ROAD TRIPS & CREATIVITY

Have you ever noticed how liberating a good long drive can be for your creative mind?

 

In February, we drove 1500 miles from north Texas to a New Mexico ski resort. Then in March, we hopped back in the car and drove 5,000 miles to Atlantic Maritime Canada (round trips, of course!)… I’ve spent more time our car in the last two months than in the past three years combined.

Driving Into A Blizzard

There’s something exciting about being away from your usual neck of the woods, out on the open highway surrounded by red rocks or endless cattle grazing fields, with nothing but blue skies as far as the eye can see. Texas is so huge it takes forever to get to the state line. 

It’s not always about fair weather travel, though. One can be confronted with blizzards and howling winds, flooded roads and pelting rainstorms. Surprisingly, these can be even more stimulating to the muse than the serenity of fine weather.

On the New Mexico (homeschooling) trip, we stayed in a very bizarre ski resort. Tiny, low budget, barely on the map, hostile staff that were masters of making you feel tolerated—almost. Everything in the place was broken, from bed frames to appliances, faulty electricity, poor heating and on and on it goes.

The highlight of the trip was a supernatural experience my son and I had, that led to… a story implanting itself in my head… a full story, from beginning to end. I have not written it yet, nor made notes. It’s one of those situations where all I have to do is think of the place and the story flashes before my inner eye. When I sit down to write the novella it will be done within a week if I can keep my schedule clear.

On the 2,500 mile drive north to Canada, my mind wandered to other creative pursuits. Jewelry design ideas… themes for non-fiction books to add to the list already gathering cyber-dust on my laptop.

After a delightful week with family we were back in the car heading home. I thought about a story that had been troublesome for months. It needed to be written soon and I’d been stumped, frustrated and blocked on some plot twists. 

Magical Inn During Blizzard In Maine

We got stuck in a blizzard in Maine on the first night. My thoughts meandered into a realm ruled by the winter gods. The most unexpected plot prompts came into play, leading me to see the story from an entirely different angle. The inn we stayed at was an old-fashioned, enchanted property. No doubt appealing in regular weather, it was decked out and bejeweled in sparkling snow now, and could have been the winter castle of the ice queen. 

By the time we rolled into our driveway, the story was written—in my head. Now to get both novellas from my brain to the laptop… is there an app for that?

Meanwhile, I’m done driving for now. My body has almost accepted that it’s no longer in drive-motion, and I’ve got a healthier-than-ever respect for long distance professional drivers. 

Have you got a story to share about how driving or a distant place stoked your creativity?

GEMMA JULIANA writes all kinds of love stories, from contemporary to paranormal. She has a penchant for romantic international settings. Gemma lives in a cozy cottage in Texas with her very own hero, teen son, and a dog who rules them all. Chocolate and coffee nourish her muse and fuel her creativity. She loves hearing from readers.

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LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF

Let Me Introduce Myself

by

Cara Marsi

I’m a new member author and this is my first post. I want to thank Marianne for inviting me to be a member author, and I look forward to getting to know everyone. Marianne suggested I introduce myself, so here’s a little about me. My name is Carolyn Matkowsky, but I write under Cara Marsi.

It took ten long years of writing and rejections before I sold my first book. That book, “A Catered Affair,” a sweet, traditional romance, was published by Avalon Books under my real name. Avalon publishes in hardback, and they sell directly to libraries. I didn’t want a pen name because I always wanted to write under my real name. I figured I’d worked hard enough to sell a book and I wanted people to know I’d made it. However, I soon found out readers had a hard time spelling and pronouncing Matkowsky. When I was nominated in 2003 as an up and coming author in a romance magazine’s readers’ poll, my name was horribly misspelled. That decided me to take a pen name that was easy to say and spell. I’ve been Cara Marsi ever since.

I thought once I sold a book I was well on my way to being multi-published. Was I wrong. It took me four more years to sell another one. In 2007 I contracted with The Wild Rose Press for my romantic suspense, “Logan’s Redemption.” Despite glowing reviews, my sales were disappointing. In 2010 I got my rights back and published “Logan’s Redemption” myself on Kindle. The sales have been great, and I couldn’t be happier. I gave new life to a book I love, and thousands of people have now read it.

I’m a slow writer. While I struggled to complete a paranormal romance, my first attempt at that genre, I became discouraged and considered giving up writing altogether. Then I discovered short story writing. I sold my first short story to New Love Stories Magazine (now defunct) in early 2009. Since then, I’ve sold ten short romance stories to the Trues (True Love, True Romance, True Story, True Experience). Sadly, of all those, only True Story remains. The magazines are owned by Dorchester, and we all know about their troubles. I hope and pray that Dorchester continues to publish True Story and its sister magazine, True Confessions. I love writing for the Trues, and I’ve sold every story I submitted to them. Writing short stories kept me in the game when I had doubts about my ability to publish again.

In late 2009, I put aside the paranormal and began writing a novella for the romantic suspense series, Jewels of the Night, from The Wild Rose Press. I finished that novella in four months, a record for me. The Wild Rose Press offered a contract, and “Murder, Mi Amore,” set almost entirely in Rome, Italy, was released December 15, 2010. I completed my paranormal romance, “Cursed Mates,” and Noble Romance Publishing offered a contract. “Cursed Mates” was released December 13, 2010. After a dry spell of no books, I had two releases within two days of each other.

I’ve just sold another short story to True Story magazine, for their August issue, and I’ve completed a sweet romance novella, “Wedding Dreams,” which I plan to publish myself. I’ve had it professionally edited by a wonderful and talented editor. I wouldn’t put a book up without it being edited.

On a personal note, I live on the East Coast with my husband and a fat black cat named Killer. She’s a sweetheart. My husband can be a sweetheart too, sometimes. We have one son who lives in Las Vegas. I miss him and wish I lived closer to him. If I could convince my husband to move to the Phoenix area of Arizona, I’d be in heaven.

When I’m not writing, I’m hitting the gym (five days a week), reading, watching TV (I’m a TV junkie), and planning our next vacation. I love to travel. I set my stories either in places we’ve visited or places close to home. As I mentioned, “Murder, Mi Amore” is set almost entirely in Rome, Italy. The last chapter is set in Las Vegas. We visited Italy in 2006, and we’ve been to Vegas many times. “Cursed Mates” is set in Maine, a place we’ve also visited and loved. My book with Avalon is set in Wilmington, Delaware; “Logan’s Redemption” takes place in Philadelphia, a city close to us. All my short stories are set in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

I grew up in the corporate world. I like to say I’m a former corporate drone and cubicle dweller. I worked for the local phone company, now called Verizon, for over two decades, then worked for an insurance company. I was downsized from my job in 2008, and am now realizing my dream of writing all day if I want.

So there you have it – my life, such as it is.