Isnt' it amazing how the simplest things give us the greatest inspiration? It kind of reminds me of the commercial where a couple walks through an architects office and listens to his spiel of the wonderful masterpiece buildings he has created, and when he asks what he can do for them, the woman pulls a faucet out of her purse and says, 'Build us a house around this.' Wow! Now you have to admit, that was completely and utterly brilliant (even better if the guy could do it). So what does this seemingly irrelevant commercial have to do with inspiration? Simple... it's always around us and it depends on timing and mood whether or not we can take something ordinary and make our own masterpieces.

I was looking at house plans this weekend - ok, you caught me - this has been a regular event for the past fifteen or so years, so nothing really new. Except. I found one that captured my heart and obviously my imagination. It's a large (over 2000 sq ft) Craftsman style house, that to me looks like a cross between a Victorian and a Cottage...possibly something that you might see in the Swiss Alps as a Lodge. Maybe. Anyhow, I was working today when a story idea hit me and it surrounded the house and the sole owner it belongs to, a writer who uses it as a monthly retreat and rents it out the rest of the time as a vacation getaway. Now, I know it doesn't sound spectacular - yet - but what if the people who rent it don't know who owns the house, but are told they can go anywhere in the house except the room at the top of the stairs? What if circumstances toss the owner/author/recluse and a renting family together... at the house... at the same time? What if that experience changes all of them in the short week they are together? What if it heals...?

So, now we have a simple, ordinary house that isn't even built (uh, to my knowledge... and if so, I didn't do it) and now have a premise for a story that might actually make sense once it's on paper. Too bad I still haven't edited Going to California yet and need to do that before I start on anything else. Sigh... so there's another idea to file away and hope that my enthusiasm for it doesn't wan before I get to it.

How about any of you? Have you had an experience where you see something extraordinary in something that everyone else sees as mundane?

So, I decided to do something proactive while waiting for the publisher to get started working on my book and began looking at business cards. At first I was just browsing, not really seriously considering it because... well let's be honest here, I don't think it's really fully sunk in yet that by the end of the year I'm going to have a book that I've created with my name on it that others will read. WOW!

Ok, so back to the issue at hand. There I was looking online at different designs to see what was out there when I found a template that caught my eye and I started playing with it... alot! By the time I was done I sat there and wondered just what in the world I was doing and what possessed me to think I needed something like that. Yes, I have business cards - they're for our business and even has me listed as Owner (isn't that cool?). But really, what do I need a business card toting me as a writer for? So, in my last attempt to rein myself in, I asked my husband to take a look in hopes that he would look at me and smile before saying something like 'don't you think you're rushing things a bit?'. Yeah, that's what I was expecting... but no, he had to go and surprise me by thinking it was a great idea and loved that it had "Author" under my name! Huh!

Now you would think that would be the end of it, right? Oh no... you see, I work outside mostly by myself all day - I have plenty of time to think...and I did. Author to me equates to something bigger and bolder than what I feel that I am. So I was trying to find something that didn't sound (in my mind at the time) snooty or uppity. Yeah, you're starting to see the problem now aren't you? So I pondered it a bit and finally thought, 'Ah ha! Novelist!' So thinking that I solved my problem, I posed it to my 16 year old daughter who never fails to let me know if I'm going around the bend and of course she said that it was a great idea. Awesome, I'm thinking... so I take it another step and pose it to my husband who said, 'Honey, why don't you stick with Author and work your way up to Novelist?' Wait... what?

Please forgive me if I'm wrong, but if a person writes a novel, isn't he or she a novelist? Assuming that's correct, wouldn't I be one? So now I sit and ponder the situation fully, hoping that the answer will slam into me like the idea for having a business cards in the first place, otherwise who knows how much time will pass before I toss up my hands and say 'forget it', leaving yet another question unanswered... should I or should I not?

I had a conversation with my Mom today and it made me stop to think just how some people could view creative people. Ok, lets be honest... it took awhile to stop laughing long enough to think about it. You see, she has been truly worried that I am in the process of losing my ever loving mind - ironic considering that she's schizophrenic. When I mentioned it to my husband Tony, he paused in what he was doing, looked at me and said with a completely straight face, "Has she completely lost her mind?" I hate to admit that we both had a laugh at that statement, inappropriate or not. Now, with all of that said, I had to wonder how people generally view creative people. Are we just quirky and odd, or are we viewed as slightly unhinged and one step away from the deep end? I don't know about any of you, but I don't stare off into space (uh, too often) and talk to people that aren't there (characters of a story don't count, right?)... so really, how crazy can I be? Sure I usually have a plotline streaming in my head as I'm doing my job during the day (cleaning pools can be boring), or I'm attached to my laptop in a way that I'm really thinking about getting one of those little bitty almost pocket sized ones that I could carry around even easier when I'm on the road or heading to the library. Maybe it's the fact that when someone asks me what I write about I have to pause and stare at the person a few moments before I finally answer, "uh, which story are we talking about?". So, yeah, ok... quirky, yeah I admit it.... crazy - well, hopefully the jury's still out on that one.

How about any of you? How do you think people view creative people... even better, any examples?

I can't say that I've been very happy lately. The weird weather plays havoc with my body until I wish for a time machine to fast forward me a couple of months into the future, some customers become unreasonable to the point that I want to drop them regardless the drop in profit margin, and the kids... well, anyone with teenage children can relate without me going any further. However, these situations are nothing new - how I've been dealing with it is, and that's the problem.

My husband Tony had wisely told me that even if I never got published, writing was something that I obviously enjoyed and that if Momma's happy, everyone is too. Well, that sounds like a wonderful plan doesn't it, just keep writing and use it as my wonderfully unique form of therapy, right? Wrong. It works only if my wonderful muse doesn't go on strike. Oh sure, I'll have ideas run through my head, but they don't seem to stop long enough to check in before they're off again leaving me more frustrated than ever. The first such encounter was after my son Michael and grandson Christian's car wreck - my mental process almost completely shut down to the point that I wasn't sure I'd ever get it jump started again. Finally though, I managed to slowly get back into writing as my presence at the hospital wasn't urgently required, and finally everyone was back home where they belonged. Now, as ridiculous at it sounds, my 'muse' went on strike over a stupid TV show. Yes, I know, it's not real... get over it. However, when a storyline grabs you and runs, taking you through many wondrous possibilities, then totally take a right at Albuquerque, well... apparently she (the muse in me) didn't like it... at all.

So, now I'm wrestling, yet again, to get back into my creative writing and have finally made a breakthrough since it's been a week the last time I successfully wrote anything besides my name on a check or credit card receipt. So, as strange as it may seem... Momma's happy, the kids are happy.. and if the writer's of a certain TV show would get it back on track... some other people I know would be happy too.

I guess the point is... our creativity can be influenced by many things, and probably some of them we don't even think about, much less would believe. Don't be surprised if one day all of a sudden the characters that you've been nurturing along are suddenly quiet (or at least severely muted). They'll come back - they just need some down time too. Then everything can be right with the world once again, and Momma can stay happy.

I just found out from my publisher that 1) the graphic portion should begin any time now  and 2) the book could be released as early as late summer!!! Obviously I'm excited and can't wait to actually see it in print, but I think I'll be equally thrilled when I see the galleys.

Now, with that out of the way, it's been brought to my attention that I haven't told anyone here what my book is about. Huh... now isn't that ironic, considering I feel like I've been telling everyone else I've run into. So, I thought I'd attach the synopsis here for those who wanted to read it.

Take care!

P.S. This is the 1st in a series of 6, each named after a Led Zeppelin song 

The Rain Song

Small towns are known for summer picnics, neighborhood softball games, and cozy shops on Main Street - not being home to things of the paranormal. So when the Remingtons take in another child in need of safe haven they are completely unprepared for the people and creatures that come to claim him.

Nick and Angela Remington were living their American dream while helping disadvantaged kids. The last thing they were expecting was a small boy with big eyes to steal their hearts so completely while at the same time shaking the very foundation of their lives.

When David Remington lost his brother Derrick last year, it left a hole in his heart that didn't seem to want to heal - until Micah is brought to them in the middle of the night. Now he has a new purpose; to be the best big brother he can be while protecting the small boy by his side, while discovering just how intertwined their pasts and futures really are.