Mariposa's Musings

As my 100 th post, I’m excited to welcome fellow, Wild Rose Press author, Lilly Gayle .   I’ll be over at her blog today. Stop by and say hi!                  What inspired you to become a writer? When I was in the eighth grade, my teacher gave us an assignment: Write a short, 3 to 5 page story using all of your spelling words. The entire class groaned. I smiled. I could do that. I'd been writing stories in my head since the day I played hooky to watch the very first episode of Young and the Restless. So, I started writing…and filled up an entire spiral notebook. The teacher asked me to condense it down to the required word length, but she encouraged me to keep writing. And I did. Until I graduated from high school and went off to college. Life got in my way for years, but I shared my secret desire to write with my husband and in 1995, he bought our first computer and told me to stop dreaming a...

For those who love classic cars, Reno is the place to be during Hot August Nights    Many of the casinos host events from show & shines to drag races.   Around town during a quick run to the store, you might spot a ’67 Corvette or an antique fire engine polished to a high gloss. An unexpected thunderstorm made it a bad night to cruise the streets, but provided an excellent setting to watch a classic horror flick.   We chose The Giant Gila Monster (1959) which features hot rods, a soda shop even a sock hop.    Poor Sheriff Jeff—as the lone lawman in a small town in rural Texas-he has two missing teens, several strange auto accidents and no deputy to assist with the investigation.   He enlists the help of Chase Winstead (our hero) a rakish mechanic who loves fast cars, yet is a devoted son who supports his mom and sister.    All the mayhem has been caused by a 50 foot Gila Monster (actually a live Mexican Bearded Lizard). ...

What inspired you to become a writer? I read a lot in my twenties and thirties and somehow I thought I could do it, too. I first started writing at age 36, but was shy about telling anyone. Finally, I gained enough courage to take a few chapters to my neighbor, a retired high school English teacher. Her encouragement kept me going. Who are your favorite romance characters (besides your own?) The older I get the more I really like kick-ass heroines in books and television.   I like Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ heroines, especially in Nobody’s Baby But Mine and Ain’t She Sweet .   I like reformed bad boys in books and in real life. I’ve got one right at home. Tell me what inspired this story. For many years I’ve dreamed of a big house. Not always the same big house, but variations. And they usually belonged to me. Finally, I decided to write about it in A Haunting in Trillium Falls . I’ve always been a sucker for haunted house stories that included a romant...