Leslie Keller Books

The new book, still tentatively titled No Reservations , is progressing and I hope to have it completed soon. As I write, characters may evolve or change completely. It's not unusual for me to change character names, change their looks or even their sex as I write. Many authors say that the characters drive what happens. I agree in part. Obviously I'm the one who has the final say! For each book, I begin with the setting. Where is the story taking place? Once I've decided on the location I will outline the rest of the plot. In my mind I'll know what the overall premise of the book will be and what I expect to happen. In each of the three books, much of what I planned is changed. Perhaps that is the characters' way of guiding me or it could just be that my mind heads in a direction which I didn't expect. Occasionally, when writing dialog the character says lines which impact the scene and move the story along a different path. In No Reservations I have a new...

Jayne's next adventure is underway and it looks like she'll be off to enjoy a few days in Colorado with her best friend Bailey. Up to this point, Bailey has been somewhat of a mystery. We know from the first two books she doesn't like to drive.  We know she rescues animals and also an orphaned young woman.  We know she works in computer security and has her own business. But we really don't know Bailey. As the creator of this character, it's been fascinating to discover who Bailey is. I never like to reveal too many clues but I will say that she had some significant events in her past and they will come to light in book three. Sadly, I don't know exactly where the story is going, even though I have a comprehensive outline. In the writing process I may think the story is going in one direction, only to find as the words appear on the page, that I was mistaken. As Bailey unveils herself to me, I hope her character is one that grabs your attention and makes you...

As far back as I can remember I loved the 'wild west'. I read books about it, spent hours watching westerns on television and loved everything that involved horses. My favorite and oldest childhood memory is of the trip to visit my paternal grandmother. On the way I would beg my parents to stop at a place where they gave pony rides. If I was lucky, on the way home, e would stop.  Heaven! Flash forward more than fifty years and I still have a love of the west and, of course, horses.  But I have to ask myself the question - what is a cowboy today?  I frequently tell people on my travels that one of the attractions which drew me to Arizona was that it retains some of that flavor - there are wild horses wandering the desert and if you are lucky, you may see some of the wild burros near Lake Pleasant. Fly over and you will see tracts of land devoted to farming.  Drive up to Cave Creek and you may see a horse tied up to a post outside of a local bar (next to ...

You should be careful when you talk on your cell phone. You should be constantly on guard when in public.  You should look around you whenever you dawdle at the gym or chit chat with your neighbor.  What evil lurks around every corner?  Authors! It's true. Ask any author where they steal their ideas and they will tell you, if they are honest, that we snatch them from innocent bystanders.  I have created characters when standing in line at the office supply store, when at the airport, even if there is a server at a restaurant who catches my eye. I have been known to whip out my cell phone and frantically enter descriptions of what people are wearing.  Snippets that float by me on the breeze may become dialogue.  Even the contents of your grocery cart may find it's way onto my pages. In this day of camera phones and constant communication with everyone -- except the one we're with -- it's impossible not to get swept away in the dr...

When I wrote the first book in the Jayne Stanford series, I had several books plotted out in my head. I was certain what would happen in book two (that changed) and what I wanted to write for books three and four. What is that saying about the best laid plans? Right after releasing the first book I broke my wrist and, not only was my writing delayed significantly, but I decided book two would send Jayne to Napa.  That didn't happen. I have always wanted to wrap the old western feel of Cave Creek, Arizona into the series and somewhere towards the end of the first book my favorite saloon burned down.  That event was supposed to be in book two - nope, didn't happen. A month after releasing the second book I spent a laugh-until-you-cry trip in Colorado with my good friend, Lauren. Lauren was unknowingly inspiration for the second book based on her lovely boy Tomas who she takes to spend time visiting the elderly at an assisted living facili...

At a recent cocktail party I discussed the writing process with another author. As a few guests listened in, we described where our writing ideas originate. With that in mind I'll include a few posts about my personal process. As a reader, you may not stop in the middle of your current novel to consider what force drove the author to make a character leap from a bridge, step in front of a fast moving train or murder an innocent bystander. As an author, everything that reaches my senses may trigger an event for any one of my characters. The sound of the rain pounding on the roof may cause me to write a drowning. The heat of the desert may result in a building burning to the ground. The repetition of a basketball dribbled across the street may conjure gunshots. The smell of orange blossoms may transport my character to an unexpected location. In books one and two of the Jayne Stanford series, Menu for Murder and Cocktails at Sunset, I completely changed the en...