Finding #Inspiration

Back in 2011 I wrote my first short story in nearly thirty years - The Bones of the Sea. This was before I became part of the crew at Spacefreighters Lounge, but Laurie invited me to guest post about it, so this was not only my first publication but my first appearance here (thanks Laurie). You can read that original post and the inspiration behind it right HERE.

But yesterday, with spring clearly reclaiming the UK, my family and I were once more at the beach that inspired that story. It was a gloriously sunny day, and the warmest of the year so far at a very balmy 17 degrees C. We were picking up clams and cockleshells, discovering strange green blobs in pools left behind by the tide, and essentially enjoying the sunshine. Then my husband, who'd forgotten to bring his phone, asked me to take a photo of a barnacle-encrusted spike of wood for him. I obliged, and instantly saw an opportunity for a few more artistic shots. I adore natural 'sculptures'.

And straight away muse was saying 'seadragon spines'. I've got to admit she has a point. With their rocky coating of barnacles, these splintered pieces of wood, either an old boat or part of a groyne look like the bony plates from something like a Stegosaurus or dragon. Or perhaps some kind of sand dwelling monster shark or Godzilla waiting beneath the surface to pounce on an unsuspecting victim! From The Bones of the Sea to the Spines of the Sea. A possible sequel? Maybe. Right now it's just an idea, not a story, but from such inspiration stories are born.

So when writers say they can find inspiration in anything, they really do mean it. From a simple walk on the beach to a potentially world-changing discovery such as the possible Jurassic era pyramids Laurie has just blogged about. 

Pippa's Journal

Mission Success!

Not only has spring kicked off with a glorious start on the weather front, but so has my life in publishing, compensating for a pretty awful beginning to 2014. Hot on the heels of my contract for my YA paranormal romance novella RIP, I've also signed a contract for my SciFi romance novella Tethered. Woot! Plus I'll be releasing a cyberpunk short story - Reboot - on the 31st March. Swing by my blog on the 24th March for the cover reveal (or you can sign up to my newsletter HERE and get a sneak peek a day early!). With a paranormal romance short story releasing in October, this could effectively double my current number of titles by the end of this year or the beginning of next. I also have a super secret project starting this week, but I can't tell you anything about that. The timescale for that also depends entirely on how edits and release dates pan out with the contracted titles. This has meant the original projects for the next three months of this year have been moved all the way over to 2015 already. Yeah, I'm that busy! Just shows you how much difference a few weeks can make. Right now I just have one more novella out on submission, and should that be rejected I've had a request for it elsewhere. So I'm hopeful of a third contract in the next few months. If not, I still won't be lacking for things to do.

Discoveries
Build your own solar system - a handy tool for constructing your theoretical planets found by IllaesusCandor Sans Tache HERE.
Free writing classes at Coffeetime Romance HERE!
Ideas for Scifi writers found by Sabine Priestly HERE.

Happenings
Scifi author Michael Formichelli is running a series of blog posts on 'romance across alien lines (romance between humans and aliens)' and I'm one of the contributors. The series will start on the 14th at his blog HERE.
Starla Huchton will be doing an interview at my blog on Monday for the release of her first book in her superhero series HERE.

Ping Pong
Donna, I guess we just haven't hit escape velocity yet. Perhaps SFR will be a more slow burn into space than a rocket launch.
Laurie, I really hope we hear more about the Jurassic era pyramids...preferably before someone blows them up. :/