GENRE: Fantasy
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Where Do Ideas Come From
Non-writers
ask me all the time, where do you get your ideas from? Amazon sends me a
Box-Of-Fresh-Ideas-A-Week. Like clockwork. Snort. Just kidding. Seriously,
ideas come from everywhere if you’re a writer or creative type. I could be from
headlines in a newspaper or the local news. A random bit of conversation
overheard on the subway or at the table next to me at my favorite Thai
restaurant. Sometimes, an idea forms out of an unfinished story or a snippet of
someone’s life journey and I ask myself, … what if? What if it hadn’t happened
quite that way. What if x happened instead? And then I’m off to the races. Or,
yet other times, I watch a movie or see a television show and it doesn’t end
the way I’d like. That, too, will send me down the story path to develop a
brand new tale with characters known only to me traveling a similar, yet wholly
different path. Other times, story ideas come from brainstorming sessions with
my writing friends. During these magical times, I’m usually stuck. I’ve
developed an idea and my back is to the wall. I can’t see my way out to a happy
ending. No how. No way. That’s when a friend, who thinks totally differently
than I do, says what if your heroine did this? Or what if this problem arose
from that consequence? Hot, damn. Then all of a sudden, what I thought was a
concrete wall behind me opens up to a brand new vista and again the story is on
its way to an exciting new conclusion. So, there’s no one good place to get
ideas. They come from life, from living. It’s the beauty and the curse of being
a writer. And I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.
BLURB:
Widower Mark Cage is rusty at relationships. He owns the
micro-brewery that supplies
the restaurant and bar at St. Augustine's
premiere spa resort, Essence, with its award
winning local craft beer. And he’s been focused
on building his business and raising
his teenage daughter ever since his wife died
ten years ago. Nothing else.
When he runs into a sweet kindergarten teacher
who is vacationing in St. Augustine
and staying at Essence everything changes. A
sudden, inexplicable encounter with a mystical tree
known for its legend of bringing lovers
together, convinces Mark the schoolteacher is
his destined match. However, his encounters are
disastrous.
His only hope of persuading the woman he wants
to even consider a date with him is
working with Essence’s on-site relationship
guru, Athena Sullivan. A reknowned relationship coach, Athena is the opposite
of everything Mark wants in a woman. She’s feisty,
independent, and challenges him at every turn.
Sparks fly between the two from their
first meeting and flare into a blazing inferno
as Athena helps him navigate the dating scene.
After a series of too-perfect, mis-queued dates,
Mark realizes maybe the woman of his
dreams is not a sweet schoolteacher after all.
Maybe she’s a feisty, independent, sexy relationship coach who stands up to him
and is everything he’s always wanted or needed in a woman.
If he opens himself up to true love, he might
just find second chances at love are possible and that his perfect soul mate is
closer than he thinks.
EXCERPT
Two days
later Jamie came bounding into his office at Ancient City Brewery. “Hey,
Daddy-o.”
“Uh oh.
She wants something,” Mark commented to no one in particular as he pushed away
the stack of invoices in front of him. Running a brewery was work he didn’t
usually mind. Today, though, his focus was shot. “What do you need now,
dollface?”
“Nope. I
don’t want anything. I’ve got something for you. It’s a surprise.” She waved a
folder in his face.
He went
to grab for it and she snatched it back. “Hold on. Not so fast.”
Mark
settled back into his chair and laced his hands behind his head, prepared to
wait for the reveal. “Okay, so what’s this all about?”
“Weeeeeeeell.
It’s good for you, but you’re not gonna like it.”
“Sounds
like what I used to tell you about eating your Brussel sprouts and broccoli.”
“Eww.”
Her face comically contorted. “You don’t need to get nasty.”
Amazing.
The girl still hated broccoli and Brussel sprouts to this day.
“It’s in
no way as bad as Brussel sprouts.” She blessed him with one of her brightest
smiles. He was in so much trouble.
“This is
going to be bad.” He groaned. “Out with it. What is it? College is ten grand
more? You want to go to school in the Grand Caymans?”
“Can I?
Is that a possibility?”
“Ah, no,
not even a chance. You’ve been accepted into the University of Virginia. That’s
where you’re going.”
She
pretended to pout for a few moments, then smiled. “Okay. Charlottesville it is,
then. Sooooo. Ready for your surprise?”
“Girl,
you better share before you burst.”
She
studied him warily. “All right. So. Here’s the deal. I bought something . . .”
“This
never ends well for a man.” Mark sighed and pulled at his ear. “How much did you
spend?”
“For me,
what is a mini-fortune.”
Mark
groaned. “How much?”
“A
thousand dollars.”
His
front chair legs slammed to the concrete floor. “You what?”
“Now,
listen. It’s a good cause.” Her face started to get red. “And, well, I spent my
own money.”
“Jamie,
what money?”
“I work
part-time.”
“Yes,
and you were saving your money for school. Books and such.”
“Right.”
Her gaze skittered away. “I’ll get by. Most of the books are online anyway
these days.”
“What
did you spend the money on?”
“I told
you, I spent it on you.”
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Mackenzie Lucas is an
avid reader of genre fiction. She writes contemporary and paranormal romance,
and listens to an eclectic mix of music. She loves a good story, whether it’s
an erotic short, a full-length romance novel, or the narrative slice-of-life
found in country music. In any story, emotional integrity and authenticity are
most important to her as well as a big dose of romping hot sexual tension. She
enjoys smart-mouthed, sexy heroines, hunky alpha heroes who know how to take
care of their women, and plot twists that surprise her, but most of all, she
just wants to experience the satisfying emotional arc of a character falling in
love and finding what he or she needs most in life.
Mac is a small-town country girl with a
world-traveler’s heart. She grew up in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania
and she’s lived in Dublin, Ireland, within spitting distance of New York City
in Long Island, and now in the Washington, D.C. area. She obtained her undergraduate
degree in English Literature from Dickinson College and received her M.F.A. in
Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She’s currently an author
for Soul Mate Publishing and is represented by Otis and Mackintosh Literary
Agency.
With Mackenzie Lucas—whether you’re reading
her light paranormal romance or her small-town-based contemporary
romance—you’ll always find a heart-warming love story about connectedness,
community, and emotional authenticity. And, no, it doesn’t hurt that all her heroes
are panty-melting gorgeous alphas and all their sexy, sensually aware heroines
know how to stand up to them, give no quarter, and love them just as they are.
Watch for new titles by Mackenzie Lucas.
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