Inspired by bathroom line ...

I was standing in line outside a Ladies Room in a Department store today. It's boring. Because of the Christmas rush, there's loads of people, and long lines.
So what to do?
When I'm bored, I get flashes of inspiration. While in a line my mind wanders - I mean, what else are you going to do when you wait? I can't write anything, I left my phone in the coffee shop, I forgot my book, and I never talk to strangers.
But I had a wonderful idea, funny and light. So probably perfect for a short story. Sometimes it's easy to see what kind of story lives in the idea. A complex idea leads to complex story, a novel or even a series. A light and fluffy story - sorry about that. This story involves cats - so perhaps something for a magazine.
I haven't written anything on the story yet. I'm just playing with it in my mind. If it goes away, it wasn't any good, if it stays, I can make something out of it. But I love this period. Playing with the idea, looking at it, trying different angles, shuffeling point of views and scenes to see what works best - it's great fun.
Perhaps by tomorrow I'll try it on the page, see where it goes. I'm in love with it, so I think it's going to fly!

New books ...

It's official! We will publish a new horror story for children i February 2011; The Park. It's pretty spooky and has been a delight to write. It gives me a sort of balance to the romance series I'm working on. It's just plain fun to do something totally different. The manuscript needs some more work, but that's fine.
My new series is coming along just fine too. I had a two hour meeting with my editor on Wednesday - a very good meeting with lots of fun and constructive feedback - so it's looking good. I have a plan to finish it the coming week ...