Ideas everywhere!

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I so enjoyed the recent posts by Gayle Roper on her journey into her writing career and DiAnn Mills on pursuing one’s goals.  In fact,  all of the posts here are inspiring to me.  I just re-read the interview by Susan Page Davis last Friday, and it made me want to get busy on my own computer and be productive!  I’ve got three projects going right now—all need to be finished as soon as possible, and I’m already looking forward to exploring some new ideas.

As soon as someone hears that I’m a writer, the first comment is often, “I’ve always wanted to write a book someday” and the first question is always “Where do you get your ideas?”   And my response is always—ideas are everywhere.   It’s the execution of them (no pun intended) that is time consuming and challenging.

My thoughts have always tended to wander down some rather dark alleys, while imagining how the most mundane situations could be sinister just below the surface.   Going out to lunch with friends, I can idly watch the waitresses bustling in and out of the kitchen and wonder how easy it might be for a villain to slip something into a drink or onto a dinner plate...

That nice UPS delivery man who always gives a dog biscuit to our border collie?  What a good cover that could be, to slip in as a new employee to keep tabs on someone, or to gain someone's trust and then set up an abduction.  And what about the nice maintenance man on a cruise ship...how easy would it be for him to slip into someone’s cabin to search for documents, or pitch his target right over the balcony railing in the dead of night?  

Or, what about that photograph of a charming little cottage posted on Facebook, with the lovely walls of windows looking out into the lush forest?  Someone could be watching...waiting...and then skillfully tape and break the glass after all have gone to bed...

We’re planning a trip to Ireland and England, for the first time ever, and already I’m eager to take copious notes and photographs galore, planning to use that information as the basis of a future book proposal.  Ideas will be everywhere!

What sort of settings do you like to use, if you are a writer, or what are your favorites in the books you read?  

And, if anyone has visited Ireland or England and has some suggestions for places to visit that should not be missed, I’d love to hear about them!

Roxanne Rustand
www.roxannerustand.com