The family he didn’t know he wanted might be the only thing worth dying for.

Baby ConSEALed

SEAL & Shelter Book 1

by Leah Miles

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Leah Miles writes romance and paranormal fiction from her small-town in South Georgia, where she lives with her husband and cocker spaniel while running an insurance agency and Airbnb business.

After a dozen years in news production at CNN, Leah Miles now manages an insurance agency and an Airbnb business in rural Georgia, while writing romantic suspense and paranormal romance featuring take-charge heroes and fierce heroines.

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What comes first, the plot or the characters?

When I began this journey in earnest, I wrote down the stories in my head without planning or an outline, but it was difficult to maintain a consistent story thread. I learned that for me, the best stories begin with figuring out what my characters want and need. After I do that, the story practically writes itself.

What changes between drafts?

I write in layers, so my initial draft is a little messy and filled with notations. After the first draft is done, I do a very rough outline and make sure the threads are all coming together.

After that, I make 2 or 3 passes, adding details and emotions that I skimmed over in the initial draft. I’m my own worst critic.

Do you use writing software?

I love DabbleWriter. It helps me organize chapters and scenes and lets me easily work on multiple books at once. With the outline and plotting tools, I’m able to keep the series details straight and store photos that remind me of my characters. I also use Grammarly for spellcheck.

Roughly how much time do you spend writing every day?

I work a full-time job, and in January of this year, my husband and I opened a 6-cabin Airbnb-type business. Since then, my writing time has dropped from 2.5-3.5 hours a day to about an hour on weekdays, though I try to make up for that on weekends. This doesn’t account for the time I invest in the business side of the author business: promotions, interviews, social media, newsletters, and cross-promotions, just to name a few.

What’s the best way to improve your writing?

I set a goal to write one short story a month, in addition to my novel projects, to keep my brain churning with new ideas. And I regularly take classes and workshops, as there is always more to learn, whether it’s craft or the business side of being an author.

How do you persuade yourself to sit down to write on days when you really, really DON’T feel like doing it?

Fifteen minutes at a time. I set the timer on my watch to 15 or 30 minutes and try to put down only new words during that interval. It’s a way to commit to the project even when I’m incredibly busy with other things.