Christa Reads and Writes: BLOG TOUR and GUEST POST: MOLLY'S MISADVENTURES by D. E. Haggerty

Today, it is my pleasure to have D. E. Haggerty as my guest...

Molly’s Misadventures Blog Tour

D.E. Haggerty

Guest Post

Why Molly’s Misadventures was an Adventure to Write

I think I’m pretty well-rounded as a writer. I’ve written military suspense, historical mysteries, and cozy mysteries. All of my books have one thing in common – there is always a puzzle to be solved. From figuring out what happened to Skylar’s grandfather in Buried Appearances to clearing Dee of murder in Love in the Time of Murder, I’ve always included some type of mystery in my novels. Sure, there is romance, laughter, and suspense as well, but the main point of the story is the resolution of the mystery.

Molly’s Misadventures is different – there’s no mystery to solve. The novel is primarily a love story and that scared the pants off of me for several reasons. In the first place, I don’t do sex scenes. I’m more of a fade to black type of writer. Not that I don’t read erotica. P-lease. I love erotica. But every time I write a kissing scene I’m looking around in my home office to see if anyone can see what I’m writing. And gosh, I can’t imagine my dad – who reads everything I write, mostly because I send him free copies – reading a sex scene I’ve written. Gross. Just gross.

And although I love me some hot and steamy graphic sex scenes. The scenes are often tiresome. How many ways are there to describe making love? How many times can a writer use the words ‘his hot rod’ or – my personal favorite – ‘his silk covered steel shaft’? Although sex is an important part of life and often an essential development in a story, how often do characters need to get it on in a book anyway?

Romance stories themselves are also repetitive. It’s almost as if there is a strict set of rules to follow. Boy meets girl. They fall in love. Boy does something stupid to break girl’s heart. They reconcile. The end. BOR-ING. And how many hot stepbrothers exist anyway? And – trust me – not all men in the military are hot! I was convinced I couldn’t write a novel, which was strictly a romance, as it’s all been done before.

So why did I write Molly’s book if it scared the beejezus out of me? Well, first of all, I’m not one to not do something just because I’m scared. I’m absolutely terrified of heights, but that doesn’t stop me from rappelling. I also didn’t want to anger my muse. My muse gave me this awesome idea and I fell in love with the idea. Who am I to tell my muse she needs to come up with something else?

I also realized that a romance doesn’t have to be only about romance. There’s character development to consider and what about self-development? And, of course, there’s laughter. There has to be laughter. I also played around with the format of the novel for fun. I added blog posts and Facebook updates to mix things up. Before I knew it, the story was finished and it didn’t kill me. In fact, I really enjoyed writing Molly’s story. So much so that I’m having a hard time starting my next manuscript. I never would have predicted that when I chewed off all my fingernails while writing up my ideas for Molly’s story!

Synopsis
I’m having the suckiest day ever. First, my father, aka Mr. Grumpy Pants, calls to say his nurse just walked out on him. Likely story. I rush home to pack only to walk in on my husband getting it on with his younger, skanky secretary. Unfortunately, my quick weekend trip home to fix Dad’s problems turns into a stay of a few weeks. Luckily, I’ve got Danny, the neighbor boy I had a crush on when I was a dorky, braces-wearing, nose-buried-in-a-book teenager, and a brand-spanking new blog to keep my mind off things. Before I know it, I’m writing product reviews of vibrators and getting questioned by a store rent-a-cop at the world’s worst date ever. All while trying to figure out how to take things with Danny to the next level. Not to complicate things or anything but my boss decides to give me an ultimatum – come back in four weeks or don’t come back at all. How in the world did my life get so complicated?

About The Author
I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on from my mom’s Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew to Little Women. When I wasn’t flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although I did manage every once in a while to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. Another job change, this time from lawyer to B&B owner and I was again fed up and ready to scream I quit, which is incredibly difficult when you own the business. Thus, I shut the B&B during the week and in the off-season and started writing. Several books later I find myself in Istanbul writing full-time.

Author Links
Website: http://www.dehaggerty.com
Blog: http://www.dehaggerty.com/mymusings
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dehaggerty
Twitter: https://twitter.com/denaehaggerty
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DEHaggerty/posts
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/denahaggerty/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7210211.D_E_Haggerty
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/D.E.-Haggerty/e/B00ECQBURU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_5?qid=1438239628&sr=8-5

Purchase Links:
Amazon