--Characters jumping in my head, grabbing a chair and sitting down to tell me their stories
--True life experience from employment, friends, locations I've lived and visited
--Music, which has always been a part of my life for as long as I can remember
--Imagination!
There have been so many thoughts, ideas, and characters lately that I have had to make a timeline/family tree like history sheet to keep them all straight! Is Special Occasions the end to the Acorn Hills series? No, it isn't. There will be several "Second Generation" books beginning next year.
My life from my first job back in the late 60's (babysitting) has taken me on a wild journey that has given me so much knowledge and wisdom about so many different things. I have experience in retail bakery sales, title insurance and abstracting, land searches for independent oil and gas companies, secretarial and administrative assistant knowledge, product inventory, cabinet making, kitchen design, chiropractic office assistant, various denomination church secretary work (all highly confidential), continuing education craft teacher, public speaking, certified advanced lay speaker, sermon giver, event planner, wedding consultant, independent interior decorator, high school football statistician, weekly newspaper owner (ad sales, proofreader, business administrator),mother, unique jewelry creator, floral designer and internationally known author. PHEW! That made me tired just typing all of that!
An amazing author friend, Jennifer Theriot, recently had music put to a song she'd written for her current book, Out of the Box Awakening (or OOBA as she likes to call it) It is beautiful and a creative addition to her book as an add on incentive. Truly it is a must read for those of us in the "Salt and Pepper" generation.
For me, music transports my soul to a place of healing and books transport my mind to a different location/life/experience. Hand in hand they make for a delightful escape. What do I listen to? Well, if you follow my author page on Facebook, you know that I am a girl of the 70's...Aerosmith, Chicago, Beach Boys, Cher, Beatles, Tom Jones, Neil Diamond. Yet, I also find the older I get the more I fall in love with the classics that are sung by such greats as Tony Bennett, Etta James, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Lawrence and Edie Gourmet. My all time favorite performer is Gordon Lightfoot. I had the privilege of meeting him in the mid 80's. It was unlike anything I'd ever experience...to stand in the presence of such a legend! Another music passion now is Celtic rock music and Celtic music in general...bands like Celtic Fire, Celtic Fusion Illusion, The Indulgers, Sheppard and Claymore have found space on my CD shelf. You will find songs mentioned in my books for various events and thoughts.
And finally...imagination. When I colored in coloring books as a child, I drew clothing on the animals and jewelry on the people. I was always inventing stories for my paper dolls or concocting new destinations I'd visit when I was older. That imagination has led me to being a creative romance writer of a totally new genre, one that I have dubbed the "Salt and Pepper Generation", meaning people who are over 50 years of age who have lived life, gone through hardships and come out the other side with hope and a positive attitude.Just because we are over 50 years of age, doesn't mean life stops. We still have hopes and dreams, we still long for that partner who knows how to love us completely and wants to spend the rest of his/her life proving it. We still want adventure and fun! We want to experience all life has to offer. Isn't it amazing how smart we become as we get older?
As you continue to purchase and read the Acorn Hills series, you will see the characters become real, that you will feel as if you know someone "just like that" or perhaps that someone is you!