But, when it came to creating THE SISTERS’ SECRETS: ROSE, I had no idea what I was in for.

I had already published eight novels and novellas with the fantastic team at HQ Digital. I had this down, right?

Wrong.

When I created this project, the vision came quickly. I saw Rose and Reen, and their ailing mother, Pearl. Their dynamics formed and before I knew it, I had three paragraphs—one for each book. Ideas flew through my mind, and I jotted them all down.

Then, I signed the contract and *Poof* nothing.

First, I thought it was the prospect of starting something new. Rose’s book was the first in the trilogy, so setting up the world was imperative. The first two stories take place in “our world” with a hint of the supernatural.

I used Google maps to look at coastal towns in Connecticut—surely at that point, I would find the spark of the story. While I had the location, the story still sat dormant in the back of my mind.

The deadline for the first draft loomed, and I was nowhere near where I wanted to be.

This roadblock is where a lot of unpublished writers might stop and start something new. But I had a contract and many people at my publisher waiting and expecting a story.

So, I put the coffee maker on standby and pushed through the story. I understood the responsibility of setting up this world, but I kept it in Rose’s perspective. I still had Reen and Pearl’s story to get through, and I knew there would be a time in revisions to expand.

When I started writing, there was no stopping me.

Sure, this book had the most notes during first and second revisions, but I had the story I wanted to set the series off.

Looking back at other books I’ve published, at some point in the process, I’ve hit a rut—whether it’s during drafting or revising. But my best work comes out of being challenged. Luckily, I’ve had some amazing women at HQ Digital to push me to be the best I could be, one book at a time.