Last week my novel, The Love Script, released. I’m always tickled when a new book baby releases into the world. I’m also a little nervous that all the hard work I poured into the novel won’t be met with great reception. Fortunately, the early reviews are favorable towards my Hollywood celebrity romance.
So let’s go behind the scenes of the making of a book. For me, I always start with a playlist I can listen to as I write. There’s something about music that connects the story to my mind and my heart as the characters go on the journey.
The opening line of The Love Script is “The wind whipped through the car’s sunroof, the sound competing with a serenade of H.E.R. on the R&B station as I drove down Coldwater Canyon.” The very first song on my playlist is “Focus” by H.E.R. H.E.R. has a soothing voice and I wanted to set the stage for my character. I wanted my heroine, Nevaeh Richards, to be enjoying life before I introduced that plot device that would turn her world upside down.
I also had some upbeat songs like “Joyful” by Dante Bowe, “Hold Me” by Jamie Grace,. I also had a nod to the setting, and listened to “California Girls” by the Beach Boys and “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.
But listening to the music isn’t the only thing I do behind the scenes.
I’m also huge on choosing inspiration photos to get an idea of what my cast of characters look like, where they live, and sometimes even what they wear. My Pinterest board is full of such pictures. The visuals help me ensure I describe everything accurately. From the cute dresses my heroine might wear or to the happy expression on my hero’s face. I even found inspiration outfits for a photo shoot my characters take in the story.
Once I do these two things, I sit and create my characters. I ask them questions about what makes them tick, where are they on their faith journey, what lies do they believe, what makes them happy, do they have favorites, what was their childhood like, etc. I go on and on until I feel like I know them.
Then the fun begins. Writing the first draft thrills me and my fingers fly over the keyboard until my brain calls it quits for the day. With The Love Script, I wrote the first draft pretty quickly. I filled it with text threads between the hero and his two male friends (I ended up cutting some from the final version and I still weep over them). The book was revised, edited, edited some more, and finally sent off to the printers. It’s also available on ebook, audiobook, hardcover and large print (I believe).
What questions do you have for me?
Leave a behind the scenes question in the comments and you can be entered for a chance to win a paperback copy of The Love Script. Comment by 8/11/23, 3:00pm EDT and then a random winner will be chosen. Please have USA mailing address. Void where prohibited.
Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace thanks to the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior. She writes to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness. She spends her days hanging out with her husband and their two boys. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Find out more on her website at http://tonishiloh.com.
I’m not into a lot of descriptions of clothes and things in books. You can tell me she put her long wavy hair up, and I’m fine. You can tell me she put a blue knee-length dress, but if you go into details about the design on the dress and stuff, it turns me off! lol!! I’m so not into fashion and details like that! I like some things left up to my own imagination when it comes to how a character looks and the clothes they wear. I think that’s why I prefer no people on covers, plus the fact that sometimes what an author calls “petite” in a book does NOT appear as petite on the cover!
That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing with me!
Hi, Toni. I got to read The Love Script through NetGalley and really enjoyed it. Do you let readers have a link to your Pinterest boards??? I always like to see the author’s ideas on what the characters look like :-)
Yes! Here’s the link: https://www.pinterest.com/ToniShiloh/the-love-script/.
Thank you for reading!
Good morning, sounds Great! My question is Who has been your hardest character to write about and why?
I think my character in book 2 of the Love in the Spotlight series because her background is such a complex one.
Where did the inspiration for The Love Script come from?
Do you prefer the covers with live models or the drawing style of this book? I’ve noticed a lot of books recently have gone with the style of The Love Script. Do you have a lot of say in your covers?
Congratulations on the new release!
That’s fascinating that you make the Pinterest board and have such detailed knowledge of what the characters look like. I love hearing how writers work.
Do you have the whole story planned out before you write, or is it more of a process as you go along? If so was there anything in The Love Script that was and unexpected changes from how you originally planned it?
How do you decide on songs for a playlist?
Hi, Toni! How do you come up with the dialogue between the characters?
Where did the premise of the story come from? How did you come up with the title? Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Is there a certain scene in this particular book that you had to edit out, that it physically hurt you to do so?!
A brainstorming session :)
I like both. As a reader, I’m more drawn to illustrated covers because it tells me it’ll be more lighthearted and humorous. But that doesn’t mean I want all covers to be illustrated.
And we give them feedback on what we wish to have and they take it from there, making sure we’re happy with final design.
I don’t plan before I write. I let the characters take me on the journey.
Usually songs that make me think of the setting, the tropes (like friends to more), and any issue the characters go through.
I’m not sure I actually consciously think of it. It just flows out.
The title was actually from my publisher. I had a different title when I was working on the first draft.
I had a lot of text messages between the hero and his two friends. It pained me to edit those out.
I like the idea that you “ask your characters what lies they believe.” Do your characters ever surprise you with their answers?
Congrats on the new book baby! I LOVE the cover for this book. Do you have a lot of say in your cover designs or is there someone else that picks them?
Definitely. But they always make sense to me.
I get some say but there is a team who is looking as well to make sure they have the best possible.