Today, I have another guest post from author Penny Zeller. I tell ya, I don’t know what I’d do without friends to help cover for me!

Here’s another one of her humorous articles:

With the recent release of Hailee, my third book in my Montana Skies Historical Romance Series, I remember when I first began creating the characters that made the series come to life. Particularly, busybody Lucille Granger, who makes her cameo appearance in all three books…

I sat perched on the staircase in our house, watching in anticipation for my husband Lon to come home from work. He was scarcely through the front door when I began tugging on his arm, “Lon!” I exclaimed.

“Is everything ok, Pen?” After 18 years of marriage, he knows about my exuberant and creative personality.

“Yes, yes, it’s fine. I can’t wait for you to meet Lucille Granger!”

“What? Lucille Granger?” Lon asked. “Do we have company?”

I shook my head and laughed while leading Lon up the stairs and into the office. When he saw me pointing for him to sit in the blue “guest” chair in the office, he nodded his head knowingly. He’d been in the blue “guest” chair many times before. Yep, it was making sense to him now – Lucille Granger wasn’t someone visiting for dinner. She was one of the secondary characters I’d developed for McKenzie, Kaydie, and Hailee of my Montana Skies Series.

I read with excitement the chapter where I had created Lucille’s personality. She was nosy, presumptuous, and demanding, yet she had a good heart. I had waited all day to share my newest creation with the person I love most in this world and now that time had come. Wasting no time, I flipped through the three pages of typewritten text, complete with voice changes to further bring to life Lucille’s character.

Being the sweetheart that he is and on a quest to earn “husband points,” Lon listened as I read.

Ahhhh,…the life of a writer. There’s nothing quite like creating new characters and watching the words flow on the page. There’s nothing quite like pressing the word count button and seeing the words increase at a nice rate. When you write, you come to know your characters as if they are family members, friends, or neighbors. I thank the Lord daily that He has given me the ability to do this job. I owe every word, every paragraph, every page, and every character to Him.

On that note, it’s time to create the delightful, patient, and dramatic Glyndi for my newest historical romance series…

Bio: Penny Zeller is the author of several books and numerous magazine articles. She is also the author of the blog “A Day in the Life of a Wife, Mom, and Author” www.pennyzeller.wordpress.com where she also provides weekly doses of humor, along with movie reviews from a Christian worldview, and interviews with some of her favorite author friends.

Penny is an active volunteer in her community, devoting her time to assisting and nurturing women and children into a closer relationship with Christ. Her passion is to use the gift of the written word that God has given her to glorify Him and to benefit His kingdom.

Hailee is Penny’s latest book and the final book in the series, which began with McKenzie and Kaydie in Montana Skies, her first series with Whitaker House. When she’s not writing, Penny enjoys spending time with her family and camping, hiking, canoeing, and playing volleyball. She and her husband reside in Wyoming with their two children.

Penny loves to hear from her readers at her website, www.pennyzeller.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennyzellerbooks