Guest Blogger, Sabrina Jeffries

It’s my pleasure to welcome New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries as the special guest blogger here today at Thoughts in Progress.

THE TRUTH ABOUT LORD STONEVILLE is Book One in Sabrina’s new series, The Hellions of Halstead Hall.  Sabrina stops by today to talk about her personality as it relates to her writing.

In addition, Sabrina has a special giveaway for one lucky visitors who comments on her post.  Sabrina tell us about your writing personality.

It took me years to figure out that I’m an aural person—that my knowledge of the world comes primarily from what I hear as opposed to what I see (as it does for a visual person) or what I feel (a tactile person). That’s probably why my books don’t have nearly as much description of places and things as a visual writer’s. Or why I don’t describe nearly enough how “the wind chilled her arms” or “the weight of the ring on her finger reminded her that she was a wife,” as a tactile writer might do.  Because those things aren’t as important to me as what people say and hear.

My books are dialogue-heavy. The cadence of language, the rise and fall of speech, the breaks, and the natural pauses are far more a part of my writing style than the word-painting a more visual author would use.

This is probably why—beyond a few images associated with my characters—I can’t use pictures for inspiration. Visual authors do far more. They make collages that spark their creativity and help them discover character or get a feel for the story. 

I made a collage once. It was very pretty. I put it in my office once I started the book, then never looked at it again. And when the book was done, I realized the collage really had nothing to do with the book. It hadn’t inspired me. I’d forgotten I had it. Needless to say, I don’t make collages any more.

Instead, I make soundtracks for my books. I choose songs that remind me of my characters and the issues they’re facing, and then I play them. Over and over. That’s why “Criminal” by Fiona Apple will forever be associated in my head with Wed Him Before You Bed Him.

Some songs end up on more than one book’s soundtrack. My current series, The Hellions of Halstead Hall, is about the Sharpes, a family of five siblings who lost their parents tragically when they were young and have been acting out ever since. Their rich grandmother decides to jar them out of their self-destructive ways by threatening to cut them all off if they don’t all marry. 

As the hero of the first book, The Truth about Lord Stoneville, says to his siblings once he gains his heroine, “We’ve been sleep-walking too long, locked into the past, unable to live a fruitful life. Now that Maria has awakened me, I want to wake you up, too. I want you to stop boxing at shadows and hiding in the dark from the scandal of our parents’ deaths. I want you to find what I’ve

found—love.” 

And what better song to express that than “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence? You might call it the theme song of the series.

Another song that transcends all the books’ soundtracks is “Save Me” by Queen. Because all of the Sharpes desperately need saving from themselves.

So what about you? Do you ever associate certain songs with certain books? Do you like it when authors suggest soundtracks for their books? Are you visual, aural, or tactile and how does that affect the kind of books you prefer?

There’s an autographed copy of The Truth About Lord Stoneville for whoever posts the most interesting comment!

Sabrina, thanks so much for guest blogging today. An interesting post on the various types of writing personality. For information on Sabrina, check out her website.