DeeDee's Dilemma

Okay, with a tiny bit of judicious editing just to get all the names consistent, the Plotting Princesses present: DeeDee's Dilemma.

The car sped along the deserted stretch of highway its high beams cutting through the thick blanket of fog swirling before her. The roadway was deserted as the blackness of midnight beckoned her. Her fingernails dug crescent-shaped gouges into the leather steering wheel, her hands clammy with sweat as a chill of fear slid along her spine.

"I can't believe I did that." She slid her hand up her face and into her hair, yanking off the wedding veil. "What was I thinking?"

The radio blasted out the latest techno beat, which she hardly heard, but nearly hid the trill of her phone--nearly. She glanced at it, noting the name on the screen. "Oh hell no," she declared into the empty space after letting the night take the device the flung from her window.

"What have I done?"

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT. . .by Kathy Ivan

We've had a lot of author interview posts and getting to know a bunch of new people lately, plus lots of blogs about writing and craft; so I thought we'd try something a little bit different and kind of fun today.

We're going to do what's called Round Robin writing. It's fun, quick and easy and everybody gets to participate. The rules are fairly simple and I'm listing them here.

1. Read the scene below—it's very short.

2. In the comments section, leave a comment continuing the scene in your own way. Please only write a maximum of 3 lines in your comment.

3. The next person should read the scene below and the comments. Then starting with the last comment posted, they CONTINUE THE SCENE, again writing no more than a maximum of 3 lines in their comment.

Get to Know: H. C. Brown

Welcome H. C. Brown to the Plotting Princesses. We can't wait to get to know you.; so here goes:

How did you get from your day job to writing romance? I have no idea. Writing snuck up on me.

Who is your favorite author(s) and why? Diana Gabaldon. I totally immerse myself in her historical novels. They are a great form of escapism.

Do you prefer writing in the morning, afternoon or evening? Afternoon. I write every afternoon from noon until six.

Do you write with music, and if so, what do you listen to? No, I write in silence although I do get inspiration from music. Many songs will trip a storyline or an emotion.

Do you write in first pov or third? Third.

Pam Stone on Doppelgangers

Doppelgangers

A little background.  Soon after we married, my hubby agreed to take me and two of my girlfriends to a Neil Diamond concert. Personal quirk, I have to be early to those things.  So we’re sitting in our lower balcony seats and he’s got the binoculars watching people, girls probably.  Suddenly he stops and looks at me, hands me the binoculars and tells me to look on the tenth row back. Wouldn’t tell me what I was looking for, just that I’d know it when I saw it. I scanned and suddenly stopped breathing. There was a girl who looked so much like me, I couldn’t believe it. Auburn hair, same style cut. She was even dressed in emerald green, my favorite color at the time. Obviously, made an impression.

But over the holidays, I’ve been thinking about how certain actors resemble actors from earlier generations.  It started when my mom was watching an old episode of Jag. She’s addicted to the star, David James Elliott. I never watched the show, but Mom was also a huge Rock Hudson fan and she pointed to the screen and said something along the lines of, “There hasn’t been an actor that good looking since Rock Hudson."

So I started thinking. Scary, I know.

The obvious - Brad Pitt. Anyone except me see the close resemblance to Redford?

Get to Know: Joya Fields: Beneath The Surface

Hi, Joya. So glad you could visit the PP today and share insider bits about yourself and Beneath the Surface. Here we go:

How did you get from your day job to writing romance? Great question. I eased into romance novels. I started by writing non-fiction parenting articles. I learned a lot about editors, deadlines, and treating writing as a profession. Soon, I wrote short fiction stories for the confession magazines. All the while, I wrote romance, learning more with each novel

What's your three favorite books of all time? Ahh, so hard to choose. I hope I’m not cheating by answering with series instead of books. As a kid, I loved the Little House on the Prairie series. I pictured myself as Laura Ingalls, thriving in spite of the harsh conditions. As an adult, Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series keeps me turning pages. And lately, I’ve been tearing through The Hunger Games series.

Joya Fields

Morning, afternoon, or evening person?   No hesitation here! I need two cups of coffee to wake up in the morning. I’m a night person big time. Often, when I get caught up in a story, I’ll write until 3 or 4 in the morning. Of course, I regret that when I have to get up the next morning, but that’s when the creative juices flow the best.

Music--with or without? What kind? I just started using a soundtrack for my books. I don’t listen to it when I’m writing, though, I need complete silence. So I listen to music before I write, to get me in the mood, and then I write.

Vicki Batman Muses on...

The Winter Blues

Winter is not my favorite time of the year. I like cold weather for the holidays, and then, pack it up and head on out. Bring on the glories of spring! Warm weather, shorts, flip flops, t-shirt.

But that ain't happenin' for a while.

Everything I Learned About Life... by Michelle Miles

Everything I learned about Life, I learned from Star Wars

by Michelle Miles

This originally posted on Pop Culture Divas a while back, but Kathy’s movie post inspired me! So, here’s one from the vault by moi.

For a while, I’d had a hankering to watch the original 1977 version of Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope. Back when this movie came out, it was revolutionary. It changed science fiction forever and it gave us characters that have endured for more than 30 years. Now my son, who is 10, is a Star Wars fan. He has toys and games galore. It still amazes me that this movie that started as a space adventure has turned into this giant franchise.

But I digress.

There are valuable lessons to be learned from these movies. Allow me to illustrate.

When trapped on a frozen tundra, your tauntaun makes a good shelter. And – hey – it’ll keep you warm by slashing open the belly and crawling in. Handy trick.