I am so so happy to have my good friend Stacey Wilk with me today. Stacey is sharing her thoughts on writing and an excerpt from her fabulous new book TIME WON’T ERASE! Please welcome Stacey!

Welcome Stacey!

I was on the phone recently with a good friend of mine talking about this very blog post. “I want to make a good impression,” I said. To which she replied, “Just be you.” She’s a life coach. And full of good advice.

I write women’s fiction and romantic suspense. I’m one of those outgoing introverts. You know, I’m great in a crowd or at parties, but after a while I need my space. A lot of space. Can I get a raise of hands from my fellow Extroverted/Introverts? I wrote my first novel at the age of twelve. I still have it. Both of my kids are in college now, but the Empty Nest phenomenon is a hoax.

If we were sitting together, I’d make you a cup of tea or pour you a whiskey and we’d chat. I love to chat with my readers. So, grab a drink, and let’s get to know each other.

I’m often asked, “where do your ideas come from?” The answer is everywhere, every place, every moment in time. I don’t have a formula. Maybe some authors do, but I could overhear a story, (yes, I eavesdrop. Drives my husband crazy.) or see an article, or simply sit and ponder. Which is how I came up with the idea for Time Won’t Erase. My latest women’s fiction novel releasing Sept. 28th.

I wanted to write a book about a woman whose sister was murdered by her boyfriend’s brother. How would someone handle that, I wondered as that idea floated across my brain. So, I began building a story that would lead to that question.

I believe all stories are character driven. Without rich and complex characters forced to make decisions under pressure, there is no story. I thought about the young man who pulled the trigger. What led him to this decision? And my hero, Gage, what was his role in his brother’s bad choice? How did it effect Gage’s life after that tragic moment? And my heroine, Calista, what was her sister’s death and loving Gage going to do to her?

I don’t make it easy for my characters. What fun is that? Okay, it’s no fun for them, but it makes the story way more interesting for me to write and for my readers to read. The tougher the questions, the better the book. It’s that decision under pressure thing.

My job as an author is to spin my characters around until they’re dizzy and don’t know where they’re going. Then right at the very last second a light shines and leads them home. I love my job. The best part of what I do happens the moment someone reads my work because now you and I have a special connection, and every connection with a reader is unique. I’ve brought my experiences (and eavesdropping) to my book and so have you, and together we make magic. Thank you for that.

I also have to thank Caridad for allowing me to visit with you. She’s amazing, isn’t she? Needless to say, one of my favorite authors.

How about you? What makes you turn a page in a book? What hooks you and takes you for a ride across two hundred pages?

I hope we can visit again soon. I’ll leave a few places at the end where you can find me so we can gossip about the good conversations you eavesdropped on too. In the meantime, enjoy a sneak peek of Time Won’t Erase and think about what you would do if your boyfriend’s brother murdered your sister.

Excerpt

He wouldn’t allow her to stay out at the motel all by herself. She’d be safe on his ranch and down the hall from his brother with plenty of firearms and ammo.

“I can’t go there.” She pushed away from him.

Her heat drifted away from him, and he missed it instantly. “Mom will be glad to have you there.”

“Your mother doesn’t want me there. And Jett. He hates me.”

“That isn’t true.”

“I hurt you. It’s only natural for them to side with you.”

“Calista, can you put the past aside for one damn night? You were hurt in a robbery and should be at the hospital. If you won’t go home, then come home with me so someone can keep an eye on you.” He wanted to blur the line that separated his life into two parts. The first part was the one with Ajay, Ava, and Calista in it, and it was filled with sound and textures. The second part was the one without, and it was silent and hollow. Even though he had Izzi during that second part, and she filled in so many spaces for him, he wanted something he could never have.

“I couldn’t bear having your mother fuss all over me.”

“You’re being ridiculous. She loves to fuss.” He hoped humor would light the way to reason.

“It hurts too much when she’s nice to me. Her kindness only spotlights what’s missing in my life.”

“Your mother.” Her mother had walked out on her family not long after Ava died. That was probably his fault too.

“No. Not my mother. You.”