Jan Thompson

USA Today Bestselling Author

writing process

Plotting my next novel be like…

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Do you think it’s easy to write a book? Whether the book is a novella or a novel, a lot of work goes into the planning, plotting, penning, and publishing. Somewhere in the middle of all that, there is a whole lot of editing and proofreading. My editor and proofreader are both busy people, and I sometimes have to book them way in advance if I want to get my books back to meet my own publishing schedule.

Sometimes it takes me forever to write a book. In one case, it took me ten years to write a novel. In another case, it took me ten days. I know, right? It varies. It’s not clockwork to me. In fact, I view writing as art. Just like when I used to do wheel pottery, painting, quilting, and sewing, I have to put a lot of effort into writing. But I do like this form of art the best of all. I write what I want, whether long or short, and I dedicate all my books to God.

Stay tuned for:

  • Vacation Sweethearts Book 5
  • Protector Sweethearts Book 3
  • Seaside Chapel Book 4
  • Binary Hackers Book 3
  • Hometown Weddings Book 1 (in the Save the Date anthology)
  • Hometown Weddings Book 3 (in a yet-to-be-titled Christmas anthology)

Joyfully in Jesus,
Jan Thompson

 

Busy, busy!

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I am busy juggling my day job of helping with the family business and my night job of writing to keep up with my calling. Twenty four hours in a day don’t seem enough, but that’s all I have to work with. The good news is that God owns time. I pray that God would keep me in His perfect will so that His perfect will would be done, no matter what.

The next book is coming soon at the end of March. However, I am writing and revising the books that will be released in April, May, and June.

Stay tuned, readers!

First Drafts! (Blog Post at InspyRomance)

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How do authors write the first drafts of their novels?

Today I’m blogging over at InspyRomance.com about writing the first draft of a novel. I asked several authors how they produce their first drafts, and here are their thoughts:

InspyRomance Blog: inspyromance.com/first-drafts

I’m old school and write long hand on paper to begin with for all my books. I outline on paper and write the first drafts on paper. One of the hazards of writing first drafts on paper is getting paper cuts! Sigh. However, I am recycling old paper that we didn’t finish using in grade school, so I am finding use for them. Once I am finished with the outline and draft, I then type them all in on my laptop, revising as I go. Once I’m on my laptop, I don’t go back to paper unless I need to rewrite an entire scene. When I am done with my book on my laptop, it’s ready for my copyeditor and proofreader.

I did that too for my latest novel, Wait for Me, which I outlined and drafted on paper back in 2016. It sat in my bookshelf for two-and-a-half years, including throughout the sabbatical I took in 2018. In 2019, I finally got around to the final revisions and edits. It’s on preorder for only $0.99.

Wait for Me is the story of a single dad, Logan, who made a promise to take his son on a cruise in Alaska as his fifth birthday gift. The only catch is that the boy wants his mother on vacation with them. Logan and Marie have been divorced for three years, and there is just no way he wants to relive their failed marriage. Then again, it’s only for seven days. What could possibly happen in seven days? Certainly not being surrounded by mortal danger? No, of course not.

As you can tell, Wait for Me is one of my romance-with-suspense books (I also write suspense and thrillers, by the way). If you like romance with a side of suspense, here you go: