After reading Heather’s fun post the other day about exotic travels, complete with sexy half naked guy –
I thought about how important it is for us writers to fill the well. I find traveling is one of the best ways for me, and obviously Heather would agree. I meet new people, get shaken out of my routines and am constantly challenged. Right now, I’m in Portugal. Evora, which is a lovely old walled city with an existing temple to Diana from Roman times. I was in a church today where you could look into the ossuary and see the monks’ bones and skulls stacked like firewood. I thought to myself, you dedicate your whole life to God and this is how you end up?
My November Blaze, Power Play is also the result of traveling. Much more directly, since the book came about when some other writers and I went on a writers’ retreat and had to be moved out of our lovely cabin into rooms a busy lodge doesn’t rent out because the cabin turned out to have bed bugs!! The management took all our clothes away to be cleaned and brought out a plastic Rubbermaid bin with lost and found written on it. Yep, my wardrobe for the next three days was out of the lost and found bin. My room had a big curtain and behind it about ten plastic buckets to catch the torrents of water from the leaking roof. You really can’t make this stuff up, so I didn’t. I used it for the basis of Power Play. In my story the heroine gets double booked into that very room with a sexy cop. In reality, I laid in bed listening to rain banging into plastic buckets and thought, what if… I think Jonah and Emily had a lot more fun.
Power Play is an RT Top Pick, so I’m happy about that, and itºs also part of a really fun New Orleans Sweepstakes through eHarlequin. You can win prizes up to $10,000, so check it out. I had a lovely photo to send you all, but sadly can’t figure out how to upload it. Must improve my Portuguese! You’ll have to imagine me, sitting with my laptop with a view of the Mediterranean in the background and, um, a bunch of sexy half naked guys all around me throwing out plot ideas. Honest!! Pictures can’t lie… In the meantime, happy reading.
Nancy
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Ooh, Nancy,
That plot sounds wonderful. Can’t wait to read it.
I love to travel and have many destinations on my bucket list. Portugal isn’t–or wasn’t one of them but I may need to rethink that. Half naked guys, huh? I wanted to London Tower, but those British guards have all their clothes on…
Portugal? sighing with envy. Spain and Italy have been on my list for awhile now…but Portugal sounds gorgeous too. I’ll have to extend my stay.
And I’m thinking I’ll have to ask where your retreat was some other time…just in case I end up there. I sure hope you got your own clothes back.
And bravo to you for coming up with characters and a plot in the middle of a rain-soaked retreat!
Have fun in Portugal…. (D)
Your trip to Portugal sounds divine and so does your book. I can’t wait to read it and see what happens.
Oooh, Portugal! Bedbugs, not so much. You’re right about refilling the well. No input means no output.
Nancy, I just finished Power Play and I loved it! I must admit the bedbugs had me creeped out a little, lol! But the story was awesome and I totally loved the characters. I am curious to know what happened between Kirsten and Sadhu. Maybe a future book? LOL! Thanks for the great read!