Y'all, I'm a 7! by Jenn McKinlay

 JENN McKINLAY: If you read my post yesterday, you know I was recently at a reader author gathering called RAGT. One of the high points was spending time with my long time author friend Lori Wilde. Luckily for me, she is also a writing instructor and she graciously listened to me whine (and wine) about my recent issues in crafting "the same but different" romantic comedies.

We discussed various ways to break through my mental block and one of them was using the Enneagram Personality to test to help inform my characters and give them more natural conflict. She also advised me to take the test because she suspected I was a 7.

Naturally, I took the online test, which our assistant Christie Conlee found for me here: Enneagram Test

There are 9 personality types and the test tells you the strongest to the weakest in a handy pie chart (mine is below).

As you can see, I'm a 7 (Lori was totally right!) 9 and 3 for my strongest traits. Well, I read the descriptions -- enthusiast, peacemaker, achiever -- and thought WOW! That's me, totally me! 

Lori's point was that I could use the Enneagram to flesh out my characters and give them natural conflicts (which I struggle with because I generally like my characters and don't want to torture them) but as I read the descriptions of my personality traits, I realized THIS IS WHY I STRUGGLE WITH CONFLICT FOR MY CHARACTERS!!!  

The combo of enthusiast (always striving for positive experiences) followed by the peacemaker (always going with the flow to keep the peace) make it such a challenge for me to torture my characters as one must. This is why LOVE AT FIRST BOOK (aka the book that about killed me) was so difficult to write. I leaned into conflict and pain and, boy howdy, did that feel uncomfortable and difficult! 

So, now that I know this about myself, I feel as if a world of self-awareness has opened up for me and I can approach my writing much more intentionally (thank you, Lori!) and I can use it to craft characters who have authentic conflict. Straight up, I am super excited about this!!!

Your turn, Reds and Readers, have you taken a personality test (hit the link above if you want to) and what did you learn? Reds, do you use personality tests to inform your characters?

Most Anticipated Spring Reads

Jenn McKinlay: I am an eclectic reader, meaning I read everything. There is no genre I won't read. So, while looking at my most anticipated reads for spring, I was unsurprised to see a nice mix of genre there. Show of hands, who reads ALL the genres?

Because I like to share (librarian), here's my short list -- in no particular order -- of my most anticipated spring reads. Believe me, the actual list is much, much, much longer!

I discovered Abby Jimenez when she was a Food Network champ of Cupcake Wars - no, not kidding. She co-owns Nadia Cakes and since I write the Cupcake Bakery mysteries, I was an instant fan. Imagine my delight when she published her first book, The Friend Zone, and it was EXCELLENT! Naturally, I've been waiting for book two and was thrilled when she endorsed my upcoming summer book and then sent me an ARC of The Happy Ever After Playlist, which I just finished and let me just say -- it is FANTASTIC!

One of the cozy mysteries I have been most eager for is Death at High Tide, the start of a new series by my dear friend Hannah Dennison. If you love a good British mystery with delightful wit and a divine setting, Hannah's your writer! The series is about two sisters who inadvertently inherit a crumbling Art Deco hotel on a fictional tidal islet called Tregarrick Rock in the Isles of Scilly. Perfect, right? I've just started it and am loving it! 

Freakin' Scalzi. I straight up love this guy. Smart and funny, he's a writer's writer. Plus his Twitter feed features his cat Smudge, so we were simpatico even before I found this series, which I love. The Last Emperox is book three of the of The Interdependency Trilogy, and I am here for it. Not for nothing, but Scalzi pens a heck of a heroine and this space opera is a supercharged rocket of a ride. Strap in!

Lori Wilde has been a friend and mentor to me for years. When we met up at Bouchercon in Dallas, we had a lot to share as we'd both been moved into women's fiction by our publishers. I have been anticipating The Moonglow Sisters ever since. Three sisters raised by their grandmother, inseparable until a betrayal cuts their close ties. How will it play out for Maddie, Shelley, and Gia? No one writes better complicated family dynamics with warmth and wit than Lori. Her book arrived on my doorstep yesterday and I can't wait to dig in!

Okay, there's anticipation, and then there's ANTICIPATION! No eager-to-read-list would be complete without mentioning our Julia. At long last, number nine in her series drops this spring and I am over the moon.

I have loved Claire Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne from book one and I can't wait to have them back in my life. Seriously, I am clearing my calendar and booking a long reading sesh with Hid From Our Eyes on it's release day, April 7th, and I suggest you do the same!

So, tell me, Reds and Readers, what are your most anticipated books this spring? And do you read all genres or no?