Vicki Batman - Thirty-four #readromance #RLFblog #MFRWorg

34          I counted just the other day because I kinda had thirty in my head. So why the number?

I’ve written thirty-four short stories.

I began by writing my romantic comedy mystery, Temporarily Employed. Then I critiqued six very short stories for a friend, and all of the sudden, the rhythm of writing these fell into my head. Then an idea came, and I was off. I churned out a lot of short stories, many of which were pubbed by magazines and other publishers, some have been in anthologies.

I really do like writing short. My life has been upside down and concentrating on a book is hard for me. I can pop in and out of a short story and feel as if I’ve accomplished a lot.

As for very shorts…

I’ve collected eleven, two of which have never been pubbed before. Here’s a bit about them:

Michelle Miles: May Day

It's May! Can you believe how fast it got here? Seems like we were just celebrating New Years Day.

May is probably one of the best months of the year (besides October - I love Fall!). Lots of fun stuff happens in May. My birthday. My husband's birthday. Mother's Day. Memorial Day Weekend. The end of school. It's a busy month for sure.

And this year, we have a royal wedding to look forward to! I can't wait. I enjoy following the royals from their wedding to the birth of their children.

I had a blog post all written and ready to post but after re-reading it (and after my cool down period), I decided it was far too snarky. And so here I am talking about May 1/Beltane while The Fifth Element plays in the background.

I like May even if it is the official beginning of our hot Texas summers. There's lots of shopping happening during the month and cake and ice cream. That just can't be beat.

What do you love about May?

Vicki Batman on What's inspiring you? #readromance #springishere #RLFblog

Nature is!

I have always liked the beautiful colors of flowers; however, my obsession really began about three years ago when Handsome and I traveled the Rhine on a river cruise. We began our journey in Lucerne, Switzerland in late June. The weather was perfect, in fact, almost like spring compared to the heat my area experiences in the summer. Many variety of flowers bloomed everywhere. I became captivated and took many photos. Some flowers resembled those grown at home. I also spotted new plants. Even the tiny orange weed in the crack next to a white-washed building captured my fancy. 

This year, the spring flowers are bountiful, most likely due to the abundance of rain and cool temperatures. The antique climbing roses is loaded with tiny pale yellow bouquets. (These are the same plants I nearly chopped down, too.) Every day, I see new things—a snowball viburnum bursting with large blossoms. Many colors of Iris. Hot pink Gerbera daises. Green roses.

The air is fresh, perfumed by the budding flowers. The breeze lifts my hair and brushes across my mouth only to stick on my lip balm (no flavor). On dog walks, Champ, our white malti-poo, toddles along, stopping to pee every ten feet. His smoky gray brother, Jones, has long straight legs and walks like he knows what he is doing, only he doesn’t most of the time. Kids handling super-hero kites which are struggling to find lift. My neighbor is dead-heading the yellow and purple pansies with their fanciful smiles along her front walkway garden.

So how is all this loveliness inspiring?

I’ve been working harder at effective descriptions by adding how I feel and what I see. Hopefully by doing so, you--the reader--are experiencing a better mind picture.

Michelle Miles: New Quarter…NEW GOALS! Sorta…

It’s really hard for me to get it in my head that it’s April. APRIL! The first three months of the year are gone in a puff of smoke. 

I think I’ve mentioned before I have this journal I use daily to keep me on track for my goals. I discovered, too, long ago that it’s too hard for me to plan an entire year of goals. With the Best Self, it breaks down the year into 13-week increments. I set three goals for those 13 weeks. They can be anything I want. So, because I want to produce more books and get myself out of debt, I decided to start tracking these goals.

What makes a good Ending? #readromance #RLFblog #writing

Hi, everyone! It's Princess Vicki and I want to chat about THE END. You just finished the book,  close it, and sometimes, sigh. The last line sets the tone for how the book ends, a resolution, and is a counterpoint to the opening line which sets the story in motion.

Sometimes, there are lines that stay with us forever. For example:

“Tomorrow is another day.” From Gone With the Wind

“Thank you, God, she thought. Thank you.” From A Knight in Shining Armor (When I reached the end of this one, I sat for about a minute with the book in my hands, then started it again instantly.)

When I finish a story or book, I think a lot about the last line. I have been accused of writing a cliffhanger and maybe so.

Michelle Miles: Let's talk crafts

I had a hard time coming up with something to blog about. I’m not sure what my mental block is with blogging lately, but I literally stare into space and then … I got nothin’.

I thought about talking about the Oscars but, let’s face it, they were #OscarsSoBoring. I was glad to see Gary Oldman and Sam Rockwell win. The Shape of Water just looks weird to me and I doubt I’ll ever see it.

There’s not much else going on in my life other than writing, editing and stitching. I’ve started an Etsy shop and I’ve been stitching my little fingers to the bone. I make cross-stitched Christmas ornaments. If you follow me on Facebook, you likely have seen me post progress photos of them. They’re fun and they give me a sense of accomplishment because I can finish one in about a week.

I’m also trying to teach myself how to crochet. I have no idea why other than I saw the most gorgeous crocheted blanket on Facebook. It looks like this:

Where Did You Get that Story Idea? by Kathleen Baldwin #CreativeInspiration

Good morning! I’m Kathleen Baldwin, author of the award-winning Stranje House novels. Like most authors, the question I’m asked most often by readers is, “Where did you get the idea for your books?”

Every author has her own answer. 

I love adventure in real life and in books. Guess where I get my ideas for my adventurous heros and heroines . . .

You guessed it. For me, adventuring in the wild is a powerful source of inspiration. I love being out in nature. But hey, I also enjoy doing research. How's that for a dichotomy?  Dusty musty old books are often a source of inspiration as well.

TRUTH: Inspiration comes from many places. 

Here's several wonderful authors answering that question.