Armed with a labeler and I’m not afraid to use it (Melissa Robbins)

   Organization is key with writing.  How would you keep it all straight?  Plot, characters, research.  It’s a good thing I like office supply stores more than one person should, but here are just some of the examples I found useful in my writing endeavors.

Notebooks – Go find the prettiest notebooks you can find or buy up a bunch during back to school sales in the summer.  Here is my collection of notebooks.  I’ve labeled each one with my handy dandy labeler.  Character information fills some.  Other notebooks contain research material, which brings me to number two.

Notebook Tabs – The same tab organizers I used in school for my different subjects help keep my information straight.  My teachers would be so proud.  These tab dividers separate RAF research, like planes,  aerodromes and 40’s fashions, etc. 

  Leather Notebooks – I once saw on an author’s blog how she used handcrafted leather notebooks to keep notes, story ideas, pictures, etc. straight.  Who wouldn’t be inspired by a beautiful notebook?  I made the two books on the left myself using supplies from Hobby Lobby.  The paper is thick sketch paper great for pens and markers.  I fill mine with scene and story ideas, sketches of my characters, locations, character information. They are easier to transport than my larger notebooks.  If you don’t want to make a notebook, Barnes and Noble has some beautiful ones.

Spreadsheets – Where would I be without my Excel spreadsheets?  Probably still combing through pages of my stories searching for George’s eye color.  With so many pilots and other characters running through my aerodromes and cities, spreadsheets allow me to keep track of all of them in one place.  Spreadsheets also aid me in corralling all the agendas.  In a mystery, everyone has secrets, but which character is willing to kill to keep that secret quiet?  My heroine may not know what’s going on behind the scenes, but I need to know. 

That’s just some of the tools I use to organize my writing.  What works for you?

Fill in the Blank(s)

Yes, that's a blank sheet of paper, which is pretty much where I was on ideas for characters, plot, conflict...  You name it.

Usually, as I'm finishing the last half of one book, the next idea starts bugging me.  For the first time I can remember, that didn't happen.  I turned in the last Desperation book almost a month ago.  So where are all the ideas that bounce around, already taking space in my head?  Where's the heart of the next story idea?  The characters for the next story?

The answer to that has been "nowhere."

I have a basis:  A Texas ghost town.  I have the names of three heroes and three heroines.  Oh, and babies.  There must be babies.  But I don't know who these characters are, much less hunting for photos of what "stars" might represent them in my head.  Smack!  This doesn't happen.  I was at a loss.  I was in a panic.

One evening, Patricia Davids and I were doing some brainstorming on her WIP.  (Go, Pat!)  When we finished with that, I threw out my basic idea for the ghost town series.  She asked me questions I had no answers for.  None.  Nada.  Zilch.  It took a few weeks, but I finally came up with some answers, although they weren't very solid.  A week ago, with Pat and Theresa and Melissa, things began to come together.  Four heads are definitely better than one!  (May blessings rain upon you, P, T, & M!)

But one of the elements I chose needed some research, so last night I decided to do a little of that.  One thing led to another, and...  Do you have any idea how many real ghost towns there are in Texas?  Oh, my stars and garters!  And the stories behind those towns--the history of them--are sometimes fascinating.

Now that I've found the answer to that element I needed and even more, plus a suitcase full of photos of Texas Hill Country, the story is beginning to form.  Ideas for a scene or two are slowly starting to sneak and twist through my mind.  Short snippets of conversations between characters, along with a little introspection (character thoughts) are whispering.  Those characters are starting to take shape and will hopefully come to life soon on the written page.

Is it what I'd imagined originally?  Not quite, but what's replaced those first pitiful ideas are much better and finally taking form.  At least I hope so, especially on the 'better' part of it.

So that blank page above?  It's full of scribbles and notes now.  It's starting to come together.  It won't be long before I'm hunting for photos, not of ghost towns and underground caves, but hunky cowboys and their feminine equals.

Wish me luck!

Desperation, Oklahoma

Welcome to Desperation, Oklahoma,

where hearts meet at the most unexpected times.

Location: West Northwest of Oklahoma City
Population: 2003 2004 and growing!


 I can't remember why I chose Desperation for the name of the town or even when, but it worked well, once I started writing about it.  You see, I happened to uncover  a history behind the name.

 In my first book set in Desperation, Jules Vandeveer, the heroine and a visitor to town, has encountered Tanner O'Brien, the hero of the story, in the local post office, and he's asked her to wait so he can walk with her.  Because this is a romance, she does. :)

“So what do you think of our little town?”

Most of the downtown business area was spread out ahead of them and stretched almost two blocks.  Buildings, mostly one-story, but a few with two, lined both sides of the street.  Quaint and unique were the words that came to mind, as each connected building had a design and character of its own.

“It’s a very nice town.  Pretty and charming.  But I’m wondering...”

“About what?”

When she turned to smile at him, her knees weakened at the smile he flashed her in return.  Shaking off the reaction, she focused on what she was saying, not on the man.  “I’m wondering where the name came from.  Desperation is a little odd.”

“Odder than Monkey’s Eyebrow, Arizona?”

“Not quite,” she said, laughing.

 “How about Hygiene, Colorado?”

Still laughing, she shook her head.

“Yeehaw Junction?  Krypton?  Mudlick?”

“Okay, you’ve got me.  Those are odd.  But why Desperation?”

Before he could answer, they were forced to stop when a man and woman stepped out onto the sidewalk from the Chick-a-Lick Café.

“Excuse me,” the man said, realizing they had stepped into someone’s path, and then recognition lit his eyes.  “Hey, Tanner.”

“Hello, Cal,” Tanner greeted the man, before turning to the woman and touching the brim of his hat.  “Wilma.  Have you two met Jules Vandeveer, Dr. Beth’s friend?”

The woman directed a friendly smile at Jules.  “I haven’t had the pleasure.  I heard Beth had a friend visiting.  You’ll be in her wedding?”

“Yes,” Jules replied.  “In her wedding, making sure all of the arrangements are made, setting it up...”  She laughed, thinking of all the things on her list.  “The date is quickly approaching, and there’s so much to do yet.”

“That’s the way it is with weddings,” Wilma said with a knowing nod.  “It’s good to know Beth has a friend who can help.”

“We’ll see you Friday?” Cal asked Tanner.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” he replied.

Cal took his wife’s arm.  “Wilma has a bride party this afternoon, so we’d better get going.  Don’t want her to miss it or be late.  Nice to meet you, miss.”

When the couple crossed the street, Tanner turned to Jules.  “You asked about Desperation.”

She nodded, waiting to hear what he had to say.

“Well, the story goes that people began moving into the area during the land rush in the late 1800’s, but the town was really settled after oil was found in these parts a few years later.  Those were wild times, before Oklahoma became a state.  People swarmed here in droves, desperate to find their own little patch of black gold.  As it turned out, the pool of oil in this area was only a small one and didn’t last very long.  Eventually people either left the area, disillusioned, or they stayed and homesteaded.”

In Harlequin American Romance books, of which my Desperation series is part of, the towns or neighborhoods are as much a character as the people who live there.  Having spent my pre-teen, teen years and later in a small town only a little bigger than Desperation, it wasn't much of a stretch to create a fictional one.  As references, I stole from many other small towns around the area to keep Desperation from being a carbon copy of just one.


Here are just a few places in Desperation that make it a town:

• The Chick-a-Lick Cafe, where everyone goes to see and be seen, and to catch up on the latest news and gossip
• Lou's Place, the local tavern
• Sheriff's office, located in the building that houses all the municipal/city offices
• 1st Bank of Desperation
• Post Office
• Grain elevator, because, after all, the town is surrounded by farms and ranches
• Drugstore
• Grocery store
• Feed store
• The Commune, a retirement community where everyone wants to live.
• Opera House - There aren't a lot of these left in small towns, and those that are still standing aren't always in good shape.  I researched until I found one in McPherson, KS, that has been restored and was perfect for what I'd imagined for Desperation!

McPherson Opera House Restoration

Desperation's Opera House is the home to a real estate office, an attorney's office, a tax preparation business, and the very favorite Sweet & Yummy Ice Cream Parlor, not to mention a beautiful ballroom and theatre. 

This month my 6th book set in Desperation, BACHELOR DAD, is available, and my editor has asked for more.  That means more heartache, weddings, babies, and happily ever afters.  So if you like small towns and haven't visited Desperation, Oklahoma, now's your chance.

Colonial America as a Setting (Penny Rader)

My novel, Sapphire and Gold, takes place in Colonial Philadelphia and Williamsburg, so I thought I'd share some fun facts about these two settings.

Philadelphia

"During colonial times Philadelphia was one of the greatest American seaports handling a rapidly growing volume of trade. It had a well established foreign and domestic trade, and it served as the commercial trade port for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the first purchasers of tracts of Pennsylvania land were merchants, shopkeepers, and artisans and, the settlers of Philadelphia created commodities for Philadelphia merchants to export as well as a market for imports. Craftsmen were also attracted to Philadelphia and they practiced about thirty-five different trades. Among the most common were carpenters, sawyers, bricklayers, plasterers, weavers, dyers, tailors, shoemakers, bakers, brewers, maltsters, butchers, potters, clockmakers, cabinetmakers, barbers, physicians, tavern keepers, and carters." (AWM)

"Hoping that Philadelphia would become more like an English rural town instead of a city, William Penn laid out roads on a grid plan to keep houses and businesses spread far apart, allowing them to be surrounded by gardens and orchards. The city's inhabitants did not follow Penn's plans and crowded by the Delaware River and subdivided and resold their lots. ... The city soon established itself as an important trading center, poor at first, but with tolerable living conditions by the 1750s. Benjamin Franklin, a leading citizen of the time, helped improve city services and founded new ones, such as one of the American Colonies' first hospitals." (Wikipedia)

"Penn dispatched his cousin to lay out a city, which he called Philadelphia, from the Greek for 'brotherly love,' and which Penn envisioned as a haven for his fellow Quakers to enjoy freedom of worship and the chance to govern themselves. He charged his cousin with laying out a 'greene Country Towne, which will never be burnt, and always be wholesome.' The city was laid out in a grid, with large lots, wide streets, and a provision for five city parks, four of which still survive. Historians note that Philadelphia was one of the first cities in the New World built according to a plan." (Philadelphia History)

"In colonial times, Philadelphia was the largest, wealthiest city in North America. It was the center of philosophy, drama, music, art and science. The first American magazine was published in Philadelphia (1741)." (Wikipedy)

By 1750, Philadelphia was Pennsylvania’s largest city, with 15,000 people of the 20,000 people that lived in Pennsylvania as a whole. (The Middle Colonies)

Williamsburg

"Williamsburg was one of America's first planned cities. Laid out in 1699 under the supervision of Governor Francis Nicholson, it was to be a 'new and well-ordered city' suitable for the capital of the largest and most populous of the British colonies in America. A succession of beautiful capitol buildings became home to the oldest legislative assembly in the New World. The young city grew quickly into the center of political, religious, economic and social life in Virginia." (Williamsburg VA)

"The charter King George I granted Williamsburg on July 28, 1722, officially authorized markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays. In the same sentence, the king established annual fairs December 12 and April 23 'for the Sale and Vending of all, and all Manner of Cattle, Victuals, Provisions, Goods, Wares and Merchandises, whatsoever' free from local tolls or taxes." (Colonial Williamsburg)

"For most of the year, Williamsburg was a small college town and market place, but twice annually, during 'publick times,' the planters' capital sprang to life. It was then that the legislature usually met, and the courts were in session. A crowded social and political calendar attracted men of every pocketbook and profession from all parts of the colony. The population of the town doubled almost overnight, and every available inn, tavern, and private house was packed to overflowing. On some occasions, the rooms were insufficient to accommodate the visitors; at such taverns ... guests might be awakened after only a few hours of sleep to make way for others." (Colonial Williamsburg)

"Williamsburg was a thriving center of commerce and government by the middle of the 18th Century. On the eve of the American Revolution nearly 2,000 people, half of whom were slaves, called the city home. Tailors, carpenters, bakers, gunsmiths, coopers, wheelwrights, merchants, clerks, and their slaves all worked to form the economic nucleus for the governmental system being developed by the capitol city's growing number of politicians and lawyers. In retrospect there is a strong argument that the most important institution in town was neither those of the tradesmen or the politicos. It was the taverns. Taverns were not just for drinking. They were the heart of political, social and cultural discourse." (Williamsburg)

~~~

And thus we conclude our mini-tour of Colonial Philadelphia and Williamsburg. :D

Do you have favorite settings? Are there settings you'd rather not read about?

Location, Location, Location (Rox Delaney)

I was going to use a pretty picture of Sedan, Kansas, and then I got to thinking about what words I wanted to use to begin my blog post today.  I planned it to go something like this:

When I was 12 years old, my parents decided to move from not only the neighborhood in the city where I was born and had lived all my life up to that point, but from the city itself.  They chose a small town southwest of here, where my mother's family had traveled to from Bavaria, Germany, and settled in 1884-1886.  Because the town is only a twenty minute drive from the city, I'd spent holidays at family gatherings and a few summer weeks staying on my aunt and uncle's farm.  Still, except for a few cousins, I was a newcomer and a fairly dorky 7th-grader, but in spite of being a "new kid," it didn't take long to learn I was related to about 1/2 of the town.  I was HOME.

I lived there for almost thirteen years, before marrying and moving to a farm not far away and made sure that my daughters attended and graduated from the same high school I did.  After 24 years on the farm, I returned to the small town and took my daughters with me.  We lived there for another two years before we left, and I returned full circle to the city where I was born.

I've written books set in Montana and Louisiana, Texas and Kansas City.  But when I switched from Silhouette Romance to Harlequin American Romance, the first book I submitted took place in a small town modeled after the one where I'd spent my teen and early adult years.  The location of the next six books--a series I've come to think of as Hearts of Desperation--has moved south, out of Kansas and into Oklahoma, where the name of the town is different, but the heart of it is still much the same.  I've loved writing the series and revisiting my favorite characters, but I hadn't set out to write more than a couple of books.  Maybe three.  Or four.  And now it's six!

While it will be hard when the time comes to say goodbye to Desperation, there'll always be a little bit of it--and that small town where I went from child to grown-up--in each small town where my characters live and grow and love.

Yes, that really is a photo of the small town where I finished growing up.  Fall Festival 2010.

And if you'd like to see my idea of what Desperation, Oklahoma, is like and meet some of the people who inhabit it, check out Hearts of Desperation.  Oh, and the sixth book in the series, BACHELOR DAD, is available this month. ☺

LEWES, BLEWBURY, AND WHITBY, OH MY!

Regency Historicals are almost always set in what we know as Great Britain. Back in my time period unity had not yet arrived and we had England (with Wales absorbed), Scotland, and Ireland. The internet has made researching locations fantastically easier than it was in the 1970’s when I started writing. Most towns now have websites or businesses that have websites and all of these usually have a “Contact” button. When I was writing Honour’s Choice I set the first half of the book in Lewes in the shire of Sussex in southern England—it has boundaries on the English Channel. Lewes at that time didn’t have a website but their historical society did. I “contacted” them and found a treasure trove of information. One of the curators mailed me a book on the history of Lewes, A walking map, a copy of an 1810 map and several typed sheets of information from the early 1800’s. For instance it had a population of 5200 in 1801 and that grew to 6500 by 1811. I was interested in shops and got not only shops, but addresses. The Palmer family were hatters starting with Grandfather Richard in 1750 and going through his grandson John in the 1820s. Thomas Marten on Fisher Street Corner authored “Quakerism No Delusion” and bartered hats, bedcovers and Dowlais (I think this means iron products made by the ironmonger in Dowlais Wales).

For Honour’s Redemption I needed information on Blewbury (in 1810 in Berkshire) now in Oxfordshire England where the story began and also on Whitby in Yorkshire in England where it ended. I researched both places and found little on Blewbury until I came across the local newspaper’s website. I again clicked on “contact” and subsequently received an email for the editor recommending I contact his wife, Audrey. When I emailed her I learned they had just moved from Whitby to Blewbury so I an information source on both places. She mailed me a book This Venerable Village Blewbury along with several xeroxed pages on St. Michael’s Church in Blewbury—the father of my heroine was the vicar there. The actual vicar at the time of my story was John Keble whose father was the John Keble of the Oxford Movement This was a group of high Anglican clergy who eventually turned to the Catholic Church. Newman University here in Wichita is named for one of their more famous members John Newman.

While Audrey gave me invaluable information on Whitby in Yorkshire – northern most England . Here is part of an email from her

Here's a short description of the weather in Autumn (or Fall) in the Whitby area. Down here the days will be gettting shorter, with the sun setting by 7 at the end of the month. There will almost never be any frost though the temperature could get quite low by early morning. There'll be rain of course, but not usually really heavy. The leaves will be turning colour, though the vivid colours don't usually occur until early November - an early frost can bring the leaves down overnight then. During the day we can often have brilliant blue skies, but the temperature is usually under 20 deg. Celsius. Sometimes there can be slightly foggy days, with low-lying mist. There is a road from here which goes along the edge of the Downs, towards Reading, and I've several times come to the top of Kingstanding Hill and looked down towards the Thames Valley, looking down at a beautiful white cloud totally obscuring the valley while at the top we are in brilliant sunshine.

The weather in the Whitby area is almost always a degree or two colder, and Spring comes a little later and winter a couple of weeks sooner. The main difference is the wind. We lived for a time in Saltburn, which is on the coast somewhat North of Whitby, and the wind there had a biting edge to it which could chill you to the marrow in next to no time. The other peculiarity about that whole coastline is the Haugh, the sea-mist or fret which can cover the whole coastal area for 2 or 3 miles inland from the sea. It can stay for days at a time even when only 5 miles inland there could be clear sunshine.

Actually, we love Whitby and that area. It has an air of independence because it is cut off from any other large cities, and it has the most dramatic Abbey on the hill above the town. These days I personally find its mixture of seaside tat and Kiss-me-Quick hats and fish and chips with the more up-market jet shops and the Abbey very appealing!"

One problem I had with Whitby was that I needed very detailed information on the abbey ruins there for running battle through it. From one web site contact I received all the maps etc I could ever want and gorgeous photos. I just have to buy the gentleman that sent them a “brew” whenever I visit Whitby which I hope to do one day!

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW, NEAR THE INN & NEXT TO THE DINER by Reese Mobley

Even though I live in a metropolis, I’ve decided I’m a small town girl at heart. And my writing reflects just that. I love tiny towns, itty-bitty burgs and charming little communities full of interesting people. Besides, writing about small towns makes it easier to let my quirky cast of characters out to play since they don’t have far to go in their fictional settings.

Plus, and here’s the peculiar thing, in nearly every manuscript I’ve completed, the heroine owns either an inn or a bed and breakfast and/or they own some sort of food establishment. Understand that this was not intentional and was not decided after some outrageous bribe from the secret society of caregivers. Apparently, it comes from some deep down place in my soul and only realized after one of my critique partners brought it to my attention. You don’t suppose it was her polite way of saying “get out of your butter-flavored Crisco-induced writing rut” was it?

Here is a random sampling of some of my towns and the heroine’s that reside there.

In The King of Hearts the town is named Angel’s Cove, Kansas and the heroine, Bailey, owns a small bakery named Angel Bites. The smell of her chocolate is what leads the hero to her shop after dark. Think Pied Piper with tight jeans and bulging biceps.

Faith Hope & Gloria features the youngest of the three heroines running the diner in the best bowling alley/beauty shop in Heartbreak, Kansas. After being rescued by the hunky fireman, Gloria makes the world’s best chili to put a little spark in their relationship.

After Santa Claus sends his twin sons to Pottersville, Texas, in Make Me Believe, they transform this ho-hum community into a Christmas theme city and change the name to Tinsel Towne. Naturally the heroine, Holly Wood, runs the cozy bed and breakfast the good-looking twins are staying at. The brothers are there incognito, so she unknowingly fattens the future Santa with her excellent cooking. Good thing, he’ll need a little meat on his bones if he’s going to fit into the red suit. And drive the big sleigh. And get the girl.

So when it comes down to it, I guess I'm proud to be a small town girl at heart and I’ve got the flour-smudged apron to prove it.

Hugs,Reese

My favorite setting for a book

Pat Davids here.
My favorite place to write about is a place very dear to my heart. I know you think I’m going to talk about the setting for my Amish series, but I’m not.

No, much as I like Hope Springs, Ohio, I’m a Kansas gal at heart and I love, love, love the Flint Hills.

I love the wind-swept treeless expanses of rolling hills covered with prairie grass for as far as the eye can see.



I love them in the spring when the great fires turn the night orange with their glow.



I love them in the fall when the grass turns amber and gold like the fire lives inside of it.


I love them in the winter when the snow-covered hills look like gigantic loaves dusted with powdered sugar.


The Flint Hills look the same today as when covered wagons first rolled across them. Oh, the buffalo and pronghorn antelope are pretty much gone, but the bluestem grass that fed millions of them now fattens thousands and thousands of steers who will make their way to your kitchen table and BBQ grill in the coming year. Some of those cattle belong to my dad and brothers.



My current release, Balancing Act, takes place outside the town of Council Grove, Kansas. A real town with heavy ties to the old west. It's the story of a New York dance with a shameful past and a single dad rancher with twin daughters and a cat named Bonkers.



Cowboys are as common as pickup trucks in Council Grove.
Some of those fellows are cute enough to make a romance authors heart go pitty-pat.



By the way, the guy in this photo is my brother. He’s a true cowboy and he loves the Flint Hills even more than I do.

I hope to one day set more stories in my beloved hills, but truth be told, I’d rather visit them than write about them. There is this one beautiful, spring-fed creek lined with trees where the bass bite like there is no tomorrow.

I know we’ll be discussing our favorite places to set books this month, but where is the one place you’d love to go visit and why?