People often ask me about writing a novella collection with other authors. Most of the time writing is me alone at my computer. Most people can imagine that. When you add other authors to the mix, they begin to wonder what the process is like and how it differs.

I’ve been a part of several novella collections in addition to writing several cozy mysteries for Guidepost with my friend Tricia Goyer. I love the extra collaboration that comes with many of those projects. This summer I’m writing novellas for two (Christmas in Mistletoe Square and Dangerous Pursuits), so I thought it would be fun to share with you what this process is like. It’s different on both.

One of the fun things about the Christmas in Mistletoe Square collection was that Janine Rosche and Pepper Basham were already talking about it when we were together for a writers brainstorm/writing weekend in December. I knew it would be a fun project because — well — they are both crazy fun people, so I invited myself along for the fun and they graciously agreed to have me. I’m so glad they let me be part, because I knew that with Pepper Basham, Janine Rosche, and Teresa Tysinger, it would be a delightful collection. I usually write romantic suspense that’s driven by some pretty hefty issues, so I was and am so excited to be part of a Christmas collection that is light-hearted and sweet. In addition to the brainstorming we’d done in December, we hopped on a Zoom to do more brainstorming about the stories and how they could be connected. The result is a wonderful collection of Christmas themed stories that will make it easy to get in the Christmas mood.

With Dangerous Pursuits, the vibe is different because it’s a much larger group (15 authors). These authors are still people I really enjoy and love their books, so it’s really fun to talk about the project, but we’ve had no collaboration other than the novellas have to be suspense and take place in the fall. Because I was in the middle of writing Silver Bell Secrets, I decided to tie the two together — so fun! So the secondary character in Silver Bell Secrets is the heroine in the yet to be named Dangerous Pursuits.

You may notice that Christmas in Mistletoe Square happens in Kedgewick Creek, NC. That’s the name for a town that came in second place when I surveyed folks like you for possible town names. My Dangerous Pursuits yet-to-be named novella is set in Hamilton, VA, the winner of that survey. Kedgewick Creek is completely fictional — but loosely based on Highlands, NC, while Hamilton is very real. That creates different challenges for this writer, but is keeping the process very fun this summer.

My Dangerous Pursuits novella is in desperate need of a name. Anyone want to make suggestions based on the following: When Elaine ran from her home four years earlier she was convinced her mother had been murdered but no one believed her. Now she’s returning to town to take her rightful place at the healm of her mother’s company R2D Technologies if someone doesn’t kill her first. When Austin takes a call from Elaine, it’s a blast from the past, but he immediately finds himself dodging bullets and having to choose whether to help her or walk away. Will the truth come to light in time to save Elaine and R2D Technologies? And will the Elaine and Austin open the door to love?

Christmas in Mistletoe Square and Dangerous Pursuits, are only $1.49 and99¢ if you preorder. Buy both and you’ll have 19 novellas to read in October!