What inspires a writer and gives her ideas? Good questions for this month's bloggers. I bet we'll get a slew of interesting answers.
My view is of the low things:
The leaf-cutting ant bearing a spear of green,
The faint imprint of fearful feet,
Red jasper in a dry stream.
The Navajo weaves a harmony of diamond shapes,
But none so striking as my patterned back.
Coiling on my rock I prize my symmetry.
The savage sun of summer drives me
To wary sleep under the mesquite.
The gritty caliche earth against my belly
Is the feel of here.
The sharp aroma of the creosote bush,
The scent of sun on yucca blossoms
Is the smell of here.
I wait for the taste of here:
The timid skittering mouse,
The nervous cottontail,
The old lizard dragging her tail.
Respect is mine.
The shying panicked horse bucks and screams.
I observe the one in leather boots
Hiking carefully with his stick.
The humble horned toad,
The bold scorpion avoid me.
I get respect.
Sleek, I slither down the gulch
In a rush of silence.
Above the hum of bees and insects,
A snaky sound,
The gourd rhythm of my rattles disturbs the air.
Calves Together
That summer, we were calves together in the tall grass.
You came first to brown Mary Anne.
Golden Iris is my mother.
They dropped us in the tall grass.
We grew together, gamboled together,
Licked each other, slept together,
Lay flank to flank in the tall grass.
The milk we suckled tasted of summer and green apples.
In the heat of the day we found shade
The rain kept the flies at bay.
We frolicked in the pasture, bleating and kicking our heels,
Calves without a care.
Glad animal spirits, nursing and nibbling the tall grass.
Drinking from the creek.
Seeking the green shade.
Calves together.
Now we segue to the novels: What inspired them? Mostly places:
The Shadow Warriors: Singapore, Goettingen, Germany,
World of Mirrors: the Baltic Island of Ruegen,
Festival Madness: The Burning Man Festival: and high-tech Boston
Chased By Death: Southern Florida, Massachusetts, driving cross county, the Nevada Desert
Murder in the North Woods: many trips to the North Woods in Wisconsin
A sense of place always informs my work, whether it is the pasture down the road or the exoticism of Singapore. Places inspire me. Characters come to inhabit the places, and then the characters do stuff that gets them in trouble in that place. We're off to the races.
Let's see what my fellow bloggers have been up to this week. What inspires us may inspire you.
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/
Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.
Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-2eA
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/
Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.