Guest Post–> My experience of creating and writing Carrots (Shelby Nichols Adventures #1) by Colleen Helme
Hey Friends,
I am so pleased to have the bestselling author of the Shelby Nichols Adventures, Colleen Helme on my blog where she talks about her inspiration behind writing Carrots (Shelby Nichols Adventures #1) and her writing style.
I absolutely loved Shelby’s adventures in Carrots and hope you love the series as well as enjoy Colleen’s post on her experience of writing this bestselling story.. 🙂
Guest Post: My experience of creating and writing Carrots by Colleen Helme
I am a “discovery” writer. This
means that I don’t start out with an outline on what’s going to happen for the
entire book. I usually start out with a scene like the one I described above
and go for it. This works really well for me…but I’m sure it’s not for
everyone! In the case of CARROTS, I wasn’t even sure what genre it fit in best.
I thought maybe “paranormal” since she could read minds…then maybe chick-lit,
because of the humor, only that didn’t work since Shelby was married. I just wasn’t sure! I finally settled on cozy mystery, since there is a mystery she
has to solve, although that isn’t the focus of the story.
I am so pleased to have the bestselling author of the Shelby Nichols Adventures, Colleen Helme on my blog where she talks about her inspiration behind writing Carrots (Shelby Nichols Adventures #1) and her writing style.
I absolutely loved Shelby’s adventures in Carrots and hope you love the series as well as enjoy Colleen’s post on her experience of writing this bestselling story.. 🙂
About the Author:
As the author of the Shelby Nichols Adventure Series, Colleen is often asked if Shelby Nichols is her alter-ego. “Definitely,” she says. “Shelby is the epitome of everything I wish I dared to be.” Known for her laugh since she was a kid, Colleen has always tried to find the humor in every situation and continues to enjoy writing about Shelby’s adventures. “I love getting Shelby into trouble…I just don’t always know how to get her out of it!” Colleen lives in the Rocky Mountains with her family. Besides writing, she loves a good book, biking, hiking, and playing board and card games with family and friends. She loves to connect with readers and admits that fans of the series keep her writing.
twitter: @ColleenHelme
About the Book:
Title and Author: Carrots by Colleen Helme
Series: Shelby Nichols Adventures
Publication Date: February 2011
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy, Women Sleuths, Series, Paranormal
Blurb:
Shelby Nichols is an average woman who is married to the only guy she ever fell for. Her life is organized and predictable, revolving around her husband and two children. All that changes the day she stops at the grocery store for some carrots. As the cashier rings up her purchases, a gunman is busy robbing the bank inside the store. When a customer grabs the robber’s mask, he is shot and everyone runs for cover. Everyone except Shelby, who finds herself face to face with the killer. The next thing she knows, she’s lying on the floor with a bullet wound to her head. Luckily, the bullet only grazes her scalp, and she doesn’t suspect any lasting affects until later, when she suddenly ‘hears’ what people are thinking. With this uncanny ability, her life takes on a whole new dimension. Her kids think she’s bossy and too old to understand them, but that’s nothing compared to her husband. He says he loves her, but what is it about the redhead at work that he doesn’t want her to know? As if that isn’t enough, the gunman knows she can identify him, and he’s out to silence her forever. In her fight to stay alive, she is saved from certain death by a handsome hit-man with ties to organized crime. This pulls Shelby even deeper into danger, where knowing someone’s thoughts can not only hurt her feelings, but get her killed.
Read my Review of Carrots here: http://www.njkinnysblog.com/2014/05/book-review-shelby-nichols-adventures-1
Read my Review of Carrots here: http://www.njkinnysblog.com/2014/05/book-review-shelby-nichols-adventures-1
Guest Post: My experience of creating and writing Carrots by Colleen Helme
Thanks for hosting
me on your blog Nikita!
me on your blog Nikita!
I got the idea for the first
book, CARROTS, in my Shelby Nichols Adventure Series one day while I was
shopping at the grocery store. I was planning to make chicken soup for dinner
that night and didn’t have any carrots. While I was there I remembered a recent
bank robbery inside the store, and wondered what I would have done if I’d been
there at the time. That’s when my imagination took off and the opening scene
for CARROTS came to be. I didn’t plan on her getting shot in the head, which would give her mind-reading abilities. That’s just what happened when I started
writing the story! After I wrote that scene, I had to save it on my computer. At
that point, I didn’t know what the book was going to be about, so I just saved
it as “CARROTS.” By the time I finished the book, the name stuck…so I just went
with it.
book, CARROTS, in my Shelby Nichols Adventure Series one day while I was
shopping at the grocery store. I was planning to make chicken soup for dinner
that night and didn’t have any carrots. While I was there I remembered a recent
bank robbery inside the store, and wondered what I would have done if I’d been
there at the time. That’s when my imagination took off and the opening scene
for CARROTS came to be. I didn’t plan on her getting shot in the head, which would give her mind-reading abilities. That’s just what happened when I started
writing the story! After I wrote that scene, I had to save it on my computer. At
that point, I didn’t know what the book was going to be about, so I just saved
it as “CARROTS.” By the time I finished the book, the name stuck…so I just went
with it.
I am a “discovery” writer. This
means that I don’t start out with an outline on what’s going to happen for the
entire book. I usually start out with a scene like the one I described above
and go for it. This works really well for me…but I’m sure it’s not for
everyone! In the case of CARROTS, I wasn’t even sure what genre it fit in best.
I thought maybe “paranormal” since she could read minds…then maybe chick-lit,
because of the humor, only that didn’t work since Shelby was married. I just wasn’t sure! I finally settled on cozy mystery, since there is a mystery she
has to solve, although that isn’t the focus of the story.
I never planned on writing a
series, but because of the great response to the first book, I happily wrote
the next, FAST MONEY. Shelby doesn’t really start her consulting agency though,
until the third book, LIE OR DIE, followed by SECRETS THAT KILL and TRAPPED BY
REVENGE.
series, but because of the great response to the first book, I happily wrote
the next, FAST MONEY. Shelby doesn’t really start her consulting agency though,
until the third book, LIE OR DIE, followed by SECRETS THAT KILL and TRAPPED BY
REVENGE.
CARROTS was not my first novel.
I had already written two romantic fantasy novels before that, but this was my
first contemporary novel. I’ve had so much fun writing about Shelby and her
world that I hope to continue with many more. I just finished the sixth book in
the series, DEEP IN DEATH, and I’m so excited for a July 22, 2014 release!
I had already written two romantic fantasy novels before that, but this was my
first contemporary novel. I’ve had so much fun writing about Shelby and her
world that I hope to continue with many more. I just finished the sixth book in
the series, DEEP IN DEATH, and I’m so excited for a July 22, 2014 release!
Thanks again and happy reading!
Shelby Nichols Adventures Series
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Thanks for hosting me today Nikita!
Welcome Colleen 🙂