INSPIRATION

The mere word “inspiration” inspires me to do great things. The dictionary defines the word as “stimulation for the human mind to creative thought or to the making of art.” Without inspiration, there’d be no writers. Without writers, there’d be no books. What a horror of a thought. I can’t imagine a world without books. Inspiration is the stimulating brainwave enabling authors to produce the books you love to read.

Unique as pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, each writer reacts to inspiration, sometimes called a muse, in his or her own way. Can you imagine how boring the literary world would be if it were any other way? There’d be no incentive for readers to poke around a bookstore or browse books in a library, looking for a book to whet their appetite, which by the way is one of my favorite pastimes.

Did you ever wonder what inspires your favorite story weaver to write a particular novel? How they conjure up their plots, settings and unique characters that make you run out to buy each new release? Movies, T.V. shows, the newspaper, real life news, or even a song, are a few, but none of these come close to drilling a hole in the ice. Newspaper articles often give me ideas, if not for an entire story, then a scene or two. The majority of my ideas come from my good friend, Imagination, who dwells in my head and never shuts up.

Many writers research their story’s settings on the internet or at the library, while others prefer to use familiar surroundings for their characters’ tales. I need to feel comfortable with the area where my stories are set so as a rule I use places I’ve been to, even if I only passed through. Many of my books take place in Maine because that’s my stomping ground, and I know the state like the back of my hand.

Character development comes more easily to some than others. For me, characterization is the most difficult part of writing. A number of my author friends keep pictures of the hero and heroine by their computer. I tuck my characters’ physical appearances into a corner of mind and drag it out if need be.
I’m working on improving my characters’ development and have come up with a method that helps. I “become the character” and write in a journal for several days. In a week or so, I know what makes these characters tick or what ticks them off, their likes and dislikes, their goals and especially their weaknesses and strengths.
What about the Big WB? Writer’s block. If I stop writing for a few weeks, I refuse to panic. Won’t even consider the WB word. Instead, I write the stories inside my head. If it’s still in my head in a day or two, then I get the inspiration to put it on paper.

To sum up, there are as many methods of writing as there are writers. I’m not sure if my approach is an oddity, but I begin by choosing a setting. Nothing exists about the book except for this special place. After I’m comfortable and familiar with it, I develop characters, thrust them into Dodge and watch them deal with whatever sticky situation my zany mind comes up with.

They say everyone has at least one story to tell. What about you? If you’ve ever thought about writing a book, give it a try. The universe can never have too many authors.

Pam Champagne
www.pamchampagne.net
Ribbon of Rain, June 10, 2010

Samhellion Scavenger Hunt Contest

Want to win a Kindle 2 or a Pocket Sony e-reader? The Samhain authors from The Samhellion are running a four week scavenger hunt and contest with two Kindles and two Pocket Sony e-readers up for grabs--one will be awarded to a very lucky winner each week of the contest. The first week runs from 12/4 noon until 12/10 at noon EST.


All of us authors will be offering up the chance to win a free e-book as well. My 2008 EPPIE Winner, Too Good to be True, is the e-book I'm offering as my prize in the first week of the contest. If you have a Twitter account, you can follow the updates on Twitter. The graphic on the right of this post is the graphic for my part of the scavenger hunt. I don't have all the details yet, but you can check them out as they appear on the Samhellion site.


I also have a freebie short story, Mistletoe and Mario, which will be released at the same site on December 11. I don't have a link for it yet, but I'll post it on my web site and Twitter as soon as I have it, along with the cover. Mario and Alexa appeared in See You in My Dreams as teenagers, but now they're all grown and renewing their relationship after nearly ten years apart.


And last but not least, Seducing the Sheriff releases from Samhain Publishing on December 15th.





Half dressed and going for naked…

Starlight Tyler needs to lose her virginity, as in yesterday. With her mother, a Pinkerton, and a wealthy man she doesn’t love on her tail, there’s only one place to cut their cruel intentions off at the pass—get herself back into the arms of long-lost love Cordero Tate. Pronto.

She never expected to be tripped up by someone else’s past.

Sheriff Cordero Tate is a haunted man on a mission. Come hell or high water, he’ll round up every member of the gang responsible for the deaths of his wife and unborn child…and make damned sure he never puts his heart on the line again. As in never impregnating another woman. One look at Star, though, and all the old feelings come back in a rush. Worse, she’s just as determined to brand him as hers as he is to keep her chaste.

Their exploration of ways around that impasse leads to three nights of unbearable sensual pleasure. Until her past catches up to her…

Warning: This story contains a lot of hard ridin’, some ass kickin’, and a whole lot of lovin’ goin’ on. No doors left unopened.

You can read a PG-13 excerpt here.

Marie-Nicole

http://marienicoleryan.com/

WOOHOO!

Yes I’m still excited. This time for a different reason. The third (and final??) book in my Gateway Guardian series is DONE! I just sent Hunting Mickey into the publisher last night! I know with the holidays approaching I won't hear one way or the other on it but I’m hoping to start the new year with a contract for this book!

I had such a great time writing this book. I know, I say that about all my stories. This one was a roller coaster of emotions. It emotionally drained me every day because there was some new tragedy or challenge to cope with.

In case you’re interested…(and I know you are:) )…here’s the information:

When all hell breaks loose, you know the honeymoons over--sometimes life’s a bitch…

Agent Mickey Flannery is finally going to take his wife Terese on the honeymoon they missed five years ago. The plans are made, the plane is landed and they arrive to the news they’ve been chosen for an upgraded holiday—a week on a private island all amenities included.

The private beach soon turns into paradise lost when they learn their gracious host is none other than Rafael Lesandro Rivera, Ramiro’s son, and he’s out for blood.

Can Mickey keep Terese and himself alive long enough to find a way of escaping the man who them join his hunting party—as the prey?

Well, I’ve got to get going, My daughter and I are going to a theater to see The Nutcracker Ballet. I’m kind of excited. I’ve only been to the Fabulous Fox Theater once, my SIL and her mom took me to see my favorite musical CATS!

My daughter has always wanted to go to this place and she recently said okay mom, let’s go. So….We’re going with her French class. Meeting at the high school and riding a bus (not looking forward to THAT part of it.) 6 hours with a bunch of teens…could be worse I suppose. We could be trying to go see New Moon…

See y’all in a couple of weeks!
Hugz
Donica

When not creating tales of suspense, fantasy or the paranormal, Donica Covey breaks the bonds to ATV, shoot, hike or read. She loves spending time with her little “daughter-once-removed” (never say Granddaughter!) or hanging with the K&R Crew. To learn more please visit her website www.donicacovey.com

I Got My Purple Cover

I'm pleased to brag, I'm going to have a new book out in print in early 2010... This is Moonlight and Shadows, books one and two, Unholy Night and Darker Trinity, an anthology from Lyrical Press. In fact, it's so new and exciting, the cover's not even up yet. But I love it, and I had to brag about it.

It is a two-story anthology, with Unholy Night and A Darker Trinity, the first two books in the series, together in one print book.

These two books are my first two with my Immortal Knights Templar, and the third, Broken Shine, will be available in February of 2010 in ebook, and later in the year in print.

I could ramble on about the stories, I could, but I wouldn't want to bore you. Instead, I'll ramble on about how cool this is.

These books were two books I never thought would see the light of print, as they were a bit short for print by themselves. Though I liked both stories, I thought they'd only be available in ebook format. They're a bit racier than Fantasy Girl, they're paranormal, and A Darker Trinity is a M/F/M vampire romance. Not exactly the same thing as Fantasy Girl's comedic contemporary romance feel.

But now, they will be in print, together, with this amazing cover that I love.

Talk about something incredible to be thankful for this holiday season!

What are you thankful for this season?

Holiday Distractions

I was going to blog about villains again, but right now my brain is on hiatus. I don't know if it's because of all the delicious food I ate last week or just because it's now December. But I can't get myself in gear. Last week ruined me. It happens every year. Good food, great company, and all the hilarious stories told by relatives. Distractions roll in, and my motivation rolls out. I just want to eat, sleep, and laugh.

I'm trying hard to stay focused and write, but it's hard. So please forgive me for this rambling blog post. I'm working on a new single title that's dark and gritty, and it's hard to think of dark, evil things when having fun. At least, for me it is. The company is gone now and I'm back in my regular routine, but I still find myself wanting to spend time with my friends, my cats (Shipper, my manx, is pictured here), and my family or even shopping rather than by myself writing. And that needs to change. Ack! What do you do to stay motivated during the holidays?

On writing, shopping, movies and thanksgiving

I’ve been working on my writing this weekend for two reasons; one being that my muse was hanging out and I made some progress, the other being that I wanted to avoid being sucked into shopping during the Thanksgiving weekend. There wasn’t anything out there that screamed buy me, buy me…well nothing that wasn’t for me. I foolishly turned on the TV, not paying attention to what was on. Mostly. Let me just say that I am awaiting the shipment of my HSN watch.

I joined a half billion other movie watchers to see New Moon. I have read the books, like the rest of the world, and wanted to see how well they translated the story to the big screen. I scolded myself several times for wishing the young man who played Jason lived next door. Perhaps his CGI wolf would bother my cats. I reminded myself that there was a small family of foxes that live along the tree line next to my condo and the wolf might eat them. I’m talking nonsense, but what can I say, I enjoy watching beautiful things. I give the movie a big …Meh! I enjoyed it, but have issues with how the part of Bella is portrayed and she is crucial to the story. I feel like she is played in such detached way that I found it difficult to care about her. My criticism is not about the character from the books. I enjoyed the books, all angsty, just like a real teenager.

My sister did Thanksgiving this year, I offered to bring something, but the menu was already so large that it was declined. Instead, I stepped up to do the dishes. Ten people eating platters of yams dripping with marshmallows down the side are a bitch to clean. My nieces help put away the food and I manned the sink. I think every piece of stoneware she owned came under my soapy hands. I decided next year I’d have the meal at my house.

I hope all of you had a great holiday. I am thankful that I have a job that pays my bills and keeps me interested in the welfare of others. I am thankful that my job supports me so that I can write strange and sometimes wonderful stories. Most importantly, I am thankful for my family and their quirky outlook on life. I hope you took the time to remember what you give thanks for this Thanksgiving.

Rhianna

The Unexpected

I never do what's expected. But then... maybe by ALWAYS doing what's UNexpected I actually AM predictable?

I was class valedictorian, but went to college as a theatre major. I went to college as a theatre major, but spent time on archaeology digs. I'm a prim and proper teacher, but in my spare time I sing in a band and write steamy romances. I write romance, but this afternoon I am going to watch WWE RAW in Charlottesville.

Yes, I watch wrestling. And yes, I am a girl.

I didn't start out as a fan. But for a while my husband was a fan, and I knew if I wanted to spend time with him, I had to sit on the couch next to him while he watched.

I slowly realized WWE is a soap opera for men.

Truth be told, I like it better when there is a storyline going that I can get into. There have been a few that I did not like at all. And I REALLY hate it when they cut themselves (which they do not do often).

But you have good guys and bad guys, romance and adventure. Not unlike a good book.

Still, I think they should hire me to be one of their writers. Connecticut is pretty cold, but I could get used to it ; )