OAAA Interview: Lorie Langdon and Carey Corp on Collaborating

April 27, 2015     erinbook     Uncategorized

We have two authors on the blog today. They are the collaborative team behind Doon and Destined for Doon based on the musical Brigadoon. The third book in the series is set to come out later this year and the cover is the best one yet! Please welcome co-authors Lorie Langdon and Carey Corp!


1. What inspired the Doon novels? 

Lorie: When I was sixteen I saw the musical Brigadoon and fell in love with the romantic tale of the village that only appears to the modern world once every one hundred years. But one thing always bothered me about the original – during the hundred years that the portal to the kingdom is closed, the people in Brigadoon sleep. Really? They sleep! I couldn’t stop thinking about what I could do with that hundred years…




2. Do you find it harder or easier to collaborate on a novel rather than writing one on your own? 

Lorie: As you can imagine, one of the challenges of co-authoring is not having complete creative control, but this can also be an advantage because you have two brains instead of one!
Carey and I, much like our characters, are opposite in a way that makes for a perfect balance. As writers, we each bring different technical strengths to the table.

The actual  process of writing with a co-author is fun and dynamic. Splitting responsibilities such as blogging, promotions, and social networking is a great blessing. But the biggest advantage is that you have someone who is equally invested. Someone you can call at midnight with a brilliant plot idea, who won’t curse you out and block your phone number


3. How does your collaboration work?
Carey: We divide the writing by character. I write Mackenna and Lorie writes Veronica. And we both research, create the overall plot and work to polish the final document.

4. When it comes to revision do you each revise your own chapters, each other’s, or do you have some other system (and how does it work)?

Lorie: Revising is a multi-step process for us. We will read over our own chapters and rework them several times before sending them to each other. When they’re ready, we send to each other for further review/revision, then we go through multiple revisions from our editor. I read recently that good, conversational writing happens on the 8th revision. I’d say that’s pretty accurate.




5. How are your characters alike or different from yourselves? 

Lorie: I write Veronica Welling, and I think my favorite quality is her bravery. Veronica is not afraid to go after what she wants, even if she’s unsure of the outcome. I’ve always been a bit of a fraidy-cat, but writing this character has caused me to take more risks and fight my own fears.

Carey:  I love how Kenna is so bold and confident. She’s fearless in a way that I never was as a teenager. (Jinx Lorie! LOL!)




6. What is your favorite kind of character to write? (Villain, hero/heroine, anti hero/heroine, regular joe, etc) 

Lorie: I enjoy the anti-hero or reluctant hero, whether that’s the male or female lead in the story.

Carey: I love exploring the villain’s motivations, plotting out their devious plans and fleshing out their end game.




7. How does music inspire your writing? 

Lorie: We are both inspired by the emotion of particular songs as they relate to our character’s relationships or a particular scene. If we’re feeling stuck, we need look no further than our extensive playlists (Which we usually begin to accumulate even before writing the book) to break our writer’s block!

Carey: Lorie and I always make youtube playlists when we’re writing. Then we compile our lists when the book comes out. We generally have a couple of songs that overlap, but for the most part our tastes in music are somewhat different. Vee’s playlists always have dance music on them. Kenna’s always have a few Broadway tunes. Always a couple of traditional Scottish tunes as well. (go to www.DoonSeries.com/doon-series/ to discover links to our playlists)


8. What kind of books did you read when you were younger?

Lorie: There wasn’t much YA available when we were teens, but we both devoured all of Judy Blume’s books and V.C. Andrews’s series, Flowers in the Attic. I also read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton at least five times.


9. Has writing changed you in any way? (Your confidence, your collaboration skills, etc?) 

L & C: As we both mentioned above, writing such strong characters has motivated both of us to face our own fears. And yes, our collaboration skills are worlds above what they were when we first started writing together.
10. Can you talk about Shades of Doon at all? 

L & C: In the third book, we’ll be revisiting some characters and settings from the first book. We’ll check in on Bainbridge, Indiana and maybe even get a glimpse of Vee’s father.



11. Is there anything else you want to talk about? 


Just to clarify, Shades of Doon is the third book in the series, but not the last. The fourth and final Doon book will be released fall 2016! For the latest information about the Doon series, visit our website at www.DoonSeries.com and sign up for our newsletter.


Thanks to Carey and Lorie for taking the time to stop by! Have you seen the cover for Shades of Doon yet? You can enter to win new posters of the cover on the month long OAAA giveaway!


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