In one interview I gave to my local RWA chapter soon after becoming published, I said I loved the 3 Cs: Chocolate, Cowboys and Country Music.
You might be thinking, Chocolate? YES! Cowboys? You bet!
But…Country music?
Yeah, I know. But Country music isn’t all Mamas, Truckers and Coon dogs nowadays. It’s very romantic. Very…inspirational.
For instance, watch this music video for a song by Chris Young.
Tomorrow
There are so many wonderfully masculine “hero” inspirations in those few minutes and I’m not just talking about a tight black shirt and a cowboy hat.
How about that moment when he looks up and clenches his fist.
You can see when he takes a deep breath, and I especially love it when he pushes off the doorframe.
And oh, that kiss.
But, you say, this is a sad song. Where’s the romance in that? Okay, so this particular video is more inspiration for the black moment. I’d love to take this mini-romance gone wrong, give the blonde and the cowboy a backstory, and goals, and motivation and conflicts and then write my own happy ending to poor Chris Young and his Tomorrow.
For another super sexy Country music video with a Happy Ending there’s Billy Currington’s Must Be Doing Something Right
And for love gone wrong in a humorous way, watch this one by the cutie pie of Country, Brad Paisley with his future wife , Kimberly Williamson.
I\'m Gonna Miss Her

So, do you listen to Country music? If not, have a made a convert out of you?

People ask me all the time how I get the ideas for my books. The truth is, from everywhere. I’m inspired by music, television, film, pop culture, people I see on the street, airports, restaurants, people from my past, the past, present, what I think the future might be and dreams. I never lack for ideas — ever.

My May release, Truth and Dare, was inspired by my past and my love of the television show Bones. I don’t actually want to see Booth and Bones get together on the show. It would would ruin it. But I do sometimes wonder what would happen if they did get together. Would it be explosive fireworks? Would we see the passionate side of Bones?

Of course, my story is very different from the show. My hero is a business man/cowboy who is helping Patience, a forensic anthropologist who seldom gets out of the office, solve his father’s murder. A murder that took place 20 years ago. Funny thing is, when I called her Patience, it didn’t dawn on me until someone mentioned it that I’d played on Temperance on Bones. Funny how that stuff happens.

The my story part: I lived in Houston but every summer as a teen I hung out at my grandparent’s farm in a small East Texas town. It was surrounded by lakes and so much of my time was spent on the water. I had my share of cowboys for boyfriends and I have to say there’s something sexy about a guy who can ride a bull. It was fun thinking back to those days. There were street dances on July 4th, and all kinds of festivals in nearby towns. I love small towns.

So today I would like to hear from you. What inspires you? Who inspires you? If you post here, you could win a $25 Amazon gift certificate.

An Easter Egg is a hidden feature, inside joke, or message in places like software, movies, video games, DVDs, or books. For example, George Lucas references his first movie, THX-1138, in every film he makes. In STAR WARS, Princess Leia is held in cell block 1138.

For fun, I put one in my second Blaze, HIS LITTLE BLACK BOOK, out this month. It’s on page 28. Readers not in the know will miss it, but I’m letting Blaze Blog readers in on the secret.

I try not to repeat main character names even after forty plus books, so when Sophie the pug dog visited last year I thought, “There’s a good name,” and used it for Sophie Callahan, heroine of “Text and the Single Girl.” When Sophie the pug arrived, she deliberately checked out every room of the house. She disturbed nothing, merely observing the status quo. Then, with a Grand Duchess air about her, she set about being the dog of the house. Her self-confidence became part of Sophie Callahan’s personality. Months later, in a funny coincidence, Sophie came to visit for a week at the exact time I was working on the manuscript revisions for her story. She quickly learned the household routine and would trot into my office and camp out in the knee hole of my desk while I worked. Here she is.

So when you read Sophie’s description, “She had pale blue-green eyes with an exotic tilt that kept her from looking too ‘girl next door-ish’ in spite of the ponytail, slightly pug nose and a few freckles”, well, here’s the inspiration. I know, it’s a horrible picture, but she sure doesn’t look girl next door-ish, does she?

What Easter Eggs have you discovered or learned about? Have you hidden some of your own? Or is this all new to you? Post a comment for a chance to win a copy of HIS LITTLE BLACK BOOK.