Imagination is a powerful thing...

It's Wednesday..."hump day"...and my turn to blog. I want to chat a little bit about imagination and the power of those who know how to use it. Without our incredible ability to imagine things, the human population as a whole wouldn't be where it is today. Some say it's what separates us from animals. Those folk with religious backbones may insist it's the 'soul' that defines this difference between us, but I'm very inclined to believe that animals do have souls. My dogs certainly do! Alas, I digress...the conversation is about the power of imagination.

As a writer, I rely on my imagination to create a whole world. Everything from the people, clothing, food, housing, transportaiton--anything and everything the story demands is recreated inside my head. Writing contemporary is probably easiest because the world-building needn't be as intense or unique. But when you invent a SciFi, or paranormal such as vampires or shapeshifters, your imagination is challenged! Authors of fantasy, futuristics and even historicals, must be able to dive into their imagination and pull something incredible from it, and then make it seem real to a reader. Isn't it amazing that we do?

I'm amazed by it every day, whether reading someone else's book or writing my own!!!

Readers always want to know how a writer comes up with the story. One word: imagination. Almost everyone has the power to imagine great things. The difference is the ability to pull it out of your head and do something with it--like write, or invent something as simple as the lightbulb. If necessity is the mother of invention, then imagination is the father of creativity. We're all creative beings. Some of us have the urge to do something with it, to share a bit of ourselves with others, to leave a mark no matter how small, or make a difference. To express our opinions. To teach, or simply entertain.

When I'm writing I despise being interrupted for anything. Once I've delved into my imaginary world everything else just disappears. It's almost as if I've transported my brain to another place and time. My body follows direction on autopilot and types what I "see" and "hear". It's extremely entertaining and consumes me like no psycho-drug ever could!! Hours seem like seconds and time literally flies. Feeding my imagination by spending time in it, is very satisfying and I could say--addictive. Stepping outside my imagination when I'm not ready to is terribly aggravating. It upsets me when the phone rings (I usually turn it off!), if my dogs bark for no reason other than to let me know a squirrel has dared to step foot on the porch, or if UPS comes to the door with a delivery (even if it's something I ordered and want). I can't write with the TV on, or with music. It's too disruptive to my "world". I don't even like to take a break for food, which is why I make sure I have snacks and drink at my desk. Just don't bother me until *I* am ready to come out or there will be hell to pay.

Enchantment

Great minds think alike. Before I opened our blog, I had a notion to look through, "The Annotated Alice. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. With an Introduction and Notes by Martin Gardner." Every now and then I get the urge to recite poetry much to the chagrin of my long suffering husband. I attended school when memorizing poems and scenes from Shakespeare's plays were part of the curriculum. Don't get me started or I might open with, "This was the noblest Roman of them all, He only in a general honest thought made one of them ..." Hmm. I think there's a line missing. Must pull out my Shakespeare.

Back to Alice. Let's visit the scene with Humpty Dumpty and his brilliant comments about the meaning of words. "They've a temper some of them - particularly verbs: they're the proudest - adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs - however, I can manage the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That's what I say!"

And what has all this to do with Enchantment? It's what we writers do with words. We play with them to create a scene, to draw our readers into the story. We enchant them, spin a magic spell and take them to our make-believe story land. My newest enchantment is a Regency romance with two heroines, two heroes and a prodigal son.

See you next time.
Anita Birt

Ack! I'm Late!!

ACK!! It's my day to blog here at the Goddesses of Storytelling and I'm late!!

I feel like the rabbit in Alice In Wonderland, running to and fro and muttering to myself, "I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!" You, my friends, are my date and I apologize for being late. I have to tell you, though, that I tried to be here earlier. Really, I did. But the internet access at the B&B Mickey and I are staying in in Vermont has been spotty all day. The owner says it's a "normal" thing here, but I'll tell you it would drive me mad to not be able to log on whenever I want to. I've been bugging out all day over it, and we're supposed to be here on a wonderful, romantic interlude. Some romance, eh? Going slightly batty over not being able to log on and "chat" with all of you? Yes, it's pretty funny...now that I'm here!

But I guess that's the way life is sometimes. We plan so carefully yet some things are out of our control. Fortunately neither Mickey nor I are controlling people, so we generally go with the flow. Laid back, I guess you'd say. We are alike in more ways than I like to admit, LOL.

I wonder if that's how most couples are? Do you think people gravitate towards someone with a personal style similar to their own? Or do they crave something completely different in a mate?

Most times my books feature a couple who have differences to reconcile before they can find happiness. Because honestly, I like a little tension in a relationship--on paper, that is. I enjoy reading about how two people either deal with a tough situation or learn to live together despite their differences, so that's the kind of couples I write about.

Hmm...maybe Mickey and I aren't what I'd consider a prime couple for noveling purposes...no major obstacles...no differences, really...hmm...maybe we should discuss this further. He's waiting for me poolside, so I'm going to thank you for stopping in today and bid you farewell for now. I've got some talking to do beside a pool. And maybe a couple of Margaritas would make the conversation flow more smoothly...

Until next time, have fun!

~Nina Nash

Dropping by unscheduled

Hi Godesses. It's Saturday and time to think Spring and look forward to summer. I've washed down the patio furniture and will sit outside if and when the sun decides to come out. Writing question. Do any of you write outdoors using your laptop? Does bird song inspire you? Do rustling leaves turn you on? Do robins splashing in the bird bath make you smile? My problem with the great outdoors is wasps! I'm allergic to their nasty stings and I swear the little devils know it. I sit down with notebook and pen - I don't have a laptop - and first one, then another and another arrives driving me indoors to my wasp free computer.

I have been fine tuning a time travel that I really love. Ring Around The Moon. Imagine a thatched cottage in magical Cornwall. Imagine my hero, Alan Tremaine, who travels through time from 1807 to 2007 the exact location where his house burned to the ground, two hundred years ago. Imagine my American heroine, Beth Ormond, who rents Quest Cottage for a month to get away from the hassles back home in Portland, Oregon. Imagine a full moon beaming down as Beth arrives at the cottage and Alan steps from a nearby stand of trees.

Now I must leave. Happy writing goddesses,
Anita Birt
www.anitabirt.com

When All Else Fails, Get Out Your Plastic Guitar

I change my mind often about how the creative process works, but today I’m convinced that the best way to get good at something is to stop thinking about it. At least that’s how it works for me.

Take Guitar Hero, for example. After spending way too many hours trying to beat my son’s top scores, I’ve realized that I do best when I’m not thinking about how good (or bad) I’m doing. Isn’t golf the same way? As soon as you start thinking about your shoulders, wrists, back, hips... You get the idea. Over-thinking ruins lots of things.

For me, one of those things is first draft writing. For the most part, I’m a seat of the pants writer. I almost always start with an idea but not an outline. If I try to outline, I over think the story and ruin all the fun. The characters' fun that is. My hero and heroine end up standing around, staring at me, waiting for me to come up with something for them to do. To get anything good, I have to dive right in and start writing.

I know a lot of great writers who produce wonderful detailed outlines and character sketches, and I envy them. They look so organized and together. So professional.

Don’t get me wrong, I do nit-pick and analyze character goals, motivations, and the conflict. But I do that after I’ve gotten about 1/3 of the way into the story. It isn’t an easy or pretty way to write. There are times when I can relate to Jack Nicolson’s character in The Shinning. But I have a way better solution to my stress.

Guitar Hero.

** In case you don’t have kids, or aren’t a kid yourself, Guitar Hero is a PS2 game that involves using a plastic guitar to play rock songs. When you’re doing well, you feel like a rock star, but you’re stinking, you feel like – well - like you stink.

Bare Confessions by Lacey Thorn releases today!!!!

Yeah! It is release day at Ellora's Cave Publishing and my book Bare Confessions is finally out! This is the second book in my Bare Love series. I'm so excited about it that today I am going to share a glimpse of the book with you! First a look at what the story is all about!

Bare Confessions
Lacey Thorn
Sequel to His Bare Obsession
“Secrets and lies… Everyone in the world deals with these every day of their lives. To protect themselves. To protect someone else. It is all in the way that you look at the situation.”
Katie Daniels is struggling to deal with all that surrounds her, losing her teaching position and the tiny fact that she shot and killed a man. Katie finds solace at Knowledge Is Power, the health club owned by her brother’s fiancée Moira Madigan, and with her brother’s best friend Detective Ben Marcum. Katie has been in love with Ben for years a secret she has kept quietly hidden until now. Secrets and lies are all around her but the one Ben is keeping may just be the biggest of all. Detective Marcum is hiding more than anyone knows, even his best-friend and partner Detective Gil Daniels. Will Ben trust Katie with the truth? More importantly will he trust her with his heart? Can Katie break down the walls of protection Ben has erected? Will their bare confessions stir the fires burning inside them or blow them out for good?

Sounds good I hope!! Now how about a little peek at how two strong alphas get along when one is fooling around with the others sister! LOL Enjoy!

Excerpt 5 from Bare Confessions ( PG 13, unedited)
When Ben made it into the station Gil was already there whistling while he made his way through a pile of paper work.
“Looks like someone is really happy this morning.” Ben said as he took a seat behind his own desk which sat facing Gil’s.
“Umm. You don’t know the half of it. I had the best night of sex of my life last night.” Gil’s grin was so big that Ben couldn’t help but grin back at him.
“So I take it Moira finally let you tie her to the bed.”
“Even better she let me use cuffs.” Gil bobbled his eyebrows at Ben. “When I got home she was already on the bed. She had cuffed herself with my spare set of cuffs.”
“Damn man. Should I even be hearing this stuff?”
“All I’m going to say was that it was the best four hours of my life.”
“Four hours?” Ben sputtered. “I’m seriously impressed.”
“I got two, she got two.” Gil replied and glanced back down to the paperwork whistling once again.
“Wait a minute. Are you saying that you let her cuff you to the bed too?”
Gil shrugged. “What can I say? She talked me into it at a weak moment.”
“You’re always weak when it comes to Moira. You better hope that she never finds out just how weak you are. She’ll have you buying her personal hygiene products at the store for her.”
When Gil flushed bright red Ben burst out laughing. “Oh, man, that is just sad my friend.”
Gil shook his head and looked closer at Ben. “What about you my friend. You look pretty relaxed this morning. Have a good night did we?”
It was Ben’s turn to flush. “I need to talk to you, Gil. But I want your word that you’ll let me finish before you say or do anything.”
“What is it with you people lately? You all act like I have no control over my temper.”
“Well you have been known to hit first and ask questions later.”
“Whatever. Just get on with it. I promise that I’ll sit here like a good little boy until you’re all done.”
Gil folded his hands on top of his desk and eased back in his chair giving Ben his total focus.
“I’m seeing Katie.”
“My baby sister, Katie?”
“Yes, I’m seeing your baby sister Katie. We just started seeing each other a few days ago but I’ve been thinking about it for a while and so has she.”
“Were you the one night stand Moira was talking about?” Gil asked calmly.

Remember that this is available today at www.ellorascave.com Pick up your copy and be sure to share with me what you thought!

Lacey Thorn
www.lacythorn.com

Romance Readers Love Their Pets

Hi Folks. A happy May 1st to you.
If you've read The Crystal and noticed that a couple of the characters, Ned and Jericho, have four legs instead of two, you've probably figured out that I'm an animal lover. So I'm going to chat today about something near and dear to my heart: spay/neuter. How does this fit in with a romance blog website? Well.....(grin) I believe that romance readers and writers are compassionate caring people who have a huge capacity for love, including love for our four-legged friends. I also believe that most people are responsible pet owners and that more and more people are hopping on the spay/neuter bandwagon everyday. But even with the great strides being made today we still have a ways to go.
Stats and facts:
More than 70,000 kittens and puppies are born daily in the United States.
In the county I live in the animal shelter euthanizes 6,000 cats and dogs a year. This is just one county in one state.
For the entire United States it jumps up to 10 million per year.
The offspring of one unspayed female cat and her mate and all their offspring producing litters can total a staggering 11,606,077 cats in 9 years. Whew!
So please spread the word to friends and family to spay and neuter their pets.And give your dog or kitty a big hug and tell them how lucky they are to have a home with you.
Thanks for stopping by and have an excellent day.
Sandra