Mariposa's Musings

What is a “must-have” for a writer’s bookshelf? C.R. Moss I have a few… A good dictionary and thesaurus (for the basics); The Romance Writers’ Phrase Book The Millennium Phrase Book for Romance Writers (for creative inspiration); The Writer’s Journey (for story structure/inspiration) Find C.R. Moss here: www.crmoss.net Jannine Gallant: Sitting on my desk in all its tattered glory, is my thesaurus. The cover is missing, pages are loose, but I wouldn’t replace it for the world. It’s my faithful companion, a gift from a college friend years and years ago. When I’m staring at my keyboard, trying to find that perfect word, it always has the answer! Find Jannine Gallant here: http://www.janninegallant.com/ Mariposa Cruz: I highly recommend Carol Lloyd’s Creating a Life Worth Living to anyone who aspires to life in the arts. Rather than advising people to quit their day jobs, Lloyd coaches on how to find a career supportive of a creative path and find a balance between inspirat...

What inspired you to become a writer? ~ I don’t think any one thing inspired me to become a writer. I think being a writer was what I was destined to do. Writing’s been a part of me for as long as I can remember. When I was growing up, I made up stories to keep myself entertained. Then when I was in middle school and received an A in English that’s when I realized that writing was the path I was truly meant to be on. Who are your favorite romance characters (besides your own?) ~ Oooh, good question! The first story and characters that came to mind was ‘Remembrance’ by Jude Deveraux. That story, when I read it the first time, enthralled me. Loved the theme of reincarnation and how the characters were meant to be together in each life time. ‘ Sunset Desires ’ ~ Tell me what inspired this story. ~ Three things had the creative juices flowing when I was writing this story. The first was developing the story for a particular line. The next was remembering a beautiful sunny day I s...

Old Man Winter finally decided to visit Reno. There’s nothing better on a chilly winter evening, than hot-buttered popcorn and a classic fright flick. Five strangers are invited to a haunted house party thrown by millionaire, Frederick Loren and his fourth wife, Anabelle. The only thing the five have in common is a desperate need for money. Each member of the party who survives the night will receive $10,000. The house is reputed to be haunted by spirits of those who were murdered there. For “party favors” Loren gives a loaded gun to each of his guests. But can mere bullets offer protection against murderous spirits? Vincent Price’s performance alone makes this film worth watching. He infuses a sense of menacing grace to millionaire, Frederick Loren. The film features another notable icon. A national landmark, the Ennis House , designed by Frank Lloyd Wright makes a cameo appearance as the exterior of the haunted house. Even with the usual features of a haunted mansion (...