Clicking Our Heels – Summer Vacation Preferences

/in /by


CLICKING OUR
HEELS – SUMMER VACATION PREFERENCES

Can you
believe summer is almost over? Three more days and no more white shoes or white
pants! Before summer ends, the Stiletto Gang members thought we’d share our favorite
summer vacations – indoors/outdoors, beach/mountains, or staycation.

Debra H.
Goldstein:  The Beach! Something
about the white capped swirling water and glistening sand is my nirvana.

Anita Carter:
Definitely outdoors. One of my favorite vacations was when my husband and I
traveled to Hawaii for 10 days. We island hopped. We had the best time at the
beach and hiking through the mountains and around the volcanos. I’d love to go
again.

T.K. Thorne:
I have to see the ocean regularly or something inside doesn’t get fed. Also, I
live on a mountain, so I get my tree and fresh air fix every day.

Debra
Sennefelder: Staycation. I really don’t like summer weather. I much prefer
air conditioning.

Kathryn Lane:
My husband and I spend the summers in the mountains of northern New Mexico near
Taos, where we enjoy outdoor adventures as well as watching wildlife drift by
from our cabin deck.

Dru Ann Love:
I like sightseeing various locations, so outdoors. Staycations are good as well.

Kathleen
Kaska:  It’s the beach for me –
anytime.

Robin
Hillyer-Miles: Beach or staycation!

Lois Winston:
I much prefer a warm getaway in the winter, but I’m not a beach person. I love
exploring museums, ancient sites, and foreign cities.

Linda
Rodriguez: Anymore, I’m a stay-at-home person most of the time, thanks to
health issues. In summer, you’ll find me inside in the air conditioning or
sitting on my spacious porch, spinning or knitting and chatting with my
neighbors.

Shari
Randall: I’m a culture vulture, so I’d love to somewhere with great museums
and theater. I live near a beach, so I’ll admit it, I’m spoiled.

Mary Lee
Ashford: My summer vacation preference would be outdoors with a beach and a
book! Staycations are fun but since I’ve been working from home since March
2020, I am more than ready to see some walls that aren’t my own.

Gay Yellen:
Mountains. Hiking in a cool mountain forest is the best break from summer in
the city.

Lynn McPherson: I love the beach and the mountains. I’m home most of the
time so when vacation time rolls around I’m ready to go explore new places.

Cathy Perkins: What is a vacation these days? When I can travel again, definitely the beach!

Clicking Our Heels: Muddle in the Middle or at the Begining or the End?

/in /by

Clicking Our Heels: Muddle in the Middle or at the
Beginning or the End?

Today, the Stiletto Gang
examines what each finds the hardest part of writing – beginnings, middles or
ends?

Saralyn Richard – Whatever I’m currently writing
(beginnings and endings are harder than middles).

Lois Winston – I spend quite a bit of time deciding on an
opening sentence that will hook the reader.

Kathleen Kaska – The hardest part of writing fiction comes
between the middle and the end. This is where I have to pull everything
together. Being a punster makes it difficult, but outlining doesn’t work for
me.

Linda Rodriguez – Middles! Always middles – when I often
despair that I’ve forgotten how to write.

Debra H. Goldstein – Endings because I have to remember not
to rush to tie things up and in a series give a taste of the future.

Shari Randall – Hands down beginnings are the toughest to
write. I love spinning different endings and middles happen organically, but a
beginning that entices the reader and sets the tone for the book is always a
challenge.

Gay Yellen – I usually don’t begin writing until I know how
the book starts and how it ends. The middle is the bugbear, because the mix of
plot details and suspense is so critical.

Kathryn Lane – Middles are the nemeses I struggle with to
make my writing as exciting as possible so the reader continues side by side
with the protagonist, solving life-threatening situations.

Dru Ann Love – The beginning as I don’t know what to write
without revealing spoilers.

Debra Sennefelder – The hardest part of writing for me
lately hasn’t been the process of writing. It has been dealing with my upended
routine and noise in the house during the day.

T.K. Thorne – I tend to write from beginning to end. If I
have a concept of the ending, then the middle is hard, if I don’t, the end can
be challenging, because everything has to come together in a surprising but
satisfying way. I love beginnings, lol!

Anita Carter – Definitely beginnings. When I first start a new
story, the possibilities of where the story can go are endless. Sometimes I’ll
rewrite the first 50 pages three or four times until I feel like I’m taking the
story in the right direction. It can be exhausting.

Mary Lee Ashford – Oh, I love beginnings and endings. But
middles? They are hard. I think the good news is that in the middle there are
so many choices and then the bad news is that there are so many choices. I do
quite a bit of plotting before I begin writing but I find that once I’ve
written to the middle of the book, there’s often a need to reassess what I
originally had planned. It provides an opportunity to ask if there is a better
choice now that the story has grown. So middles are hard, but also great fun.

Bethany Maines – Ends! I can churn out a great first act at
the drop of a hat, but oh my, those endings. Managing to get all the pieces of
the puzzle to line up and come to a satisfactory conclusion is the toughest
part for me.

Robin Hillyer-Miles – Editing is the most difficult and
most important for me.

 

Clicking Our Heels: Summer Vacation – Beach, Mountains, On the Road, or Simply a Staycation?

/in /by


Last month, the Stiletto Gang members shared where each most wanted to go when the world opened up again. Now, with summer here, people are making vacation plans. As always, each of us has a different idea for our perfect summer vacation – beach, mountains, on the road, or staycations.


Bethany Maines – Outdoors someplace sunny.  Could be the
beach or the mountain or my backyard, but I want ice cream, a nap, and some
sunshine.

Gay Yellen – Mountains. Hiking in a cool mountain forest
is the best break from summer in the city.

Mary Lee Ashford – My summer
vacation preference would be outdoors with a beach and a book! Staycations are
fun but I’ve been working from home since March 2020, so I am more than ready
to see some walls that aren’t my own. (1/2- Sparkle Abbey)

Shari Randall – I’d love to
go somewhere with great museums and theater. I live near a beach, so I’ll admit
it, I’m spoiled.

Linda Rodriguez – Anymore, I’m
a stay-at-home person most of the time, thanks to health issues. In summer, you’ll
find me inside in the air conditioning or sitting on my spacious porch, spinning
or knitting and chatting with my neighbors.

Anita Carter – Definitely outdoors. One of my favorite
vacations was when my husband and I traveled to Hawaii for 10 days. We island
hopped, had the best time at the beach, and hiking through the mountains and around
the volcanos. I’d love to go again. (1/2 Sparkle Abbey)

Debra H. Goldstein – I’m a beach
person – even if viewing the waves lapping the sand from an airconditioned
room. Of course, now that Broadway is going to be opening at the end of Summer,
I wouldn’t mind making a trip to New York part of my summer vacation.

T.K. Thorne – I have to see the ocean regularly or
something inside doesn’t get fed. Also, I live on a mountain, so I get my tree
and fresh air fix every day.

Debra Sennefelder – Staycation.
I really don’t like summer weather. I much prefer air conditioning.

Kathryn Lane – My husband and I spend the summers in the mountains
of northern New Mexico, near Taos, where we enjoy outdoor adventures as well as
watching wildlife drift by from our cabin deck.

Dru Ann Love – I like sightseeing various locations, so
outdoors. Staycations are good as well.

Kathleen Kaska – It’s the
beach for me – anytime.

Lois Winston – I much prefer a warm getaway in the winter,
but I’m not a beach person. I love exploring museums, ancient sites, and
foreign cities.

 

 

 

 

 

If We Could Travel Anywhere – Clicking Our Heels

/in /by

If We Could Travel Anywhere……. Clicking Our Heels

With the pandemic and travel easing, we wondered
where each member of The Stiletto Gang would go once the world truly reopened:

Donnell Ann Bell – Before COVID-19 struck in 2020, my husband,
myself, and our longtime friends, had planned a trip to Scotland to participate
in a walking/hiking tour. Not only did we want to visit Scotland, we wanted to
walk across Scotland in honor of my dear friend who had walked across the
200-mile trek years before. She passed away from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(ALS) several years ago. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to honor her as
well as experience the trip of a lifetime.

Needless to say during COVID 19 and the awful
2020, my husband and I became hooked on a British mystery series called Loch
Ness. The six-episode series featured—what else—Scotland. It’s a sign, I tell
you.     

Lois Winston – I want to travel to California to see
the three grandchildren I haven’t seen, other than on Facetime, in more than
two years.

 

Robin Hillyer-Miles – My mother, husband, and I actually have a
British Isles cruise planned for September 2021 and I am attending the Georgia
Romance Writers Moonlight & Magnolia conference at the end of
September, early October.

 

Dru Ann Love – First I want to visit my mom and the second, return to attending
read/fan conventions. 

 

Saralyn Richard – I’ve promised a certain young lady a trip to NYC for the
annual Westminster Kennel Club dog show.

 

Kathleen Kaska – Once the world reopens, I plan to travel back to my home state
of Texas and visit my family and friends.

 

Debra
Sennefelder
– I wasn’t a big traveler before 2020 so I have no big travel plans.
Though, I really want to go out to a restaurant without any type of
restrictions. Yes, that’s my dream.

 

Kathryn
Lane – Once
the world reopens for travel, I will go to Hong Kong, the Greek isles,
Istanbul, Miami, and Cuba since these are places where my protagonist, Nikki
Garcia, will be sent to confront dangerous situations in the next couple of
books.

 

Debra H. Goldstein – Because of vaccinations,
we finally have been able to see our children and grandchildren. Although we
want more trips like that, my secret pleasure would be a week in New York
seeing Broadway shows (which means Broadway needs to safely reopen, too)

T.K. Thorne – Got
a trip to Machu Picchu and Galapagos waiting and maybe Japan.  There are so many places I want to see that
I’ve never been!  I also want to explore
the countryside around me more, and I want to hug a lot of friends and family!

Anita
Carter (1/2 of Sparkle Abbey) – Anywhere!
I have wanderlust right now and I’m game for just about anything. The beach, a
national park, the mountains. . . .Let’s go!

Barbara Kyle – A trip anywhere with my
daughter and granddaughter. When my daughter suggested it recently, it made my
day. So, yup, anywhere with those two.

Linda Rodriguez – I have a dear friend who just spent several years working
herself half to death as the poet laureate of San Francisco and has just been
set free. I was supposed to visit her, but I had a bad fall that kept me from
traveling—and then the pandemic hit. I want to go out to see her.

Shari Randall – When the
world reopens the first thing I’ll do is hug my parents, my kids, and my
friends, then I’d love to rent a motorhome and visit
the national parks out west.

 

Mary Lee Ashford – First and foremost, family. I miss seeing family so much.
And if there’s any way that could include a beach…that would be
awesome. 


Bethany Maines – Ireland!  I was
planning a trip before COVID and now it’s sort of indefinitely on hold and we
need to see if we’re going to be re-roofing the house instead.  Maybe
we’ll just forget everything and head to Hawaii for a week.


Gay Yellen – So many places! Book
conferences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Journeys as Writers – Clicking Our Heels

/in /by


Our Journeys as Writers –
Clicking Our Heels

Writing Careers are journeys. Today, the Stiletto Gang
authors talk about the road each has followed. No two are quite alike – even
those writers on the blog who do some writing together.

 

Mary Lee Ashford (1/2 of Sparkle Abbey) – Like many others, not at all. I am currently
traditionally published both with the Sparkle Abbey series (Bell Bridge Books)
and the Sugar & Spice series (Kensington) but the path has been more roller
coaster than anything I could have imagined. Still with all the ups and downs,
I feel incredibly lucky to get to do something I love so much! 

 

Shari Randall
– My
writing career? My vision of a writing career was formed by watching Joan
Collins in Dallas – fabulous travel, fabulous assistants, fabulous wardrobe.
The reality is a bit different, but happier with a lot less feuding.

 

Linda Rodriguez – No, it’s always a surprise. I didn’t expect to
debut (for novels) with a major trade publisher, but I won a contest. Later, I
didn’t expect to be dropped when my books were doing well, but they engaged in
an editorial bloodbath and shed a lot of writers, too. I have to keep
reinventing myself as a writer—and that’s okay.

 

Anita Carter (1/2 of Sparkle Abbey – For the most part
yes. I thought I’d have published something on my own, but I’m not there yet.
As Sparkle Abbey, we’re getting ready to venture into self-publishing so ask me
again in a few months. I might have a different answer! Ha!

T.K. Thorne – Heavens
no.  It’s been a roller coaster. At this
point, I guess I’m a hybrid. Mostly traditional, but one self-published.

Debra
H. Goldstein – Not knowing better, I thought it was a snap the first time I had
a book accepted. Then I was orphaned. I was told, write something different. I
did. It too, was orphaned after publication, but both books were later
reprinted in a mass market format. And then, I had a series take off. I’m about
to turn in book 5 of the Sarah Blair series, but hold your breath, pray, (and
buy a few copies of Four Cuts Too Many on pre-order) and maybe they’ll give me
a contract for books six through?

Kathryn Lane – My writing career began after a two-decade
career in the international corporate world that took me to over 90 countries.
Those travel experiences have provided me with a wealth of material I
incorporate into the settings of my novels. Being an author has been incredibly
satisfying and has led me to paths I never envisioned – such as traveling to
research specific locations where I set my novels, and the most important part
– wonderful encounters with fans, either in person at book presentations or
online, who tell me my Nikki Garcia mystery series or my short stories have
impacted them and brought them good memories.

Debra
Sennefelder – Yes, it has. I am traditionally published with Kensington
and I’m very happy for where I am at the moment.

Kathleen Kaska – My publishing path has
been traditional.

 

Saralyn Richard – Mine is just getting started–a lifelong dream come true.

 

Lois
Winston – Definitely not. I started out traditionally published, then went
hybrid, and now I’m completely indie. Back when I started out, that was the
last resort of the writer who couldn’t sell a book to a publisher and turned to
vanity presses. Now it’s where you find many authors who have taken similar
paths.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clicking Our Heels – Diverse Women and Their Fairy Tales

/in /by

Clicking Our
Heels – Diverse Women and Their Fairy Tales

A New Year, but a re-run of an old Clicking Our Heels written shortly after we changed our logo. New members and new Clicking Our Heels next month!

The Stiletto
Gang spent the past two months introducing our new logo and letting you see how
diverse we are over something simple: 
red shoes. Not only are we different in the present, but we were raised
on different fairy tales, folklore and cultural stories. Thinking back, we
decided to share with you an early one we can remember and tell you why it was
so impressive. 

Paula Gail Benson – Cinderella has a firm
hold on me. I wore a Cinderella Halloween costume for years and, when I began
teaching short story workshops, Cinderella
was my go-to example for story structure. I guess it’s a female Horatio Alger
story. Ultimately, Cindy wins when she is able to reveal herself.

Dru Ann Love – Your dreams can come true if you work hard for it. Because I
knew I wanted more from life than what was dealt my family. That’s why I was
the first to graduate college, the first to get a full-time job, the first to
travel internationally for pleasure, and the first to own real estate (co-op).

TK Thorne – Snow White and The Seven
Dwarfs because I was hung up on
Cinderella being blonde and the “perfect” girl, and Snow had dark hair like
me. Could I be perfect too, or at least find my prince? Not very feminist
fodder, but that is what we were fed and I swallowed.

Shari Randall – My Italian mom told us the story of Old Befana, the good witch
who flies on her broomstick on January 8, going down chimneys to leave candy
for good children and coal for the naught. Befana was known as the best
housekeeper in the village, so when the Three Wise Men came through (yes, a
side trip to Italy!), following the star in their search for the Christ child,
they stayed at Befana’s house. The next morning, the Magi invited her to join
them on their quest, but Befana wanted to finished her chores first. The Magi
let and soon after Befana ha a change of heart and tried to catch them but she
couldn’t find the three kings.  The story
is that even today she still searches for the Child, always with her broom at
her side. I’ve taken that moral to heart – if adventure calls, don’t wait –
leave the housework behind!

Debra H. Goldstein – The Emperor’s New Clothes made a lasting impression on me for the
way in which it mocked hypocrisy, snobbery and social class. The child’s honest
cry that the Emperor is wearing no clothes versus the individuals who wouldn’t
speak out, including the Emperor, for fear of appearing stupid stuck with me.
It was the first time, even though I couldn’t put it into words, that I
realized the importance of speaking the truth – even when it isn’t popular or
goes against a prevailing rhetoric.

Linda Rodriguez – Some of the earliest tales and teaching stories that I recall
came from my Cherokee grandmother, who was a huge influence in my early life.
One of the most influential was the story of Stoneskin, a giant cannibal who
ravaged the Cherokee, the early people. In the story, the Cherokee fought
against him by arranging one menstruating woman after another in front of him,
until the power of them overwhelmed him. As he lay dying, he told them all
kinds of secrets and medicine lore, which became the foundation of the Cherokee
traditional medicine teaching. So, much that is truly important about
traditional Cherokee culture comes from a dying monster killed by a the power
of women, who are capable of getting pregnant and giving birth. That story told
me as a young child that there was power in the female, even though the world
around me said that women and girls were weak and powerless.

Bethany Maines – I’ve recently been re-reading fairy tales and somehow I didn’t
remember them being as horrible as they are. Rape, murder, incest, lots of
removing of limbs and for some reason turning into rose bushes.  The one I liked as a kid were the Arabian
Nights. I think it was Ali-Baba where the maid poured boiling oil on the forty
thieves hidden in the oil jars. The hero seemed like an idiot and the maid saved
the day. Somehow, the idea of boiling a bunch of guys in oil didn’t seem as
horrific to me then as it does now.

Cathy P. Perkins – I didn’t grow up on fairy tales. Instead, my brother fed me a
stead diet of science fiction. I desperately wanted to be either an astronaut
and explore space or move onto Pern, bond with my very own dragon, and save my
people from Thread.

Juliana Aragon Flatula – I love the story of how the moon and stars were created when
Huitzilopochtli slayed his sister the moon and his 400 brothers the stars and
cut them into pieces and threw them to the heavens. This is why the moon has
phases.

Julie Mulhern – I was an early feminist. I didn’t understand why Disney
princesses’ happy endings were dependent on princes. Snow White? I did not buy
into the idea of cleaning up after seven men. How stupid did she have to be to
eat that apple? And how shallow is a prince who falls in love with her based on
her face?

 

 

 

 

Clicking Our Heels: Creativity

/in /by

Creativity – what a magical word. The Stiletto Gang examines when
and where we get our creative ideas.

Dru Ann Love – Sometimes while
sitting on the train I’ll come up with a great blurb to put in one of my musings,
and I try to remember it, but I never do.

 

Julie Mulhern – I get my best ideas
walking or in the sower – places where I’m without a pen and paper.

 

Juliana Aragon Fatula – Full moons
wake me in the night. I write until I fall asleep. Other times, I have a memory
that sparks an idea. Or a song lyric, or a painting might inspire me to think,
what if …

 

T.K. Thorne – They seem to flow best
when I am in the car-which is why my husband won’t let me drive when we are
together….

 

Robin Hillyer-Miles – My ideas come
from my dreams, from random events that occur to me and around me and from
talking with people. A seed of an idea will be a gateway to a story. It doesn’t
take much to get my imagination going.

 

Debra Sennefelder – Everywhere.
Anytime. Just the other day I was finishing up the final edits on a Resale
Boutique manuscript before sending it to my publisher and an idea for a scene
in my next Food Blogger book popped into my head.

 

Kathryn Lane – Growing up in Mexico,
at a time when the country had an important story telling tradition, gave me a
head start in creativity. Life was difficult in Mexico, and escaping into a
fantasy world of storytelling gave many people an outlet for their
frustrations. I benefitted from hearing the tales invented by my grandmothers
and other women in the community.

 

Debra H. Goldstein – Out of thin
air. I hear a phrase and the words jump me into a new place to write.

 

Shari Randall – I get a lot of ideas
from those free shopper magazines that you find in a rack by the door at CVS.
Calendar sections with articles about locations, history and culture are rich
sources of inspiration.

 

Lynn McPherson – My creative ideas
come at random moments throughout the day, often when I’m doing something completely
unrelated.

 

Paula Benson – They often seem as if
they come from everywhere, but truly I think they come from the spark that
makes me question “what if?” I can see something that intrigues me, but until
my imagination takes that next step [for instance: Look at that slope of rocks
down to the creek. What if there was a body there? How did it get there and who
found it?] it’s just an interesting fact.

 

Sparkle Abbey

Mary Lee Ashford – Often
a spark from talking with someone, reading a news story, or the
fragment of a thought. More than likely nothing comes of the initial spark
but then another something will come along that when you put them together,
viola! You have a story idea. 

Cathy Perkins – Walking, riding in a car, anything that lets my mind wander and allows my creativity to slip the leash. But a random comment at a party or a snippet of a song may also make me think, Hmm, what if…

Anita Carter – Ideas are
everywhere. The news, books, songs, people’s personal stories, conversations.
The hard part is REMEMBERING all the ideas. That’s why writers always carry
notebooks and pens. If you dumped out my purse right now, you’d find at least
two notebooks and 3 or 4 pens.

 

Clicking Our Heels – Dream Locations For Writing

/in /by

Clicking Our
Heels – Dream Locations for Writing

Every writer
harbors a dream of the perfect place to write – today, the Stiletto Gang lets
you into our secret desires.

Sparkle Abbey:

Mary Lee Ashford – For me, a dream
location for writing would be a spot close to water such as a beach
or a lake, but I also need to be close to books. And coffee. So, maybe
a cottage by the sea within walking distance of a coffee shop
would be perfect! 

Anita Carter – Dream location would be anywhere near a
beach. It would be amazing to live in an oceanside cottage for a few months
while working on a book. I can hear the crashing waves right now!

 

Lynn McPherson – My dream location is in a small seaside town, somewhere with a
small desk by a big window that opens up, overlooking the ocean and allowing
the salty breeze to flow through.

 

Shari Randall – My dream location is a cabana on the beach of a Greek island,
fully stocked with cold drinks and snacks, a sunset to look forward
to every night, and a catamaran on call. A girl can dream!

 

Juliana Aragon Fatula – A beach view in a five-star hotel with nice
sheets and pillows and room service, free wifi, off season with no other
guests, quiet, peaceful, comfy.

Dru Ann Love – Just a nice corner with little distraction, beside the TV on in the
background.

Julie Mulhern
– There’s
an enormous picture window with a great view.

Robin
Hillyer-Miles – I
am a spoiled woman. We have an in-ground pool with a birdcage enclosure
surrounding it. I tend to write better while sitting by that pool. 

T.K. Thorne – Like a remote tropical island close to the ocean, or the
top floor of an old house on the bay, or a luxurious condo somewhere high
overlooking the ocean.  Give me water!

Kathryn Lane – It’s
a cabin in the mountains of northern New Mexico, near Taos. As long as the
cabin is warm, cozy, and I can periodically peek at the beautiful view, my
writing juices flow.

Paula Benson – Oddly enough, I’ve always imagined a dream location for
writing as an office building. Growing up, I imagined working for a movie
studio and having an office to go to for my work. Going to work at an office
where you get paid for your fiction writing. That’s my dream location

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clicking Our Heels – Dreams

/in /by
Clicking Our Heels – Dreams
Today, members of the gang admit whether they think things
through in your dreams or are you a concrete thinker?
Robin Hillyer-Miles – In my dreams I see vivid colors and
words and numbers. I trained myself to lucid dream at age eight. I can go into
a dream, tell myself I am dreaming, and direct the dream to create a better
story, change the entire dream to my liking, and write entire stories while
asleep.
Julie Mulhern – A little bit of
both. Answers to plot problems frequently show up in my dreams.
Dru Ann
Love – I’m probably a little bit of both.
Juliana Aragon Fatula – I dream while
sleeping, while awake, while eating, while driving…
Debra
Sennefelder – I like to plan but I know life is unpredictable, so I like to be
flexible. 
Kathryn Lane – Ideas
for some of my short stories have come from dreams. One story, titled Behind
the Murals, came from a dream about a painter who created murals on all the
interior walls of his house. For my mystery novels, I tend to be a more
concrete thinker since I plan out twists and turns, and surprises.
Debra H.
Goldstein – I work out problems in my stories or novels in my dreams, but I
rarely get a new story idea while sleeping though I regularly dream.
Shari Randall – That time upon waking,
halfway between sleep and full consciousness, is a great time for dreaming
a story.
Lynn McPherson
– I’m
a concrete thinker.
Paula Benson – I’m more of a concrete thinker. However, I don’t overlook
insight that comes in dreams.
Sparkle Abbey:
Mary Lee Ashford: I sure wish I could. That would be awesome! If
I’m having a story problem I often have to talk it out. So, I’ll call
Anita or one the other people in our critique group and talk through
the problem and potential solutions. But sorting it out in my dreams, not
so much. 
Anita Carter: If I’m thinking about my story before I fall asleep,
I’ll dream about it or I’m able to work through a problem, but that’s not
very often. I’m more of a take a shower, fold laundry, or take a walk kinda
girl when I need to ponder an idea or problem.
T.K. Thorne– My
dreams are often bizarre and rarely relate to what I am writing (that I can
tell) but the best ideas come, like sleep, when I am daydreaming and not trying
too hard.
Cathy Perkins: Some of my best story ideas come from daydreams. 

Clicking Our Heels: Unflappable or not?

/in /by

Unflappable or not? When it comes to their writings, here are some thoughts the Stiletto Gang members have. 

Juliana Aragon Fatula – I’m unflappable. Ha. Bullshit. I am overwhelmed by life and writing is my escape. I create a world where I escape and then I visit there whenever I need to be in my head and not my heart.

Julie Mulhern – I’m unflappable.

Debra Sennefelder – I wish I was unflappable. Having multiple deadlines due within the same time period overwhelms me. So far, it hasn’t happened often but when it has, I felt the pain. And it made me grateful for my time management skills.

Paula Benson – Letting the fear of it not being good enough convince me not to start.

T.K. Thorne – I tend to go off in too many directions-projects-commitments at the same time and that often feels overwhelming.

Robin Hillyer-Miles – Dialogue. I write too formally. I keep forgetting that people use contractions when they speak.

A.B. Plum – Ensuring I’m writing characters who are different from each other. Writing humor is often a challenge—one I like b/c I especially like sarcasm.

Kathryn Lane – Unflappable?! Everything overwhelms me until I get my arms around it.

Debra H. Goldstein – I’m in a dither until an idea hits, but once I’m in the zone, there’s no stopping me.

Sparkle Abbey:
Mary Lee Ashford: It varies. I love the writing part and even more I love the revision and polishing part. The characters are what I love the most. I don’t love the first draft and so sometimes slogging through that ugly first pass feels overwhelming to me.
Anita Carter: I wish I were unflappable. If anyone answers that they’re unflappable, I need to chat with them to get some advice. I hate the blank page and I hate the beginning when there are too many options. I can get bogged down in thinking about plot options.

Lynn McPherson – The middle of the book, first draft.

Shari Randall – Beginnings are the worst!

Dru Ann Love – Writing a musing without giving away too much of the details. Also, writing a musing for every book I read because then I won’t read. I have to pick and choose which book to do a musing.