Pittsburgh Connections Launch!

Pittsburgh Between the Rivers

During the month of April, I'm celebrating the launch of my new series called PITTSBURGH CONNECTIONS. This contemporary romance series follows the lives and loves of men and women who have a significant connection to this vibrant city.

My connection to the city is very significant, indeed! Pittsburgh is only 50 miles south of my hometown, New Castle, PA. Many of my relatives lived in Pittsburgh so visits were frequent. I once played at the Three Rivers Arts Festival there with my high school concert band, and I danced in the Pittsburgh Folk Festival several times. Some of my best memories are about my Mom, my sister and me all donning our hats and gloves (oh, yes, we were going to the big city) and riding the train to Pittsburgh's center. From there we would shop at Gimbel's and Kaufmann's, two wonderful department stores that were as famous in Pittsburgh as Macy's is in New York. We always had a fashionable lunch at Gimbel's and went directly back to shopping afterward.

There IS that story about my family visiting a fancy restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh. My cousin and I (both very young at the time) sat under the table hidden by the floor-length tablecloth and spread cracker crumbs from those little cracker packets all over the floor...

Are you from Pittsburgh or have you visited? What do you think of the city?

The Spirit Moves on a Bright Spring Morning

I'd made the decision to enter the writing contest sponsored by RWA and Laubach Literacy International. The rules specified a "sweet" romance with a length of 6,000 words, a novella or short story. What to write? What would be the basis of my plot?

During the preceding months, my mother had been in declining health, a combination of dementia, arthritis and cancer. My sister and I had cleaned out her house before its sale, and we found mementos of her fascination with carousels. Scrapbooks of trips to area carousels, books about the history and the carousel designers, and recordings of original carousel band organ music. I took it all home to sort through later.

In the back of my mind are the carousels. Stirring around are ideas for a romance, the contest guidelines, everything I have learned about new adult readers. All of this quietly mixes in my subconscious.

It's a beautiful, crisp early Spring morning in Michigan. As I have for several years, I'm driving on a fairly deserted piece of Ford Road between Canton and Ann Arbor. It's a familiar drive, so part of my mind floats to think about the upcoming contest.

Suddenly I feel a movement within me, soft and subtle, as if warm chocolate is slowly flowing through me. As I'm driving, the entire plot of CAROUSEL MAGIC forms whole in my mind. I know that the heroine will be named "Ginger" and the hero, "Tom". I know that Ginger is the mayor of a small town in Western Pennsylvania, and she is determined to save a vintage carousel. I know that Tom is a developer who has purchased the amusement park where the carousel stands. And he has decided that the carousel will not be part of the newly renovated park.

There is conflict. There is delightful setting. There is history. There is the potential for love.

Never before, and never since, have I experienced such direct guidance from the Spirit in my writing.  When I arrived at work, I made quick notes of everything that had come to me in the car. When I got home, I began outlining the characters and plot. I finished the draft and several revisions over the next three weeks, writing whenever I could grab a few minutes. My critique group read it, gave their comments and I rewrote.

I submitted it five weeks after that first inspiration.

And then I waited.

Magic in the Childhood Merry-go-round

Readers often ask, "Where do you get your ideas for your books?". In my experience, the creation of each book rises from a different path, different choices, and the variety of life.  "Carousel Magic", my sweet romance novella, is a strong example of the phenomenon we've all experienced. At some time during life, events, people and the stars seem to align and poof! The outcome is positive and affirming. The author of the book Religious Integrity for Everyone: Functional Theology for Secular Society calls this "Exquisite Timing".  For me it's being in the flow of God's Spirit.  Over the next few posts, let me share with you how "Carousel Magic" came to be.

It all started with a weak stomach. My weak stomach to be exact. As an infant, I had trouble keeping cow's milk down, and my mother experimented with many options and finally settled on goat's milk. Move forward a few years to visits to amusement parks. I loved going to the parks and in Western Pennsylvania, we had many good ones. I tried roller coasters and tilt-a-whirls and spinning teacups, but it seems that spinning and twirling and screaming while shooting down the last coaster hill do not agree with my stomach.

But the merry-go-round? Ah-h-h. I felt grand on the up-and-down horses, flying around with the wind sweeping through my hair. You see, I'm in awe of horses and their riders. I'm frankly intimidated by a horse's size and power. But on a merry-go-round, I could imagine something of the feeling that a rider gets galloping along with a horse under him.

The Magic started with a weak stomach.


Next Time: Tutoring Magic