My friend Rhonda likes to break into song whenever the mood strikes (usually when you’re talking about something and the subject has a word from a song lyric)  I think she’s rubbing off on me because now I can’t write a blog unless I have a song title as the subject heading. 

Anyway, a while back I was talking to some online writer friends about this bizarre thing that’s been happening….I won’t go into it right now…maybe another blog……and it got me thinking about my current work in progress, House of Cards.  (which has turned into my never ending story )

When I first came up the idea to write the book it was to prove to another writer that I could write a short story and maybe have it picked up by a mystery magazine.  

Well my idea for the book was going to be based on a murder that happened in 1987 in Matamoras Mexico and the murder (from the defense’s version) of the Laci Peterson murder.  I planned to use the two incidents for one story.

One day when I was thinking about the story, a program came on A&E’s City Confidential about a woman who hires a hit man to kill her daughter’s boyfriend. As the story unfolded, it was discovered that the killer had gone to a Curandera in Brownsville Texas for protection.  Curanderas are believed by many in Mexico and the surrounding border towns to hold a special gift of magic. Some of them, like the self-proclaimed Curandera the man went to promise spells for anything and will charge a pretty nice penny. (Okay, I won’t go completely into it…it’s a Mexican thing.)

Anyway, it was an interesting story and it got my creative wheels spinning. I had already researched Curanderas for my novel Dark Obsession (a paranormal romantic suspense still hoping to grab an editor’s attention) and I had already planned to use Brownsville as the setting and include a Curendera.

So, after a couple of months I completed the story. The first magazine I sent it to, though they were mixed on loving/hating it, passed. (keep in mind, this was over three years ago and I was still learning as a writer…I think I’ve improved since. :-D) Anyway at twelve thousand words the story was too long for a short story but not long enough for a novel or novella.   So, I put it away and went back to editing and revising my first two books.  A few months later I decided to try to turn the short story into a novel…all I had to do was expand on character and plot…no big deal, right??  Not as easy as it sounds.  Since I was expanding the story and it wasn’t going to be a romance like my other novels, I just couldn’t get the damn thing to work, so I gave up.  

Then one night I was watching Forensic Files on Court TV (now called TruTV)  and a story came on about…….a woman who hires a hit man to kill her daughter’s boyfriend.  It was the same story from a different angle!!  Talk about freak me out!

So I thought, okay, fine, no need to drop a TV on me, I’ll try the story again.  So, I went back to work on House of Cards. I sought out articles on the murder that happened in 1987 in Matamoras and did more research on Laci Peterson, satanic rituals, and narcotraficantes (drug dealers in Mexico), I even spoke to a detective in Brownsville who was very very helpful!  

After a few chapters the story went belly up again.   I was ready to give up, taking it as a sign that I should just stick to writing romance and leave the thrillers to the pros,  when I was flipping through the channels on TV and stopped on A&E.  Need I tell you what was playing??? Right!  City Confidential and it was replaying the Brownsville story!!  Needless to say, I started replotting the story and making up an outline of sorts.

You know, it seems every time I try to give up on my story some sort of sign appears telling me not to.  Aside from the TV programs I’ve had other things happen that make me realize I shouldn’t stop working on the story.  Like meeting people who can give me insight on a character I hadn’t realized I written in.  Or watching the news and learning about some horrible unsolved murder with the spouse as the number one suspect.

I haven’t quite completed this book yet but I know I will because it’s practically begging to be told.  I’ve heard other writer’s talk about those pestering kinds of books….never thought I’d be in that club.  

So, tell me, have you had one of those books that just won’t let go until you’ve typed…THE END?

Thanks for stopping by!

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It’s not that I haven’t had anything to say….well..actually that’s part of it….but the other main reason is…I couldn’t think of a subject heading. Yeah, kind of a dumb reason not to post…but I’m like that with anything I write. If I don’t have a title…I can’t write. My work reflects the title…most times in a cryptic sort of way. But that’s the fun part of a novel….finding a title that’s so obscure you don’t realize it till you’re caught in the story.

Of course regardless of whether or not I’ve chosen the perfect title for my book, it doesn’t mean I’ll get to keep it. If the publisher or marketing don’t think they can sell your title they’ll ask you to change it.

This Friday my book, Her Will, His Way will be released. When I first started writing the book I called it Nobody’s Cinderella. To me, the title seemed to fit the overall character of Anita better. (She’s a bit of a strong-minded, has to prove she’s right kind of girl–uh, can’t imagine how I came up with her ). Of course the title didn’t quite fit the story as a whole and I was asked to change it. And I’m very happy with the title I came up with because, as themes go…can’t beat it.

I’m very proud of this story and so pleased it’s been published by Cobblestone. I know you won’t be disappointed when you read it.

Here’s a brief synopsis of what the story is about and a little teaser excerpt to get you started.

Her Will His Way

After her husband’s infidelity ends their ten year marriage and allegations of fraud send her interior design business into bankruptcy, Anita Perez is more than happy to take over ownership of her late grandfather’s flower shop in the Rio Grande Valley. However, Anita has a problem. She doesn’t speak Spanish–something her grandmother’s sexy neighbor, Antonio Hernandez, feels the need to remind her of on a daily basis.

Antonio has loved Anita for as long as he can remember, but the only attention she’d give him was in willful response to a dare. Now that she has returned to the valley Antonio will stop at nothing to win her heart.

But Antonio’s plan may backfire if Anita learns he made a ‘deal with the devil’ and he used the flower shop to lure her into more than just his bed.

 excerpt:

Antonio’s lips curved into a sexy grin. “Are you still afraid of me, Anita?”

The amusement in his eyes stopped her from answering. He was baiting her again. Well, two could play this game, she thought smugly.

She moved her hand to the V of his shirt, skimming her finger over his chest. The warmth of his skin shimmered through her, charging every nerve in her body. She’d never seduced anyone before, but maybe it was time she did. After all, she’d moved to the valley to start a new life. And taking what she wanted, when she wanted, was the best way to do that.

She sent him a feline smile and gripped his shirt. “Maybe it’s you who should be afraid of me,” she said, pulling him into a kiss.

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When I signed up to do the blog for today I thought Awesome, great way to promote my upcoming release (April 18th, to be exact) of my first published book Her Will, His Way ((a contemporary erotic romance that takes place in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas)) but then my cover got delayed so I decided to wait until I have an actual cover to go with the announcement ((which will be now be closer to the release date of April 18th)).  :wink: 

Anyway, as my assigned blog day drew closer I found myself near panic and thinking “great, now what am I supposed to post?” Then I read yesterday’s blog and noticed Ava’s question about tying your muse down to one subject so I thought, hey, why not ask my muse to help me? Unfortunately, my muse is a bit of a flake and thinks the writer’s strike is still on, so now I have to find a new muse.

So how would one go about finding a muse, you ask? Is it something you’re born with, like a guardian angel (for those of you who believe in guardian angels)? Or is it something that appears out of nowhere the second you start kindergarten and that creative part of your brain is stimulated? Do you even believe in Muses? I do…only so I can have someone to blame when my work suddenly hits that proverbial brick wall…aka Writer’s Block (yeesh…such a dirty word for a writer)….which tends to happen a lot lately. I could spout all kinds of unofficial psycho babble as to reasons why I land in China (Great Wall..and all) when I’m writing. But suffice it to say….I just lose my motivation.

I do not believe in writer’s block. I simply deny it. There are bad days, and when you have them your job is still to sit there and push on. I gave up waiting for the muse a long time ago. I figure she’s in Maui, working on her tan.
So when I am at my most unmotivated I accept that my duty is to sit here and type. I type even when I hate it and know it’s bad because that is why God invented the rewrite. If you type enough bad stuff, I have found, you eventually reach the good stuff, then you can go back and make the bad stuff better.

Okay, so, given this advice what do I do to get myself back on track? Mind you, what works for me (or Mr. Crais) won’t necessarily work for you. Many authors have their own ways of dealing with these problematic muses.

Some will go for long walks. I would, but, hello? Arizona! It hits 115 degrees in the summer!

Some people will take long hot baths to relax and think. Uh….pruning…not pretty.

Some writers say they like to take a long quite drive. Yeah, dude, have ya seen the gas prices??

Me, in order to arouse my muse, I read. I read fiction. I read thrillers. I read romances. I read horrors. I read. Because reading the greats helps stimulate my creativity, and its like on the job training. Reading shows me what I’m doing wrong with pace, action, dialogue, characterization. And sometimes it will give me a sudden DUH moment with my story….which can be annoying when you’re into a scene in someone’s book then your own scene, the one you’ve been struggling with, pops into your head but you don’t want to leave the book you’re reading to go take care of it.

Anyway, like I said, works for me.

So do I worry that by reading these great authors I’ll somehow take their work? No. Because most of the time when I read, it’s as a reader. Not as a writer. I enjoy books so much better that way.

So…I hope…amidst my senseless rambling…you find some way to get over your blocks, or your sleeping muse, or your lack of motivation and get some work done.

Me….I wrote four pages…and a blog.  :wink: