Magical Places and Odd Beginnings

I'm normally a very character driven writer, but upon occasion, a place will spark a story. A few years ago I was in New Orleans for the Romantic Times Convention and my roommate and I soon discovered a little cafe just a few blocks from our hotel. The beignets were amazing, as were the fresh local strawberries, and it became our almost-daily stop for either breakfast or lunch. Our last day in New Orleans, we lingered in the courtyard (right), listening to a rather mediocre street singer outside the fence, and quietly singing along. The sparrows in the cafe and open courtyard were characters themselves--so much so that they added an almost fairytale aspect to the sunny afternoon.

Added to the atmosphere and the music, I mulled over a few events from earlier in the trip. When we took a ghost tour the previous evening, we did, in fact, encounter a young man on Bourbon Street dressed in red fake fur, cheap plastic horns and black boots, carrying a plastic liquor bottle full of something red. Another traveler talked about a different street performer she'd met, one who lived on the street (or claimed to) because she couldn't find housing without giving up her dog.

Everything, from the cafe to the sparrows to the "devil" who seemed to have a little crush on our ghost tour guide, gelled together as we luxuriated in the peaceful afternoon. I said to my friend, "I have a story forming."

She said good,  "Someone ought to write about this."

And so I did. Since it was New Orleans, I had to add a little magic. My apologies to the real people whose lives I only saw from a single snapshot in time. No devils, street singers or even sparrows were harmed in the writing of this paranormal romantic suspense novella.

At the present time, I'm between contracts, so hoping for ever more inspiration to be found in 2017. Look for more re-releases as the year unfolds--like many authors I recently received rights back to a number of my books. I also seriously hope to have some new material out this year as well. Here's wishing all of us a magical and productive new year!

THE DEVIL OF BOURBON STREET

by Cindy Spencer Pape

Available from Kindle Unlimited or Kindle Direct

Three years after his wife’s death, Quinn Carling has finally come to peace with himself and the detective returns to New Orleans to visit her grave and say goodbye. Darcy Jefferson is a street performer who can see auras and refuses to let her abusive past bring her down.

When this unlikely pair meets, the sparks begin to fly. When they witness a murder together, Quinn resolves to protect Darcy. With help—and interference—from Quinn’s former in-laws, the local police who want Quinn back, a mutt named Olaf and a powerful voodoo priestess, the two of them help search for the murderer, so he doesn’t find them first. Quinn never expected to fall in love again, but he hadn’t counted on the magic of New Orleans.