MFRW 52 Week Blog Hop, writing

Family/Friend Story Inspiration

Hi there! It’s week 16 in the MFRW Blog Hop. Today’s topic: Family, friends, and pets I’ve written into my books.

Family and friends are a great source of character quirks and personalities. A few friends of mine and quite a lot of family members are quirky or unique enough to inspire characters, but haven’t won a place in a book/series yet.  Here’s what I have for character inspiration.

armed-beautiful-contract-killer-pixaby.com - 33676 (1)

My maternal granddad’s younger sisters are contemporaries with his older daughters, my mom included. These ladies are feisty, fun-loving, full of integrity, and they don’t take crap from anyone. They have inspired heroines in stories I’m writing in a sci-fi romance series.

Pax, Paris Chandler's dog PS Story

In another series, a German Shepherd, my first ever dog,  that has crossed the rainbow bridge is a secondary character in another series. He is the inspiration for Pax, a companion of the main character that is traveling across the United States before she settles in a small town in Alabama.

How have you used family in your writing? Be sure to check the other authors in the blog hop here.

blog hop, memories

My Earliest Memory

It’s week 2 of the MFRW blog hop. Please be sure to check all the other participants here.

I gave this topic plenty of thought. There are some memories that stand out, they may not be the earliest but are definitely remembered fondly. I asked my mom about some of my earliest times and this is what we came up with. My earliest memory was a snowy day. I was fairly young, maybe four years old when I saw it. I grew up in the southern part of the United States so we didn’t see a lot of snow, really none at all. My dad mentioned that snow was in the forecast for that night and that it might be a heavy fall. I must have asked what it was and how loud it would be when it fell, but he told me to get ready for bed and I’d see in the morning. I went to bed wondering if the fall would wake me up during the night.

The next day, I ran to the window in the living room of our second-floor apartment, opened the curtains and there was all of this white stuff all over the ground, the cars, and trees. The day looked extra bright and shiny because the sunlight bounced off of the snow on the ground and it still floated down from the sky. There was no loud noise when it touched the ground. That stuff didn’t look heavy. I guess it disappointed me because, you know, when you’re four everything is supposed to be exciting and dramatic. It wasn’t. Dad bundled me in my coat, hat, and gloves. Me, dad and mom went outside to examine this phenomenon. Snow covered the stoop and steps. We stepped off the last step onto the ground.

snowman-1210018_1280

My feet sank into snow up to my ankles. It was cold and wet. Not sure I liked it. Mom picked up some snow, rounded it into a ball and handed it to me. It looked like the colored iced cones we would buy from Mr. Taylor’s truck in the summer, only this one was white. I licked it, but it didn’t taste like Mr. Taylor’s cones. Disappointed again. My parents showed me what we could do with snow. We made a snowman, just like the poor little fellow pictured above. We then had a snowball fight and later took our frozen selves inside to warm up in front of the heater and drink hot cocoa.

In later years I grew to like and appreciate snow because as I said it doesn’t snow much in the south but when it does, businesses and schools closed and I like that!

So what about your earliest memory? Tell me in the comments.

 

Christmas, holiday, Seasons

Merry Christmas

2017 WordPress Blog Merry Christmas

Wishing you lots of love, joy, and happiness. Merry Christmas to you and your family.