New Places - New Inspiration!

After writing for well over fifteen years, I find myself in need of a reset. To accomplish this, I've decided to visit out of the way places - to take in their essence, to get a feel for the people and the area. 

Yesterday, I chose New Bavaria, Ohio as my source for inspiration. Before heading to Henry County where it's located, I did a quick Google search. I didn't want to read everything about it, just enough to get a vague idea of what to expect. I found that as of 2020 census, New Bavaria was home to 86 people. 

Upon arrival to the rural-farming community, there wasn't much to see. At the same time, there was a lot to take in (if that makes sense). 

Many of the homes were older, along with several newly constructed ones. A granary had been built adjacent to the village park.

As with all municipalities, there was also a town hall, fire department with one truck, a post office, and a VFW. Sacred Heart Catholic Church and cemetery sat on one end of town, while Emanuel Christian Church sat at the other end. 

Here's where the inspiration for writing comes into play for me. While I walked around, I determined that the closeness of this community would be the perfect setting for a small-town contemporary or historical romance.  Maybe even a thriller with witness protection at the heart of it. The possibilities are endless. 

Life is a series of adventures, big and small. Each one parks permanently into the brain long after the experiences are over. Not only do those memories bring joy, but they prompt me to do something with them. My husband says I never stop writing. He's right. I'm always composing things; a story or poem - currently a blog post. 💗 For now, I'll allow the details from my trip to the lovely little village of New Bavaria to marinate. At some point, they may be included in a new project. 

I was happy to see so many American flags flying in this quaint, tucked away community. 

Where will I go next? Stay tuned. 😀  

Thank you for stopping by my blog!

Love,

Jan  

 

  

 

   

 

 

Married to Maggie rescues Tysen at the airport!

Here's a small excerpt from MARRIED TO MAGGIE. This scene is directly after Maggie and Tysen meet in an airport gift shop, where he was trying to hide from paparazzi. He started having chest pains and Maggie came to his aid. Unbeknownst to him, she's well-aware he's the heir to the wealthy of his identity and was actually there to track him down per an agreement with his grandfather.  

I loved this scene and wanted to share it with you.

Amazon

‘Six foot-four, tousled blondish-brown hair, striking resemblance to Jon Bon Jovi, blue eyes that will win you over in a heartbeat and behaves like the world revolves around him’. Maggie had played those words over in her head again and again, questioning the sanity of the agreement she’d entered into with billionaire T. Loy Vincent, I. She’d walked through Reno-Tahoe International Airport three times, trying to be subtle with her inspection of people passing by, occasionally checking the photo Loy had provided. Actually, she didn’t need a picture to recognize Tysen Loy Vincent, III, since he was one of the most photographed persons in the world. The infamous, playboy heir to the Vincent oil fortune graced magazine covers and front pages of newspapers almost daily. He was larger than life; known to woo starlets, top models, even a pickle heiress. Checking the photo numerous times wasn’t to jog her memory as to what he looked like, but rather a concrete reminder that she’d lost her mind.

Frustrated that Tysen had slipped by, she’d popped into the gift shop for a bottle of water. To her shock, there he was, in disguise – a poor disguise, at that – in the middle of some kind of episode that had him clutching his chest. Heart attack had screamed in Maggie’s mind and for good reason, she’d been his grandfather’s cardiac rehab nurse for the last few months. Ty inherited his grandfather’s good looks, possibly his faulty ticker as well. She’d rushed to help, only to be bitten by his well-known fondness for sarcasm; something else that seemed inherited.

Did she get fired for inappropriate neck touching? Maggie had been tempted to hit the fool with a rolled up magazine. Instead, she was at an airport gate, sitting next to him with her feet crossed at the ankles, trying to stabilize her own heart. For reasons she didn’t understand, the darn thing was hell-bent on doing a river dance against her ribs.

Ty Vincent was gorgeous and worldly. How would she persuade someone like him to marry her? What had Loy been thinking? What had she been thinking? If she’d taken time to think things through, she wouldn’t be in Reno immersed in a sideways scheme.

She feigned surprise when he identified himself and then jabbed him with a smart remark about the hairpiece. He shrugged, ditched the rug in his carryon, ran his hands through his sexy mess of hair and plied her with that well-known, handsome smile.

Their conversation didn’t include the normal questions, like why she was in Reno or why he was there. He didn’t ask and she didn’t offer. And vice versa.

Something indefinable sparkled in his eyes. Maggie’s palms started to sweat. Her nerve endings prickled like she was about to be struck by lightning.

Ty shifted in his seat. “I have something to ask you that might sound a little off-the-wall. Your first instinct will be to say no, but hear me out, okay?”

Maggie wanted to come across as cautious and baffled that someone like him would ask someone like her anything. She purposely drew out her response. “Ohhh-kayyyy.”

Ty cleared his throat, twice. “I need a…wife. Just for a little while.” He didn’t bat an eye. “Marry me.”

If a person’s mouth could drop to their belly button, then Maggie’s was there. She widened her eyes, although she shouldn’t be the least bit shocked. This was Tysen Vincent. He was known for peculiar behavior. She’d come to Nevada to get him to propose, still, hearing the words come out of his mouth stunned her to the core. She tried to talk…and breathe…but her voice and lungs were rendered incapable of doing their jobs.

This was not real. None of it. Any second now, she expected a TV camera crew to pop out from their hiding places to inform her that Loy and Ty involved her in a prank. She hoped they’d do it soon so she could breathe again.

Thanks for popping in to read about Maggie & Ty!

Love, 

Jan

Bold move? Or borderline crazytown?

It's a new week and I feel compelled to write about my latest bravery (or foolishness). Writing Prompts. Personally, I love them. One word, or a few, triggers a picture in my head and I see a story unfolding. I thought perhaps I could do the same for you. That's where the spark came for my Creatively Done Series.

I should back up a wee bit. A year ago, I composed a book about creativity and included 99 prompts. This year, I came up with ideas for two more books. Since I now have three, I decided to make them into a series. I changed the original cover art for the first book so it would work well with the other two. 

Amazon

Here's the part where I question whether this project was borderline crazytown. My forte is contemporary and historical romance stories, and humorous women's fiction tales. Am I on a rickety bridge for thinking I can also write prompts that someone will actually want to use? Probably. But I'm of the mindset that you should listen to the little crazytown voice needling you to do something.

 

 

I made the bold move. I satisfied the craziness. That's it. That's the post.

May you all experience a little crazytown needling and that you're brave enough to listen to it! 

Thank you for popping in.

Love,

Jan

 

   

 

The Early Pioneers and Innovators

The spark that ignited this blog post came from two things: our trip to Nebraska to see our daughter in September (we always take the roads less traveled) and my recent novel, Love's Intuition that is set in the Montana Territory in the 1800's. 

As we drove over the Mississippi River bridge from Illinois into Iowa, I wondered how the pioneers who were heading west managed to cross the massive river with their wagons and horses. I was in awe of the mighty Mississippi and I'm sure they were as well. However, the pioneers surely had to regard it as a major setback in their journey. They were problem solvers. Brilliant minds who wouldn't be deterred in their quest for a better life. I had to know how they got across and an internet search provided the answer. They dismantled their wagons, piece by piece. Using makeshift canoes, they ferried people and wagon parts from one side of the river to the other. Can you imagine the patience it would take to go to all that trouble? As someone who's hyper, I'd probably implode. 

The early pioneers endured much. Danger. Wild animals. Insects. Diseases. Rugged terrain. Lack of food and fresh water. All kinds of weather. Thinking from a modern perspective, they handled it without the use of ibuprofen or Tylenol, chiropractors or access to other medical care. They did have whiskey, which helped a little to ease their aches and pains.

 

Compared to those who've gone before us, we have it good. We owe them a debt of gratitude for blazing the trails and providing rough innovations that years later have made life easier for us.

In Love's Intuition, Emelee and Bodie endured some of those same hardships and came out the other side, stronger and in love. 

 Amazon 

 

Thank you for popping into my blog. I appreciate your visit.

Love,

Jan

     

Discovering New Settings!

I'm currently writing two different contemporary romance stories. One is a friends-to-lovers tale where the male lead (Henry) graduated from a small town, went to college in another state and for a number of years worked in a big city. He's slowly making his way back home. As soon as he reconnects with a former high school friend and classmate (Brynn) at another classmate's wedding, he's even more eager to return to the small town.

I'll be revealing Henry and Brynn's characters a little at a time, using a variety of ways - settings will be one of them. I've brainstormed different places that can show my readers who they are. I'm counting on those settings to also help guide the plot. A unique burger joint I'd read about on social media sounded like it could be one of Henry's go-to places. Yesterday I took a road trip to find out and I'm glad I did. It was perfect for Henry, and in the story, I'll have the wait staff know him on a first name basis. To me, the restaurant felt like a hidden treasure in a city with a huge selection of other dining options. Ideas for the story came in droves while I was there. The restaurant was out of the way for me to drive to, yet it was worth my time and effort.

The internet makes it easy to nail down certain settings, sometimes though (if you can) it's better to do research in person to get a feel for what your characters will experience.   

Thank you for popping in to read my post. I appreciate your visit more than I can express.

Love,

Jan

#writing #creativity #research #storytelling #FindlayOhio #romance 

 

   

  

Powering into 2025

I love when the calendar flips from one year to the next because it feels like a fresh start. In order to power forward though, it's good to reflect on how the previous year had gone.

2024 was a year of firsts: 

That's us crossing the finish line!

Hubby and I took part in four 5k run-walks. We mostly walked, but we also ran a little so we could say we ran in the 5k. In one particular race, I won my first medal ever!! To be honest, there were only 2 of us in my age group. I was bound to win a medal regardless. Still, it made me grin to walk up and accept it. 

I published my first non-fiction book. Ignite Your Creativity. It's a quick guide to stirring your talent, with 99 writing prompts. I have to admit it was a fun and easy book to write. (They all don't have to be difficult. Right?)

Another exciting project was to dust off a story I'd written eons ago - a historical romantic fiction set in the 1800's. It was a challenge to get Love's Intuition in ship-shape since I'd originally composed the story when I knew very little about story structure. I loved doing research for the time period.

Writing Christmas stories wasn't new for me, but writing one with a royal flair took me down a whole different path. I enjoy watching Hallmark movies and thought I'd try my own version of a royal Christmas story. Voila! I put Prince Frederik Ian Vincent of Waltingham and Ayvri Scott together in The Prince's Christmas Wish.

So what lies ahead for 2025?

First and foremost, giving thanks to God for another year! 

More 5k run-walks? Absolutely. Hopefully even a 10k. 

Another non-fiction book? I have the kernel of an idea for one. I'll have to give it more thought, but it's a strong possibility. 

I'm already working on book 4 in my Coffee & Dessert in Key West Series. This is Rhianne's story. My hope is to publish it either late March or early April. 

I also have 11 pages written so far for a friends-to-lover's story, which I hope to publish in the summer. 

In March I'll be taking part in an author meet and greet with other authors at Riverside Art Center in Wapakoneta, OH.

I'll be speaking to a fine group of women in September about my books and the writing process.

Reading is always a big part of my life. I hope to enjoy lots of downtime with my nose buried in a book.

  

A river cruise with friends in the southeast part of the U.S. will happen in the spring.    

Hopefully we'll be visiting our daughter and her family in Nebraska a few times this year and explore the Corn Husker State with them.

My greatest wish for 2025 is to stay focused on what's important:  faith, family, friends, and country, everything else is just a bonus. 

Much love to all of you!

~ Jan