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Story Inspiration #upbeatauthors

8/28/2017

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Today on #upbeatauthors, we're talking about places we've gotten story inspiration. I could not think of how to distill that into a graphic, so here you get a blog post, lol!

My early books weren't inspired by places I've been, but I remember taking a road trip with Fred and Josh in 2002, and in the middle of New Mexico, Fred said, "I wonder what's down that road," and he pointed down a dirt road. By the time we got to our destination, I had filled pages of a notebook with what had been down that road. That book became Blame It on the Texas Stroll. Yes, it took me that long to find the heroine for the hero that popped into my head that day.

The next story inspiration location was the Bluestone books. I was visiting my dad and stepmom in Minnesota and we were driving back to Minneapolis from their lake house. We passed by a bar that was designed like a log cabin and my stepmother said that the owner had been trying to sell it for months. She went on to say how the town had been affected by the recession and people weren't traveling to the lakes so much. By the time we got back to Minnesota, I'd come up with the whole Bluestone series.

A few years later, Fred and I found ourselves as empty nesters, and we started going on road trips. On one trip down to Shiner, Texas (yes, to the brewery!) we stopped for lunch in Gonzales, at a restaurant called The Running M Bar and Grill. We had been driving around and seeing a lot of drilling equipment, a lot of wells, and I started wondering about the oil boom and how it would affect a quiet little town. The Boom Town series was born.

And last, my Off-Season books were inspired by the quiet little part of Padre Island we like to visit every fall, the families who live on the island, who work in the service jobs there.

And guess what? I have another series planned down the road, inspired by another road trip to West Texas! So yes, trips inspire me!
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Goals the Week of NO Eclipse and NO Hurricane

8/27/2017

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Whew! What a week. But it went surprisingly smoothly. I even made it to the gym twice, and picked up breakfast every morning! And we were fortunate not to be TOO affected by Harvey. After a hailstorm last year and a tornado in the spring, I don't think our insurance company would like us too much.

Busy week ahead:



  1. Write 5000 words
  2. sew sunglass cases (I haven't sewn since I went back to work!)
  3. Open House
  4. Dinner with teacher friends
  5. get to the gym 4 times



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Goals of the First Week with the Kids

8/20/2017

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I didn't post my goals last week! Which is fine because I didn't do so great, lol. Three days of inservice in the most uncomfortable seats ever constructed did me in. Then we didn't have AC at home, my husband hurt his back...crazy week. But his bad back has forced me to relax this weekend before the kids come back!

I'm going to keep it pretty simple:
  1. Get used to my new schedule the first week with the kids
  2. Write 5000 words
  3. sew cord wraps

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Goals for the Week of Back to School

8/6/2017

1 Comment

 
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This week is so hard because we're off three days, then go back for 2. I mean, it's nice to ease into it like that, but it kind of messes up those other days, you know?

And just when I'm getting into a writing groove, too. Hopefully, I only have to do this one more time. 



  1. Back to work
  2. Newsletter for new boxed set with cover reveal
  3. write 10,000 words
  4. sew drink cozies and sunglass cases
  5. Day with Mom

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