability to cope with feedback muscles, I finally felt ready to take the plunge into publishing my story.

And, in doing this, I learned how lucky I am to have such amazingly strong network and community of writer friends and family who read. Everyone I know has been so kind and supportive.

That has been one of the best things about writing for me.

Community.

Friendship.

Writing buddies cheering me on.

I am incredibly grateful for all of that support. Thank you for sharing my story. Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for reviewing my story.

Okay, enough about me and onto other exciting news. Again, in my last post, I talked about the Bushland Castle Productions’ Otherworldly Emergence novella series call out. Well, the closing date has been extended to 27th July 2025 if you’re keen to pitch an idea and can deliver a novella that aligns with their theme.

It is time sensitive, so don’t wait.

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Until next time, happy fiction writing!