Travels with a Pantster and a Plotter

Writing with a partner—most people wouldn't do it; most people shouldn't do it. It could easily lead to hair pulling, lawsuits, and funeral food.

Stephanie and Jean were friends first—not just friends, but the finish each other's sentences and swap shoes on the sidewalk kind of friends. They kept saying that they wanted to write a book together—and then one day they did. And then another, and another, and another.

They had no idea their writing styles would be so different but, upon reflection, they could have looked at their travel styles for a clue. Jean once got off a plane in London with eight dollars, an ATM card, no reservations of any kind, and vague idea that she wanted to go to the Victoria and Albert museum. When Stephanie travels, she arrives with a detailed concrete plan written in a notebook that she carries in a coordinating tote bag that matches her calendar and her shoes.

There's something to be said for both philosophies. Traveling by the seat of your pants can lead to adventures never recorded in a guide book but it seems to work out better if there is a plotter along with her hand on the rudder.

Jean and Stephanie write in two very different worlds. Travel with them to Lochmoor where romantic comedy meets high fantasy in a land of elves and magic. Or stop by the small town of Merritt, Alabama where the most magical thing that happens is on a football Friday night or on Main Street during the Christmas parade.

Either way, it will be a trip filled with laughter, love, and surprises.

Stephanie Jones

Stephanie Jones and Jean Hovey write together as Alicia Pace.

Stephanie lives in Jasper, AL, where she teaches fourth grade and wishes for a bigger bookstore. She is a native Alabamian who likes football, civil war history, and people who follow the rules. She is happy to provide a list of said rules to anyone who needs them.

Jean, a former public librarian, lives in Decatur, AL, with her husband in a hundred-year-old house that always wants something from her. She likes to cook but has discovered the joy of Mrs. Paul's fish fillets since becoming a writer.

Stephanie and Jean are both active members of the fabulous Heart of Dixie Chapter of Romantic Writers of America. They have completed two fantasy manuscripts and a contemporary romantic comedy.

Jean Hovey