Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Where Do You Get Those Ideas?
Morning, crew, please welcome Ruth Hartman--author of the humorous and clever book, Pillow Talk, about tooth fairies and true love--who graciously agreed to guest blog with us today. Pull up a pint and welcome her to the ship!* * *
Some days the ideas swarm around my head, like butterflies in mid-summer. Orange, yellow, white and blue. They’re everywhere. Other days…well, let’s just say my brain only generates dust bunnies. And these aren’t cute bunnies, either. So where do ideas come from, anyway?
The first book I wrote and had published was a memoir about my severe OCD. That was not fun to write. Not even a little. But I felt I had something important to say, so I stuck with it until it was done. Sometimes even now, I can’t believe I wrote it, that I put it all out there for God and everyone to read. Although, God already knew my story :). After it was published and I floated down from cloud nine, I felt the inevitable letdown. The okay now what? syndrome. Because as writers, we need to write. It’s just something in us. We have to.
I gave a shot at children’s books. I wrote a story about a cat born without paw-pads. I shopped it around all over the place, but no one was interested. Frustrated, I set it aside. Again, I had the now what? issue. I still wanted to write, and I figured, at least one publisher liked what I’d written for my memoir. Granted, they’re a small, non-profit publisher from England and not one of the big guys, but still, I must have a least a tiny bit of talent, right?
One day while cleaning someone’s teeth, (I’m a hygienist, so don’t be scared that I simply go out on the street and start scraping some stranger’s teeth just for fun), I had an epiphany. What would happen if a hygienist fell in love with her patient? I let that thought ruminate around in my head for a while, then decided the story must be told. And I was just the dental hygienist to tell it. After it was written, I shopped it around. No, no, and again no. No takers. I even had one publisher scold me for using too many capitalized words and for using one of the characters I’d added. At first I was miffed. How dare she say those things about my writing? But you know what? She was right. I made the changes and sent it out again. Someone liked it! “Flossophy of Grace” will be published next year. Which brings us back to my current book, “Pillow Talk”. Another dental theme, it’s about a tooth fairy who falls in love with her dentist.
Ideas can come from anywhere. We all have such different life experiences that make us unique and therefore interesting. Consider your job (if, like me, you have another career besides writing), your family, pets, and hometown. Do you have hobbies? I ended up with a new hobby when I wrote “Pillow Talk”. In the book, the tooth fairy, Trixie, makes jewelry out of dental floss at her day job. Well, if Trixie could do it, I needed to try it too. I love it! Have you heard any stories lately that were so bizarre, the idea stuck in your head? Write it down! You never know what could evolve from that. I’ve read several mysteries where the authors got their idea from watching the nightly news on TV.
And the best source of all is you! If you really sat down and thought about it, there must be several things about you that are unique. For me, I work as a dental hygienist, have severe OCD, am left-handed, cat-crazy, got married at age nineteen to the love of my life, and am the youngest child of an Indiana Baptist preacher. See, the list goes on and on. And I have no doubt that every one of you has just as interesting of a list.
What are some unique things about you that you've turned into scenes or books? Love or hate the dentist? Are you a fan of the tooth fairy, or were you more a fan of the Easter Bunny?
BOOK BLURB:
Pillow Talk
By Ruth J. Hartman
Trixie Trident has a secret. Everyone knows she creates one-of-a-kind jewelry during the day. It's what she does on her night job no one would ever guess. She's a tooth fairy. Not the tooth fairy, just one of many. It would take her whole life just to combat the many misconceptions people have about TF's. Like how nobody wears tutus or uses a wand. Or stands three inches high. Nope, Trixie looks just like any other woman in her mid-twenties. And she'd tell people all of that stuff. If she was allowed to. But she'd sworn a sacred tooth fairy oath that she'd never tell a soul. And she hadn't. Except for her best friend, who would never breathe a word to anyone.
Graham Keebler meets Trixie when she comes to his dental office as a new patient. He's had lots of single women patients before, but no one has ever sparked his interest like Trixie. What is it about her that's so unique? He can't quite figure it out, but he's determined to try, even when she turns him down for a second date.
Trixie is attracted to Graham, like she's never been to any man before. He's what she always dreamed of in a man. And they even have the subject of teeth in common! But a relationship with the gorgeous dentist can never be. How could it? When she's a tooth fairy, and not only can't she tell him, he'd never believe her anyway.
To celebrate Ruth's new book, she will be giving away a copy of Pillow Talk to one commenter. Good luck!
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72 comments:
Welcome to the ship...now, back away from the scraper! (I'm dealing wit' a temporary crown right now, so don't mind me suspicion...)
*crooked eye
Now, regardin' unique things? Well, I've written in me own experience with an ICD implant when I created a bookstore clerk who is abducted by aliens and made into a librarian on a new world where implants inevitable go bad...
I've written about psoriasis, which me husband deals with... Beagles. (I love beagles. Owned a beagle) Often include a stop in Starbucks, which is challengin' when writin' an alt world paranormal.
But yer right! Fittin' those things inta me stories makes fer interestin' challenges! Now, I be the barkeep a' this ship...would like a servin' a' rum or somethin' else? ;-)
2nd Chance,
Wow! Those are great ideas! Thanks for sharing.(And sorry about your temp crown. Not fun!)
A tooth fairy heroine. I'd never even think of that. Wonderful interpretation and use of your day job. My day job doesn't really lend itself to book ideas. Though, actually, I do have secret clearance and work around the military, with mostly former military members.
What if someone went rogue and I somehow got caught in the fray. What if we had to go on the run and try to prove we didn't steal some classified information?
Hey, this stuff works.
Oh, and Hal, feel free to run with that story. I'd never pull it off. LOL!
Welcome, Ms. Hartman! Look at me, forgetting to say hello. Thanks for joining us today. When you get these (brilliant!) ideas, do you then plot out the whole story or just sit down to write, pantsing your way through?
Hi Bo'sun,
You have a great idea there! I'm usually a pantser, just letting the story unfold. Sometimes I think my subconcious knows the story before the rest of me catches on :)
I'm a plotter, but that doesn't stop me from hoping my subconscious knows more than I do. LOL!
My subconscious is sneaky sometimes, and throws in some doozy ideas for me to work with :).
My day job is a secretary at a University; and if I were to use something similar in a novel, it would only end up revealing how dumb people with higher education can really be. It would not be reassuring. I'm not sure it would even be funny.
I grew up on a farm though--so all those adventures with cows, wood cutting, freezing in the winter, sweltering in the summer--that can be useful in a novel. Probably better for a historical, but I could probably pull off a "Baby Boom" like novel too. *LOL* I love those fish out of water scenarios.
Hellion,
You're right about the farm stuff. I didn't grow up with that, but both my parents and my husband did. They always look at my like I'm out of my gourd when I ask a dumb question about farm life. Two characters in a book could be like that. Different because one was a farmie, and one wasn't :).
Welcome aboard, Ruth!!
I love the idea of a tooth fairy heroine. How interesting.
My day job--super mommy--doesn't lend to much suspense. Well, sometimes there's some suspense ("Will he nap today or will he be miserable" or "Why did he decide to put his car in THERE?!") but not suspense worthy of going down in literary posterity.
I was a teacher pre-supermomming. But sometimes those stories would just be too sad. Or inappropriately funny.
I worked in mortgages... again sad or inappropriately funny.
Hmmmm.... I'm definitely not interesting.
Oh, and Hal, feel free to run with that story. I’d never pull it off. LOL!
Haha, Ter! Don't pass that off -- it sounds like fun and you could totally do it!
Ruth, what a fun idea for a book! And Trixie sounds like a totally fun heroine! I'll definitely have to look for this one.
My day job is a bit like Hellie's. If I tried to write about it, it would be full of whiny college freshmen who can't seem to complete even the simplest of assignments, and then whine about how "mean" everyone is. Grr. Can you tell I'm bitter today? lol. Though I will say, I teach international war/diplomacy, so I end up using that in most of my stories. IRA heroine, anyone? LOL!
I'm sure you're very interesting! I can see a story about a single mom trying to date a guy who's never been around kids before. There could be a lot of funny stuff happening there.
The single mom could also be a teacher. More kid stuff to terrify the guy she's trying to date :)
And mortgages. I think any time there's an office involved with people working in it,there's a story there. Some of the people I worked with over the years...wow. Let's just say that the dental assistant in "Pillow Talk" is a conglomeration of several mean assistants I worked with over the years.
Marnee, I think you've got some good background to work into stories! :)
Hal, it sounds like you're already using some of your life experiences for your writing from what you teach. Good for you!!
For the record, I am a single mom who has tried dating a man whose never been around kids. Nothing funny there.
Sad and annoying, but not funny.
But I think the mortgage one would be fun. She's the broker and he's trying to get the loan and he's not good at bookkeeping so she has to really hold his hand through the whole ordeal. And then he'd owe her a dinner to repay her and the romance blossoms from there.
Bo'sun,
Sorry about your not-so-great experience. No, I can see where that might not always work out. But I love your idea for the mortgage firm! :)
I should totally use our office manager as a character in a book. He's a 65-year-old retiree named Dick who's never held a job without a secretary (so the whole concept of being the office manager is a bit lost on him). He says "herro" instead of "hello" and sounds like Scooby Doo. And to really top it off, instead of saying "Center for Conflict Resolution" when he answers the phone, he says "Conflict Resolution Dick." No pause, no breath, no change in intonation. No "this is Dick speaking." Just "Conflict Resolution Dick." It's so freaking hilarious I have friends who will just call to hear it and then hang up (which kicks off a whole round of him saying, "herro? herro? herro?"). SOOOO funny!
And to really top it off, instead of saying “Center for Conflict Resolution” when he answers the phone, he says “Conflict Resolution Dick.”
*ROTFLMAO* I can so picture this.
One of my faculty called me to ask how to turn on his computer. He's a bit old school. In Literacy. (Not computer literacy apparently.)
Hal that is so funny! I can totally picture a character like that in a book. And Hellion, my poor husband is a computer programmer, so he gets computer questions all the time. Even from me.
Actually it's ironic I get asked computer questions because I'm not overly computer literate either. Or technology literate. I don't even have a Twitter account. (That I know of. I certainly have never twittered. I've tittered, but not twittered.)
The boyfriend is usually mocking me that any computer glitches is user error.
Yeah, I have to find a way to work him into a book. He's just too funny to pass up.
Hellie - I feel your pain. I've taught this guy how to attach something to an email like 10 times now. At this point, it's just faster for him to yell for help when he needs to attach something, and have me come do it :)
Not to imply *I* have/had a secret baby. The DJ part is the only life experience included there. LOL! (Okay, I married a country singer, but totally different story there...)
Hal - That is cracking me up. Makes me think of that priest in Princess Bride. I can't get over "Conflict Resolution Dick". We had a morning guy at the radio station years ago whose name was Dick. When he got mad one morning and quit, we realized we were then Dickless.
And to bring us back to topic, I do have a story idea somewhere on a back burner of a radio DJ heroine who falls for a country singer who then leaves town to make it big. That will be my one and only secret baby story. ;)
Don't lie. We know your daughter was a secret baby. *LOL*
Considering all of the listening audience knew about her (I was totally Kathy Lee Gifford) and her birth was announced on the morning news, that was the WORST kept secret. LOL!
WORST kept secret? Well, that might depend on how in touch daddy-dearest was with the media, etc. What if he left to make it big in say...Germany?
Well, you all know what I say...toss in an alien abduction or a pirate and viola! Interesting! ;-)
What if he left to make it big in say…Germany?
Who is the heroine dating? The Hoff?
He could get so rich, his German engineered car would talk to him.
See? I knew you all had interesting lives!!!
We're just nuts. Don't mind us.
Have you thought about writing any more non-fiction work? And what's up next in romance? There has to be a preacher's daughter story in there somewhere. ;)
the Hoff. OMG!
Hey pirates -- I was gone getting natural blonde put back in my hair (looks FABULOUS, I have to say).
Ruth, I love the tooth fairy heroine -- that's inspired! :)
And I love all the "inspired by true story" events you guys have. How fun!
Right now I'm doing revisions on a book that draws on my experiences as a winery tasting room manager. The hard part is making it sound more fun than it actually is. LOL I don't want the heroine to sound bitter.
I'm sure it helps to up your intake of wine while writing?
The only other non-fiction I've done are various articles. Once I started with romance, I was hooked! My next two out are romances, one is dental related and the other is about a woman and her cat who wind up spending two weeks on a yacht with a man they've never met.
A preacher's daughter. Hmmm. I sure know enough about that!!
Donna, that sounds so interesting!! And see, you can put in stuff that might seem mundane to you (like dental stuff to me), but for people who don't know much about wine-tasting, it's very exciting!
A woman and her cat? I like this already. *stuffs Hellie in her cabin before she can rant about pets in books* How does a girl end up on a yacht with a man she's never met? LOL! Hmmmm...let me guess. We'll have to read it and find out!
I have a cat and I'm getting another one in a few weeks. Bumblebee (my cat) totally needs to be put in a story. Though in my first MS, I put in an imaginary cat that is nothing like him. Except she's fat, like he is.
Bo'sun, another cat lover? Yay!!! I adore them. And actually, all of my romances have cats in them. But the yacht novel actually features one :)
I love dogs too, but I'm not interested in constant walks and picking up poop in a baggie, so we'll stick with cats for now. LOL! My next WIP will have a dog in it though. My hero is very much a dog guy. A big mutt, of course.
I love all animals, too. But cats are definitely my favorite :). I think they add to the story, rounding out the characters who have them.
Hey, hey, I like cats--and I don't mind cats in romances. I don't see them out; and I hate when they include the cat on the cover, trying to lure me to buy the book because there is a cat--but of sidekicks in a book, I can handle a cat.
I think cat characters like any secondary character would have to add to the story and the other characters or otherwise they would serve no purpose.
My next two out are romances, one is dental related and the other is about a woman and her cat who wind up spending two weeks on a yacht with a man they’ve never met.
Is the dental one the Flossophy one?
And I'm laughing about the cat on a yacht. I can almost see how that would happen. Your cat runs away, you find him perched on the highest place on the ship (since cats love high places), the boat takes off before you can get your cat back--and voila, you're on a yacht with a guy for two weeks...
on a yacht with a guy for two weeks... and a cat that is bonkers and totally freaked about all that blasted water everywhere!
Though that could be fun... Keep having to scoop the cat out of the water. Nothing funner than a wet cat, pissed at the world... A totally romantically binding situation...
Hee, hee.
Hey, I love being lured into buying a book because of a dog or cat on the cover. Works for me!
Do you think a kraken on the cover will work for the kraken loving crowd? ;-)
Do cats get sea sick?
and a cat that is bonkers and totally freaked about all that blasted water everywhere!
I know far more cats who LOVE water than are freaked out by it. Unless it rains. They don't seem to like that.
I've been with cats who get car sick, so yes I bet they can get sea sick too. Poor miserable things.
What about it, Ruth? Is your cat on yacht perfectly content to be on a moving room or terribly upset about the whole situation?
My cat on the yacht (it's untitled so far), doesn't mind in the least. He doesn't get sea sick, but does end up in the ocean at least once. You've got part of the story right. He runs down a dock, jumps on a yacht, and his owner has to follow. For the rest, I don't want to give too much away :).
Yes, the dental one is "Flossophy of Grace" about a hygienist who falls in love with a patient.
I can totally see the potential for bonding over a wet cat. And rescuing said cat from the briny deep. And the krakens.
Ruth, the tasting room manager job involves wine tasting for customers, not the employees. LOL Unfortunately customers thought that's what we did all day--stand around and drink wine! (We did that once the day was over and the doors were locked. LOL)
But it does have some fun things to use for the book. :) Names have been changed, etc., etc. LOL
Now see? I learned something. I assumed you did that all day long, just like other people thought. I always love learning something new in books. :)
Sure, Donna. I believe you. Uh huh.
*snort
Sorry I'm late pirates. Take an extra dosing of paperwork early in the morning and add a car malfunction and break down at lunch time and toss it all together and it makes for an excellent combination.
Ms. Hartman, welcome aboard! I love fellow pantsers. What part of pantsing do you enjoy the most?
Hi Sin,
I love when I'm typing away, and a thought pops into my head. Sometimes it ends up on my laptop before my brain realizes what just happened :)
Oh! That's one of my favorite parts, too! Entertaining myself is such a great part of my day.
Get yer minds outta that gutter, crew!
LOL, Chance -- seriously, the customers MADE us want to drink all day long, but lord knows what we would have said to them if we did. LOL
We did have some great Christmas parties though. :)
I can see a short story collection, Donnaroo. All the best experiences...and if the reality is too depressing... I mean, let's face it, people at wine tastings could be pretty obnoxious I imagine. Especially if the wine was free and all they did all day was drink...
Well...make it interesting! And yup, great parties, I can see that!
There's a few mystery/romantic series out there featuring life at a winery...
Ruth? Who is your publisher?
My publisher for Pillow Talk is Class Act Books. For Flossophy of Grace, it's Midnight Showcase Fiction (soon changing to Melange), and the cat/yacht one is with Turquoise Morning Press.
I had a link to Ruth's book in the blog, but it looks sorta buried.
http://www.classactbooks.com/Pillow-Talk-by-Ruth-J-Hartman-_p_214.html
They also have an about us page:
http://www.classactbooks.com/About-Us_ep_7.html
Sin - That sounds like the plot for a book. LOL! Sorry your day has been sucky. Here, have a hot toddy. On a hottie. He's pretty hot too....
My cat loves water. My tub got clogged once and I found him in there walking around in water up to his belly. Strangest damn cat. Since he also doesn't like fish flavored food (won't eat real tuna!) we believe he was a fish in a former life.
Thanks Hellion :)
Bo-sun, that sounds like one cool cat!
Ah, and this is why the skirtgun to stop nocturnal activity won't work! Got it!
Thanks for the links, Hel!
LOL, Terri -- that's a crazy cat. Although you can't put it in a book, cuz it's not "realistic". LOL You know what's not realistic? A character arc. LOL Nobody in real life changes like that!
I hope you mean squirtgun. LOL! But no, the squirting only makes him stop and lick the water off himself. *sigh*
Ruth - He's an interesting character. He's getting a female roommate at the end of this month and I'm hoping she settles him down. My luck, he'll trouble her up.
I've got a male and female. Sometimes they fight, other times they groom each other so much that we tell them to get a room!
Dude, everyone I've told that you're getting a "calming" cat for your neurotic cat has said, "She really doesn't understand cats, does she?" EVERY LAST PERSON!
This female is very skittish and shy. Bumbles doesn't have a skittish or shy bone in his orange body. I'm just hoping for some balance.
Hellie - Leave me and my damn illusions alone!
Ruth -- LOL -- I was just thinking from Terri's description that she had a great "cat romance". I love that the boy cat is gonna "trouble her up". *giggle* He's a bad boy.
Good thing they're both fixed. LOL! And I had to hunt to find a young female that was as, shall we say, robust as he is. He's about 14lbs and she's around 12. So at least he won't crush her. I can't wait until the first time she swipes him across the nose.
I don't know, maybe shooting a skirt at him would do the trick...
I'm picturing tag team cat harrassment...and Terri will never get any sleep.
But maybe it will work!
I need to run and make supper now. Thanks so much for hosting me today! I had a blast. You guys are great!!
Thanks for being such a great guest, Ruth!
This was lots of fun. Thanks for joining us today, Ruth. May all your books fly off the (e)shelves!
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