Good grief...I'm at a loss for ideas at the moment. A lull in my creative imagination. Here I am between books and I really need to get started on my next project and have no idea where to start. This isn't like me. I usually have at least a half dozen stories running around in this little brain of mine. Not right now, though.
I'm settled into my new day job and loving it. The necessary things at the lake are done for now. I'm in the midst of doing some landscaping here at the house but by the time I get home in the evening, I don't have enough time or energy to complete a whole project. So, I'm going to save the landscaping for this weekend. I picked up some craft kits at JoAnn Fabric two weeks ago and have started a cross stitch, but summer just doesn't seem like the right time to sit around and do craft projects. I have a bad case of the doldrums I think!
Speaking of landscaping...I did make a pretty cool purchase this week. I've ordered a barn quilt for the front of my house! It's a sunflower pattern and will look fantastic once the siding is complete! It was special order and I cannot wait to go pick it up in a few weeks once it is finished! I'll be sure to share it once I get it!
I guess I could pick up one of the books on my TBR stack and see if reading someone else's work sparks my imagination. I have plenty of those. And it's been a long time since I've read anything of substance. It would be better than sitting here on the sofa playing mindless games on my phone or watching my Twitter feed for interesting tidbits.
Bottom line is, I have a goal to complete one short story, one novella, and one full-length holiday romance before the end of the year. Maybe I should start small with the short story--which is technically due by August 15th--for the anthology which proceeds will go to benefit homeless veterans. I know at least one of my very talented author friends has completed hers. I'm falling behind. Sigh.
I'm not one to believe too much in writer's block...so I have no idea what it is to call this mood I'm in...or not in. I just know I need to pull myself up by the bootstraps and dig in by the first of next week. But what shall I write?
Enough of that. Enough of the pity party. In the famous words of my favorite author Nora Roberts..."just f---ing write". Easier said than done!
So...here's an idea...for the short story...
Heroine lives in the middle of the desert in an oasis-like spot where she runs a café and shop for people passing through. But who is she and why is she there? Along comes a hero biker...but what is he rescuing her from? How much heat between the two? How erotic should the loves scenes be?
And for the novella...which is already partially complete...
Heroine moves to New Orleans to get away from an abusive ex-boyfriend. Rents an apartment off a flamboyant older woman who she becomes fast friends with. Discovers some memorabilia from the 1800s in her attic...hears mysterious music in the middle of the night...finds a trunk belonging to a young woman from early days. In it is a photograph of a young man in a Confederate uniform. And while she's working at a local coffee shop, she runs headlong into a man who looks strikingly like the man in the picture.
And for the holiday romance...The Magick Quilt...
A distant great aunt bequeaths a mysterious hand-patched quilt to her single niece. The quilt is said to have magickal powers and will bring forth the owner's true love. Niece scoffs at the idea, but puts the beautiful piece of work on her bed. And along comes the man of her dreams.
I'm looking for feedback if anyone cares to give it...do any or all of these strike your interest?
On my agenda for 2020 besides Wild Deadwood Reads is the fourth in my Possum Creek series. Join me as I match young veterinarian Ellie up with a difficult dog breeder. Make the return to Possum Creek, TN where the men are hot and the women are spunky.
Okay...I have a pacing dog which means she is either ready to go to bed...go outside...or there's a storm brewing about an hour away...I think it's probably the outside thing! Thanks for dropping in and if you care to send some motivation my way...please feel free to do so!
Have a great first week of August!!
RSS Feed
