Author, Kristen Lamb’s blog post about premature editing of a manuscript intrigued and…sigh…relieved me. Without guilt, I will return to my natural style which is like building a burger. Here’s the recipe.

Build a Burger Book

Meat between the bun is the first and most important step.

Fashion a plot patty and cook with scenes until done to your taste.
Upon completion of the burger, deluxe or mini, you may need to top with a subplot of bacon or mushrooms.
Lettuce and tomato seem subtle but add interest to a burger like descriptive gestures and scene settings.
And what’s a burger without mustard or alternate spicy condiment.
Spoon on a bit of sarcasm, humor, or sexy jalapeños to help make your burger unique.

Like building a burger, layering is a way to deepen POV, add subtleties, and strategic lines of backstory. For pansters (like me) this may be the time when a subplot pets your sub-conscious on its head. So, before over pruning your first chapters like a Crepe Myrtle build a burger. Afterward, if you don’t like the pickles and onions they are easily tossed – my dog likes to catch em!

Speaking of meat between the bun…in my pre-published novel, Hot as Blazes, Jo’s first stop after returning from Cally is a surfside burger haunt for her first taste of home. Its namesake, The Dune Burger, has been around since the ‘70s. Located in Nags Head on the Outer Banks, you’ll have to double fist their deluxe “Dune” burger. Oh, and don’t forget the shake!

The Outer Banks of North Carolina has always been my favorite vacation destination. One day I hope to have a home there, but in the meantime I live there through my stories.

My novel, Hot as Blazes, and novella, White Doe, are both set on the barrier islands of North Carolina which is affectionately known as OBX by its six million annual visitors.

To celebrate Hot as Blazes being selected as a finalist in Chesapeake Romance Writers’ Finish the Damn Book contest, I’m starting a blog series entitled Banx Bound. The posts will feature a taste the Outer Banks through history, folklore, sightseeing, and more.

It only seems right to start the series at the very beginning when the English settled on the Outer Banks…

Banx Bound

The First Settlement

Roanoke Colony was the first English settlement on North America located on what is now known as Roanoke Island in Dare County, North Carolina.

Virginia Dare was the first born English colonist and for which Dare County is named. The colony was left to fend for itself after war broke out between England and Spain. When Governor, John White was allowed return with supplies, three years later, the settlers including his grandchild, Virginia Dare, had vanished.

The word Croatoan was left carved in one the fort posts and the buildings had been dismantled. It is speculated that the colonists moved to what is now Hatteras Island and integrated with friendly Native Americans. The The Lost Colony is reenacted as an outdoor drama at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Park in Manteo during May through August and will start its 76^th season this year.