Author Annie Rayburn: Are Authors Like Nest Builders?

Please join me in welcoming author Annie Rayburn as the special guest blogger today as she tours blogdom with her latest release, BITTERSWEET OBSESSIONS.

I must admit I knew nothing of Annie or her work until Carol at Under the Tiki Hut gave an introduction. That’s one of the things I love about blogdom - I get to met such interesting new authors and their great work. I was also fortunate enough to win a copy of Annie’s latest release that I’m enjoying reading.

I asked Annie (the pseudonym of Carol Burnside) if she would drop by so I could introduce her to y’all. She agreed and is here to talk about how authors build their stories.

This Spring, the small lanai between my house and pool became a construction zone...for a pair of Phoebe’s. They built a mud and organic matter nest on a tiny half-inch ledge. It looked to be an impossible feat, but they blithely accomplished it and set about enlarging their family. It wasn’t until their fledglings had left the nest that I realized how a correlation could be built between their behavior and that of a writer.

Often a story idea is like that half-inch ledge, the barest premise on which to build. But we delve into the minds and hearts of our characters, finding the glue-like mud which will hold the chunks of moss and blades of grass that are our plot threads. Separately, neither would become a fully realized nest or story. Together they create magic where there was nothing.

We write the draft (lay our egg) and at this stage, there is a tendency for the newbie writer to shove it from the nest. The savvy writer sits on it until it is fully hatched. Even then, it’s only a good first draft.

The Phoebe nourished her baby and cleaned the nest, preparing him to leave her care. A writer cleans up the plot threads, omits wordiness and bad grammar and typos until the manuscript is indeed ready to leave the nest.  

I’ve had several babies leave my nest, the latest of which is BITTERSWEET OBSESSIONS, the third of my published contemporary erotic romances with paranormal and sci-fi elements. 

Annie, thanks so much for guest blogging. I enjoyed your correlation. A story really is built a layer at a time and without those foundations it never makes it. Wishing you much success with your writing.

Now let me tell you a bit about Annie and then about her work.

As I mentioned earlier, Annie Rayburn is the pseudonym of Carol Burnside, whose works have placed and won several romance writing contests. Whatever her muse, she grew up with scenes playing in her head and imaginary playmates taking over the show while she patted out mud cookies dotted with Chinaberries. 

The stories she crafts today are decidedly more adult than the ones that involved Ken and Barbie. Annie has Indie published her backlist, INSIGHT (a short story) and PHANTOMS & FANTASIES (a novella) which introduce her world of Crainesians living among us. Annie also writes for Red Sage Publishing. Her first release with them is BITTERSWEET OBSESSIONS, an erotic romance with sci-fi and paranormal elements. 

Learn more about Annie and her books at www.AnnieRayburn.com.

Now for a little insight into her writing.

INSIGHT: What's a strong Crainesian woman like Sela to do when Jonavon, her half human life-mate, is too clueless to follow when beckoned? Seduce him with his own desires, of course!

PHANTOMS & FANTASIES: Passion too hot to ignore: a romance between a Crainesian rape victim, the life-mate she denied and the intense pheromone heat drawing them together. Can Zeenie leave phantoms of her past behind and embrace her fantasies, or will she reject Turk once again?

BITTERSWEET OBSESSIONS:  What if you were taught that there was only one life mate in the universe for you, and then you learned that person was lost to you? Would you have the courage to put aside the hurt and your ingrained beliefs to stubbornly search for happiness? Teriza and Paul find themselves facing this dilemma. I hope you’ll enjoy their rocky journey to happiness as much as I enjoyed telling their story.

Annie’s books can be purchased at the following sites:
Red Sage, Amazon, Diesel e-books, BN.com, and Smashwords (where P&F is on sale 50% off through the end of July.)

Do you see the comparison of writing to building a nest? Share your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by.