What Inspires Your #Romance by Mackenzie Crowne

If you were to poll one hundred authors on what questions their readers ask of them, “Where do you get your inspiration?” would most likely be in the top three. And “Everywhere” would be among the most cited responses. 

This is certainly true for me and those flashes of inspiration are one of my favorite parts of the writing experience. I can’t tell you how thrilling it is when a seemingly mundane sight or sound draws my attention and BAM! Bright and shiny possibilities swirl in my mind as the spark of a new plot line flares to life.

For example, news reports of the Bernie Madoff scandal are at the heart of ThatDating Thing, my light-hearted romance involving an assistant district attorney with political ambitions and the daughter of Wall Street’s most notorious stock swindler. 

Of course, not all my inspirations have been huge, game changer experiences. Most are of a far subtler variety. I’m telling you, I was definitely inspired by that super-hottie in line at the post office who, amazingly enough, looked exactly like Beau Walker, the sexy hero of my RONE award-winning romance, A Song for Sophie. In my small-town romance, The Billionaire’s Con, I wrote a heroine chef—right about the time my youngest brother was graduating from culinary school.

Then there is this guy. Murphy, my sister’s crazy but sweet dog was the inspiration for Gracie Gable’s trouble making canine sidekick in book 1 of my Players series, To Win Her Love. He is also the inspiration for today’s post. You see, this past week, those of us who loved Murphy said goodbye to him as he crossed the rainbow bridge. 

I naturally thought of Murphy when Gracie insisted she needed a dog. He was such a sweet boy, after all, with the added bonus of his crazy habit of… 

Well, I’ll let you experience his habit for yourself in the short excerpt below.

Enjoy, and thanks for the laughs, Murph. You were well-loved and will be well-missed.

Murphy landed sure-footed, only to skid across the hardwood floor. Momentum carried him strait for Jake’s long legs.
No stranger to dexterity, Jake danced to the side. He snagged the dog’s collar and halted his progress. Murphy wriggled wildly, the claws of his scrambling paws clicking on the hardwood floor. He bucked, and Jake pivoted his upper body sideways.
The move would’ve worked, too, if Murphy was a normal dog, intent upon jumping up to plant his paws to Jake’s chest. Gracie knew from experience that wasn’t the case.
“Murphy, no!”
Quick as a flash, he dropped his nose and whipped up his head. She cringed as his skull made solid contact with Jake’s unprotected crotch.
A loud oof accompanied the unexpected head butt. Jake’s briefcase clattered to the floor. Stunned pain etched his features.
“What the fu—” He bent forward and the duffle slid from his shoulder to join the briefcase at his feet. He cupped one hand over his injured crotch and shoved the dog away with the other. Jaw clenched and long legs bent, he crossed one knee in front of the other. His eyes slid shut on a pained moan.

To find out how things worked out between Jake and Murphy,

pick up your copy of To Win Her Love at

Kensington Publishing, Amazon, 

and wherever books are sold.

Looking for Local Color by Alison Henderson

Hello. My name is Alison, and I'm a plotter.

I'm currently working on plotting the first book in a new series that will be set in and around the quaint seaside hamlet of Carmel-by-the-Sea. I know most of the characters, I know who "did it," and I know the major plot points. Now, I'm looking for ideas to fill in all that extra space in the middle. Stuff has to happen. You know it. I know it. Readers expect it.

However you look at it, Carmel is an eccentric little town, filled with colorful characters. It relishes its quirky reputation and encourages individual expression. The town was founded as an artists' colony shortly after the turn of the twentieth century and is now a magnet for tourists from all over the world. As a result, some pretty odd things happen here. 

Carmel is blessed, or cursed--depending on your point of view, with a weekly local paper, The Carmel Pine Cone, which includes a day-by-day police blotter drawn from the call logs of the local department and county Sheriff's Office. For the past couple of years, I've been keeping a folder with some of the most unusual entries for use in futures stories. Now is the time to pull out my collection of cut-out slips of paper and start searching for items to spice up my story with bits of local color. 

There are so many good ones, I'm having trouble choosing, but here are a few of the entries I'm considering using:

"Report that a known subject used a knife to cut the head off a plastic flamingo on Highway 1." 

"Officer was conducting routine patrol at 0500 hours on Sunset Drive and located a large grey and black Rubbermaid travel bag. Bag contained male clothing, four boxes of window coverings, wood stakes, jumper cables, a black backpack with male's clothing and tie-down straps."

"Peace disturbance at a hotel on San Carlos Street. The hotel manager brandished a taser at a guest."

"A female reported a male howling from her driveway on Pine Hills Drive."

"Robinson Canyon Road resident reported a Buddhist monk kicked in the door to his trailer."

"Report a female on Red Eagle Alley had walked out onto her balcony in the nude and asked gardeners to be quiet. She agreed to put on some clothes."

"Report of a subject on Forest Avenue going through the garbage on private property. Subject has been admonished before. He was advised of the trespass warning. He later admitted to splashing holy water on the trash."

"Female reported that someone entered her storage area below her house on San Carlos Street and cut up some of her husband's sweaters."

"A male real estate agent reported one year ago he went to a home on San Carlos Street for a possible listing. Upon arrival, a female offered him alcohol and marijuana. He felt uncomfortable and left. Today the female called his office and said he should be fired."

Some of these are definitely going to make an appearance. Like they say, you can't make this stuff up!

Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com

Small Town Inspiration by Mackenzie Crowne

Ever been to new England? I have. In fact, I grew up in a small town just north of Boston, and with Independence Day just around the corner, the revolutionary spirit of the region seems a perfect topic for today’s post. New England is a beautiful mix of coastal ports, rolling hills and forests, quiet villages and metropolitan centers.

Then there is the history. Everywhere you look are reminders of the revolutionary war era, like the patchwork of stone walls crisscrossing just about every field and forest. Seriously, they're everywhere and my childhood imagination was sparked each time I spotted one. I'd find myself wondering who built them and why - when I wasn't picturing militia soldiers ducked behind the piles of stones as they battled the redcoats.

As I’ve grown older, my fascination with the history of the area has only grown more profound. Imagine the guts and pure determination of our founding fathers as they put their lives and treasure on the line to face down tyranny. Their strength of character gifted us with the legacy of freedom we enjoy today. I’d like to believe I would have joined their ranks, fighting alongside those brave souls as they forged the greatest system of rights the world has ever known, but I honestly don’t know if I have the courage required.

Centuries later, the cobbled streets and byways of New England lead eager travelers through the early steps of a young nation. If you’ve never had the opportunity to explore New England personally, I highly recommend the experience and when you do, here are a few of my favorite haunts.

For history buffs like me, the Freedom Trail is a must!

The Old North Church is just one stop on the Freedom Trail,
but it's a great one.

Hammond Castle in Gloucester combines American and European history
with thrilling results.
hammondcastle.org

 Mac’s memories of small-town New England life inspired the location of her small-town romance,

Cara O’Shea’s Return

available at Amazon.com. 

A New Release - Happy Birthday to Me! by Alison Henderson

Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm celebrating! After two long years, I have a new book out. Small Town Christmas Tales is officially released in both Kindle and paperback versions. Woohoo!

Fellow Roses of Prose, please take a bow. This book is dedicated to you, because without your support and inspiration, I never would have written it. I've enjoyed our annual holiday short stories so much I wrote a whole book of them! Barb and Diane helped critique them, and Jannine edited the entire collection. It really was a group effort, and I'm very grateful.

The stories run the gamut from funny to poignant but are all warm and upbeat--like ten mini Halllmark Channel Christmas movies. I've set each story in a fictional small town in a different state, many in places I've lived or know well. I hope readers will make a connection with the settings as well as the characters.I had great fun inventing towns like Porter's Landing, MA; Hawthorne Springs, MO, Little Moose Island, ME; Black Bear Creek, CO; Cypress Cove, CA; and Hard Luck, WY. Who knows? One day I may visit some of these towns again in a full-length book.

If you've read the book, thank you! If not, and you want a little boost getting in the holiday mood, I invite you to check it out here. And, as always, reviews are most welcome!

Alison 

www.alisonhenderson.com