Thanks for bearing with me!

It's the end of a long day, and although work did interfere a bit with my Thursday 13, I had a good time. Rachel has won a box of Godiva chocolates and Na has won a copy of The Pub Across the Pond. Rachel, and Na, please contact me at mpccpm@aol.com, or through my website or Facebook to let me know where to send your prizes!

A common question I get as a writer is "Where do you get your ideas?" I have some bad news and some good news, depending on how you look at it. It's not always easy to come up with a new idea. That's kind of the bad news. But it's also good news that there aren't certain people who just "magically" come up with an idea. If you want to write a novel, and you're willing to work at it, you can eventually come up with something that excites you. Tonight over drinks and appetizers with my editor, he posed that dreaded question– "What do you want to write next?" It's always hard when I'm finishing one book to think of the next. I'm still waist-deep into a novel about a couple who turn a ligthhouse into a Bed and Breakfast. But publishing is a business and you always have to be thinking ahead. He tossed some suggestions out, none of which grabbed me yet, and I tossed some ideas out, none of which grabbed him yet. It's a process. Half the time by the time a book is finished it's hard to trace where the original idea came from. I am playing with writing a novel set in Italy. We'll see. I know one thing, I will definitely keep you posted. In the meantime, thank you for spending the day with me!