After a year of very serious writer’s block, I’ve tried lots of things to kickstart my imagination. But nothing seemed to be working.

I puttered with a new Western Contemporary (a first for me), and with the fourth book in the Unfinished Business series. I went back to my urban fantasy. But the depth of the research after the death of dear Mary O’Gara, who taught me everything I know about Tarot and astrology was a major set back for that series, as well as a personal loss.

As a panster, outlining doesn’t work for me–and I have to let the characters start waking me up at night and distracting me during the day with their demands. I write the beginning, and the end. They dictate what comes in between.

There are the inevitable distractions:  The day job, family responsibilities, household tasks, and college tours. This past weekend, my cat…