Research? That’s it…

Good Friday morning! I know I’ve been away from the posts for a lot, but it’s been really busy around here. I’ve finished Maggie, she’s in edits and I’m busy working on the Christmas edition that will end the series…

This morning as I sat here, writing and sipping coffee by the Christmas tree, I watched Breaking Dawn, Part 2. When I’m alone and writing, I love to listen to music or watch a romantic movie, keeping the inspiration flowing. So this morning it was the last Twilight movie. Yes, I cried at the end. You have to admit, the moment Bella sends Edward through the history of their romance and that beautiful song, A Thousand Years plays in the background, it touches you. My fingers were flying over the keys as it inspired the romantic thoughts.

Some say movies are not research, but I call foul. They’re great research. Just watch how the plot plays out, how the couple’s relationship is planned out. It’s the perfect research material and enjoyable at that.

I listen to the dialogue between characters, the way they work with one another and flow. Watch how the intense moments come about and how the writer/director has made it into a nail-biter that pulls you in. Try using it in your story, it will help.

So, do you watch movies to inspire?

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

50 Years of Days!

This is sort of a Throwback Thursday for me. I have people ask me constantly what inspired me to write romance. Well, as you know I read a lot, but I do have to give credit where credit is due. Yes, I watched soap operas when I was younger. Days of Our Lives was my favorite. It was a 3 generation thing for my family. Both of my grandmothers watched it, then my mom and it trickled down to me.

The Today show had several of the actors from the show on and it brought back some great memories. I remember crying with those characters, laughing, getting furious, giving up and so much more. I watched the show for so many years that I can’t count them. As my son grew older and my business busier, well I had to push it to the side, but sadly. The funny thing is that every once in a while I turn it on at lunch time and fall right back into the story and characters that I know so well.

Several years ago I actually got to meet one of the men of the show, Wally Kurtz, (Justin Kuriakis). He was in town to promote his music. I was mesmerized to say the least. He was such a nice guy.

As for the inspiration to my writing, well duh!!! The romance that’s integrated into the story lines pulls you in. Not to mention the mystery, intrigue, and other elements sprinkled in.

I’m sending out a huge congrats to Days of Our Lives for surviving for 50 years. Thanks for bringing many wonderful years of entertainment to me. I warmly remember watching the characters that were like part of the family. By the way, thanks for the inspiration.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

As the fog clears

This is the view from my front porch this morning. The temperatures have finally warmed up and the threat of rain looms, but you can’t tell by the gorgeous sunrise. The fog is starting to clear and is barely visible in this photo. I feel inspired as the vibrant colors stream through the front windows.

As most of you know from reading my posts I try to get in my word count every morning. This morning as I woke at 6:00 my body and brain felt heavy and filled with inspiration zapping fog. I dragged myself out of bed and fixed breakfast for my son. As I poured the coffee and the delicious aroma steamed up to my nose I smiled. Yes, I need several cups of coffee. Since the time changed the sun comes up later and that always makes it hard for me to wake up. But one look at this beautiful sunrise I feel inspired to get to work. I can do this is the feeling it inspires.

Does a beautiful sunrise inspire you? As for me, I’m off to get in a couple thousand words before a warm shower and then on to the accounting office. I may need that third cup of coffee while I type…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Wednesday Inspirations…

As I sit here sipping my coffee and looking at the twinkling Christmas tree I’m inspired to write. This is the time of day that I sit and write. The hubby is off to work and my son off to school. I have a little time to contemplate my newest WIP and work on edits, not to mention blog posts and social media catch-up.

This morning I’m working on Ridge. I’m already madly in love with him and his ornery ways. He’s pulled at my heart strings for weeks because he’s such a deep person with real problems. I can’t wait for all of you to fall in love with him. It won’t be hard and then of course he has three brothers and a sister that will pull you into their lives. Since I love cowboy romance it’s nice to be back to writing what I really love.

Unfortunately my brain is already wanting to write another Christmas romance, but no I refuse to jump into the frying pan. I just hope I can keep it all at bay for a little while. I do have something in the works for release before Christmas, but we’ll see how that goes.

What are you working on today?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

The author that start it for me…

If you’ve read my bio then you know I’ve been writing for many, many years, but only started publishing in the last two years. For me it all started when I was a tender, young teenager and I picked up the first Danielle Steel book, Remembrance. I was entranced in the splendor of her writing. The story took me across the ocean to Italy and I was carried away with the story.

The story filled me with inspiration and helped kickstart my career as a writer, but of course I didn’t know that at the time. The book was filled with so many emotions such as anger, romance, love, grief, sadness and excitement. I was lost to the great romance book. I even wanted to go to Italy and experience this feeling there.

I read this two inch thick book twice that summer. The next year at school I actually did a book report on the book. My teacher was skeptical at first, but then she allowed it. Let’s just say, I turned many listeners over to Danielle Steel fans. I found myself scanning books in the store many times to grab her books.

Now, back then we didn’t have Amazon, so there was no looking up online. Then I was given a membership in the DoubleDay Book Club and that really did it for me. With the membership I was given several free books and yep, they were all Danielle Steel. When they arrived I was in awe. I was the happiest girl. I remember inhaling the scent of the newly printed pages and believe me when I say that I still do this with new paper backs.

I still have those many stories that I handwrote so many years ago. Although the writing has faded slightly, I can still feel the same excitement as I read them. Some of my books that have been published started from those books.

Do you have a author that’s inspired you? Tell us about them.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Summertime writing inspiration!

Does this picture inspire you? It inspires me. I could go in so many directions with this one picture. Since it’s alread hot and balmy here in Georgia and it’s only 10:30 in the morning, this mostly inspires me to run across and jump off the end into the cool, blue water.

For some reason when the seasons start to change I get inspired. The changes always give me a little food for thought. I love the way God just makes things happen and the beauty that abounds around us. It’s breathtaking. Even in the hottest summer days it is breathtaking.

Does a good summer storm exhilerate you? Maybe it’s just a me thing, but I feel exhilerated as I watch the thunderheads loom in the distance and the lightning flashing through them like tiny explosions. I sit on my porch or back deck and watch from a safe distance. Hey I do have some sense enough to get out of the storm. The air always feel electric and exciting. As the storm nears you feel the deep vibrations of the thunder rumbling. Then the first pitter patter of tiny rain drops that turn into big drops. Oh, the fun of a summer evening storm. They come and go quickly, but the power is evident.

Maybe it’s the excitement that inspires me to write. What inspires you? Do the seasons give you reason to write?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday morning Inspiration

Good Friday morning. Here in Georgia the clouds are rolling in and we’re expecting storms this afternoon. But this morning I’m feeling inspired. It’s funny how just reading your social media posts can inspire you. As a writer inspiration is a big thing. It’s really hard to write if the inspiration is not there.

I love to see other authors posts and their success. It inspires me. I talked with a couple of authors one day and they said it makes them depressed to see how well other authors are doing, but for me it inspires me. I’m proud for my fellow authors. It’s great to see the authors do well. It gives me some hope in my own career.

What really inspires me is the posts from once traditionally published authors that have gone Self published and succeeded. It makes me give a fist pump in the air, knowing I made the right decision. Self publishing is getting more recognition. With self publishing you are the publishing crew, the editor in most cases, the cover designer in most cases and the cheering committee. But it’s your business and you can run it the way you want to. It just seems to work if you’re inspired to take the big steps. So watching other authors succeed makes that step a little easier.

How are you inspired in your writing?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

It’s Spring! I’m so over Winter!

Well, today around lunch time it will become officially Spring. Of course that doesn’t mean that Winter has let go of it’s grip here in the US. Here in Georgia we’re looking at cold temps next week and yep, a hint was given about a possible snow scenario coming really close to us next week. Really, we live in the South and for some reason Mother Nature has forgotten that. Oh well, we’ll deal with it as it comes.

When you think of Spring you usually think of Spring cleaning and refreshing everything around you. For me it’s crunch time in tax season and that means I’m up to my elbows in tax returns. My writing usually suffers some during this time of the year. I can’t keep my brain solidly on a story line when I finally get back into the house at night. But I think maybe I can go through my old manuscripts and do some refreshing.

I’ve spoken several times about revising older releases and making them new. Usually when you do this you change the cover and give the book a new outlook. I’m planning on a couple of revisions in the next couple of weeks. I’m also following some advice from a couple of my reviewers.

Also, this is a good time to clean up your files on your computer. In the Winter we get bogged down in the Winter time slow down of our brain. We let junk emails pile up, we let old, unuseful files pile up. Well, let’s clean up that computer and get ready for the Spring/Summer inspiration that comes to most writers. I write more in the Spring/Summer time period. So if the computer is clean and ready, you can write unhindered.

So, how are you Spring Cleaning your writing?

As always, Good Writing and May God Bless You…

As the fire crackles and the pines crack!

Here we go again, but this time it’s ice. I live in the south. For pity’s sake where did the southern weather go? As I sit at my dining room where I’ve set up my laptop so that I can work, I hear the crackling of the fire in the den. But behind me is a set of french doors that lead onto our back patio, from there you hear the snap, crackle, and pop of the pine trees that can’t hold the weight of the building ice.

I did venture out earlier to grab some paperwork from my office and I could actually smell fresh pine. It’s like I was walking into a room with a pine air freshener. I love snow, but not ice. Ice is dangerous and usually cause massive power outages. Luckily at the moment we have power, but it’s flickered a couple of times. Even northerners have to say ice is different than snow to deal with.

When we had snow a couple of weeks ago, people were still on the roads a little bit, but when you have ice it’s eerily quiet. Of course the cold has brought out the beautiful red birds. I love to watch them as they poke around for a bit of food. I’ve got to admit the ice on the trees is beautiful, but the danger still looms. I’m staying inside for now and hoping for the best.

As for my writing, I made some large headway last night on finishing up “Faith Through The Tears”. I actually powered through almost 5000 words as the story unfolded in my head. I’m so excited about this installment to the “Lean On Him” Christian Series. Of course I’m working steadily on my other works in progress. It’s fun to be a writer and get to live in so many different worlds with my characters. One moment I’m in a small town and the next I’m on a horse ranch or maybe I’m on a beach in Savannah. I get to experience so much diversity through my characters and they become a part of me. It’s an awe inspiring experience.

I do hope that all of you are warm and safe. Also a shout out to my friends across the pond as you’re experiencing really scary winds. I send my prayers for everyone to stay safe. Bundle up with a good book and ride out the storm in another world. As for me, as long as I have power I’ll be working on accounting, but if the power goes out I have several books and plenty of paper. The work will go on by candle light which could bring on a whole new inspiration.

As always, good writing and may God Bless You and keep you safe…

Sunday Inspiration

Well it’s Sunday and cloudy. I’m home from Church cuddled up in the corner of my couch with my sweats on and wrapped in a blanket. To me it’s the best way to write a good romantic scene. My mind is buzzing with ideas for yet another manuscript. Yes I know, I need to finish what I’ve already got started, but that doesn’t stop me from at least whipping out a outline to keep it in my brain.

If all goes well the 2nd book in the Lean On Him series will be completed before Christmas.At lease the cover is completed and ready to go. Hopefully the other works in progress will be completed this year. Hopefully will start 2014 on a new slate.

What inspires you? Is it another book you read? I’m not saying steal someones idea, I’m just saying maybe some character or place in the story inspires you to write. For me several things can be inspiration. As I decorated my Christmas tree on Friday I was inspired about a Christmas idea. Yeah I know my Christmas romance is already out there, but I can still work on one for next year.

It’s amazing how the simplest things can inspire you to put it into words. I’m getting ready to work for a couple of hours and when I emerge from the other side hopefully I’ll be a lot closer to one finish and another start up. Let’s just see how it goes. Of course I do have a lot going on around me. We’re babysitting our grandson and watching Disney’s Planes. Well they’re watching the movie and I’m talking to you great people, but it’s all good.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…