IDEAS ARE ON EVERY STREET CORNER… (LIKE HOOKERS 
WAITING TO BE PICKED UP)
Thanks Cindy for inviting me here today! What fun! I’m thinking no one here knows how we met. Several years ago, I recall waiting anxiously to pitch story ideas at a conference. In the line up was a gorgeous woman with a great smile and beautiful eyes who looked as nervous as I felt. We discovered we were both pitching to an editor for Harlequin Temptation. We both loved the line and thought our stories would work there. (After all that was the hottest line we could find at the time.)
Guess what? Neither of us ever sold to Temptation. But over the years we kept in touch sporadically through email and in hallways at conference hotels. I sold elsewhere…then I heard she’d sold…and guess what? We both write erotic romance (Cindy under a pen name) and love it. I’ve decided the market finally caught up to us when longer, more erotic stories bloomed. And here we are today!
How cool is that?
Ever wonder where writers get their ideas? So do I. I get mine anywhere and everywhere. One time, I saw a young woman driving with tears streaming down her cheeks. Hm.
Had her parents just told her they hated the new man in her life? That he was a con artist? A nose-picker? A wanted fugitive?
Just the other day, I walked by a couple on a street corner in the middle of a no-holds-barred argument. I mean, it was cold, brutal, tell it like it is relationship-killing stuff. She was furious! Chin tilted, eyes defiant and wide to hold in angry tears. He was on the attack. (Verbally, of course…but my dh kept an eye on the guy just in case she needed help if things turned physical— my hero!)
The conversation revolved around her desire for him to spend huge bucks. Yes, it was that clear what they were arguing about.
Did I make a judgement on them with one flick down her well-dressed, perfectly coiffed and made up face and body? Yes, I did.
He liked trophies and she liked being one. What she didn’t like was being called on it. The body language from this pair was superb, though.
I wonder if they’re still together? I wonder if street arguments are part of the drama of their lives? I wonder if on some level they actually like them?
All fodder for the writer’s mind. The other night I celebrated with a dinner out at a real restaurant with linen placemats instead of paper. We watched a van pull over and park. No one got out. By the time dinner was over I’d decided the driver was tucking body parts into the rug he had rolled up in the back.
I’m sick and I know it.
Good thing I’m a writer or my family would be worried. Or afraid. Very afraid.
So, as readers, do you ever make up stories for things you see or conversations you overhear? Do you ever re-write the ends of novels to suit yourself?
I’m excited to offer BREATHLESS to one lucky person who comments…come on folks, spill your guts…you know you want to. (Just not on street corners please, it’s distracting to the other pedestrians.)
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Please leave a comment for Bonnie to enter to win BREATHLESS. If you’re reading Bonnie’s post on Facebook or another social network, please note that you need to leave your comment at http://www.museinterrupted.com in order to be eligible for the draw.
To read Bonnie’s bio and the back cover blurb for BREATHLESS, refer to yesterday’s post. To learn more about Bonnie and her books, visit her website.
To learn if Cindy bribed Bonnie for the nice compliments…well, let’s just get it over with and state that yes, Cindy did.