#WW – Writer’s Wednesday

Hump Day! You know what that means – time to check out some fabulous writers and new works.

I am thrilled to welcome the talented, fantastic Alison Kent to my blog today! Let me wipe the saliva off my mouth after drooling over this cover…take it away Alison!

I’ve never made a secret of the fact that I’m a big fan of TV. Lots of writers give up watching television to have more time to write, but well-written television inspires me. I’m lucky that writing is my full-time gig. I do my pages during the day and get to unwind at night with stories on the screen. But I’ve noticed lately that I enjoy shows a lot better when I watch episodes back to back, either streaming or on DVD.

My favorite shows are ones with story arcs that last a full season, or most of a season, with maybe the occasional standalone episode. And I think I like watching this way because it’s more like reading a book. I can move from one episode to another, find a stopping place just as I’d bookmark the end of a chapter when reading.

I only started watching this way in the last year or two when deadlines meant saving shows until I had time to get involved. The first show I watched was Breaking Bad. The first three seasons were available on Netflix, then I bought a pass to the fourth. I bought the first two seasons of Justified on DVD, bought a pass to the most recent, then watched several episodes at a time. I streamed Sons of Anarchy and Mad Men. I’ve even gone back and watched the early episodes of Law & Order SVU.

Watching one show after another drops me deeper into the characters’ lives, lets me follow the arc without losing threads (which I often do when watching episodes week to week). Sometimes I’ll wait till I can watch several episodes of network TV on Hulu, like I did with the last season of Friday Night Lights, just to have the same sort of immersion I get in a book. I did the same after missing the first few of Once Upon A Time.

I think this is the same reason I love writing connected books that share characters. Building fictional communities allows me to really get to know my characters as both the stars of their own romance, but also as friends and relatives of other heroes and heroines. The first book is like the first season of a TV series. The second takes us back to that world, already familiar with many of the characters, the locations, the tone, but also introduces us to new story people and situations. It’s why I’m so excited to be writing two series for two publishers (Berkley & Amazon Montlake), both with ongoing casts of characters and story arcs. It’s like being Shonda Rhimes and having my own shows!

My next release, an erotic romance coming from Berkley Heat, introduces the residents of Crow Hill, Texas. The stories revolve primarily around the Dalton Gang, three cowboys who growing up were friends as well as enemies. They drank too much, took half the care shooting off their mouths they took with their guns, and never met a saddle they couldn’t talk their way into. And now they’re back in town.

You can read an excerpt of the first book, UNDENIABLE, here: http://www.alisonkent.com/blog/2012/04/04/d-is-for-dalton-gang/

and pre-order the print copy at these stories (digital copy coming soon!):

http://www.amazon.com/Undeniable-A-Dalton-Gang-Novel/dp/0425253260/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/undeniable-alison-kent/1108473219?ean=9780425253267

What about the rest of you? Do you like watching full seasons of TV rather than weekly episodes? Or do you prefer to fall into a book instead?

Follow Alison here!

twitter.com/alisonkent

facebook.com/author.alisonkent

alisonkent.com/blog