As a writer, I get ideas from all sorts of things: movies, newspaper articles, stories from my friends, and yes, sometimes the calendar. The Blaze Encounters series are linked short stories that revolve around a common theme, which is sometimes a holiday. A couple of summers back, I was hanging with my editor at the RWA National Conference and chatting up what’s *hot* in the Blaze line, and we began talking about the Encounters, and at that point, we were one glass of wine away from the idea of a Blaze Encounters that revolves around April Fools Days. Yes, while others think of Valentine’s Day or Christmas, I, of course, think of April Fool’s, and because I felt the idea was so stupendous, I immediately drafted my talented critique partner, Julie Kenner, into coming along for the write. April Fool’s dates back a long, long time, easily as far back as the Middle Ages, and some experts pin its origin to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tale. Others experts point to the French calendar, which is the most respected (or suspected, as the case may be) theory. In 1564, the first of the calendar year was moved from Easter to January 1, but…

Have you ever been to a bar and ordered a “sex on the beach”? (It’s a combination of schnapps, vodka and juices, if you’re not familiar with it.) Or a “between the sheets”? (Brandy, run and some other things that escape me at the moment.) Then there’s the famous “screaming orgasm.” (I just made myself blush, in case you’re curious.) Here’s my question for you – have you ever seen anyone smack the table, wink at you and ask for two “happy every afters?” Probably not. Mainly because a happy-every-after isn’t scandalous enough to make an innocent blush or a rake chuckle. It’s not fodder for the rumor mill nor is it something that will make you wake up sweating during the night. If it was on the menu, would you order it? Thank goodness it is, right in the pages of a book. I can find a happy-ever-after winking at me from the bookshelf any day of the week. There are other choices to suit my mood, of course. When I’m feeling anxious, I might want to go for a crime novel. When I’m feeling unsettled, I might like to read a book about a mom who takes a…

Good morning! I’m very happy to be with you at Fresh Fiction today. Thank you for having me here. Just a week or so ago I was reading over some old letters from my sister and one of them ended with, “May the force be with you.” I started laughing. I had not thought about that line from Star Wars in years. But it started me thinking about great one-liners I remembered from movies and books and I said, “Oh, I must blog about them!” Are any of you old enough to remember Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry Series and his famous, “Go ahead, make my day,” line? I think he is also the one who said, “Do you feel lucky?” I have to smile about that one! Do you remember Star Trek’s “Beam me up, Scottie.” Another favorite one-liner of mine is Love Story with Ali McGraw saying, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” A more recent quote that is often mangled and misquoted to the point of being humorous is Jack Nicholson’s line from A Few Good Men,”You can’t handle the truth!” I love them all. There are some great lines from books, too. Probably two of…

A question I hear a lot is: “Where do you get your inspiration for your characters?” Adam Temple, the hero of Can’t Stand the Heat, is a chef-imagine Anthony Bourdain (for the hotness) crossed with Jamie Oliver (for the sweetness), and a pinch of Gordon Ramsay (for the perfectionism). When Adam is in the kitchen, he’s in charge. And he loves every second of it. In fact, that’s the key to Adam’s personality-he loves a lot of things. He loves his life, his job, his friends…it’s not hard or frightening for him to fall in love with the heroine, Miranda. He brings passion and enthusiasm to everything he does. To read more of Louisa’s blog please click here. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.