Hi! Lindi here. My amazing friend and author Missy Tippens is guest hosting today. I know all of you will make her feel at home! We’ve known each other for 20+ years and have been through a lot together.
Hi, Inspy Romance readers! I’m glad to be here with you today. A big thank you to Lindi for having me!
One of the most frequent questions I get from readers is, “Where do you get your story ideas?” I usually just tell them I get them from everywhere and in various ways. But I thought it would be fun today to look back at my past books and remember where the ideas came from.
–From thinking about two completely opposite characters and deciding to throw them together to see what happens (a rich banker/diner waitress: Her Unlikely Family; Laid back construction worker/over-achieving pediatrician: The Doctor’s Second Chance ).
–From in-person experiences and overhearing conversations. Once on a flight, I watched a dad try over and over unsuccessfully to put a barrette in his daughter’s hair and suddenly imagined a single dad hero with a daughter at an age when she really needs a mom. I grabbed my computer, and on the rest of that flight, I planned a story pairing him with someone who really wanted to be a mother…or, what if she felt like a bad mother? (A Family for Faith)
–From issues God has been dealing with in my life (like control issues or trusting God’s plan for our lives). I sometimes come up with characters who are dealing with the same things. This is known as cheap therapy! ;) (Georgia Sweethearts; most of my other books.)
–From imagining a man who is clueless about kids having a baby dumped on his doorstep. This would be called a “fish out of water” story. (The Doctor’s Second Chance.)
–From dreaming up characters who have had a breakup or falling-out in the past. I love reunion stories and friends to “lovers” stories! (A House Full of Hope; His Forever Love; A Forever Christmas; The Guy Next Door; Her Valentine Reunion—currently in the collection titled Back To You).
–Characters who are competing for the same thing—a “two dogs, one bone” theme. (His Lone Star Heart—currently in the boxed set titled Cowboys of Summer; The Doctor’s Second Chance, where a baby is the “bone”; His Forever Love, where Granny is the “bone” :)).
–And most recently, I envisioned a woman who wanted a fresh start piling all her worldly belongings into a car and just driving north until she ran out of gas or her car died, whichever came first. (The opening line of that story came to me while in bed one night.) The idea of a character trusting God to direct a fresh start made me smile, so I went with it. This story also fits in the opposites attracting category because I made her a drifter and paired her with someone who had moved home to put down roots. (His Summer Valentine.)
You can see some of these stories listed twice. That’s because they do double duty in different categories by the time I’ve tweaked the plot. It’s part of the fun of writing!
What themes or type stories are your favorites to read?
To one commenter, I’d love to give away of copy of one of my books, winner’s choice, in e-book or print format from Amazon (please note, prize may vary due to availability).
His Summer Valentine
Opposites attract in this novella-length inspirational romance Book 1!
Willow Valentine is on a quest—granted, a crazy one. When her car breaks down in the middle of a 4th of July parade in the tiny town of Dahlia, Georgia, she can’t help but wonder if God was bringing her here all along. After the handsome Trent Meriwether comes to her aid, she’s tempted to believe God has. But she, like her dad, is the type to keep moving on. Can she truly avoid that Valentine itch and settle in this town, especially when she finds she’s quickly falling for Trent, a man with deep roots in Dahlia?
Trent has moved back to his hometown to make amends and support his family. Though his grandmother warns him the Valentines are drifters, he finds himself intrigued by Willow. She makes him laugh and feel hopeful for the first time in ages. But how can he look twice at someone so much younger, someone who could pick up and leave at any moment—even if she is like a ray of sunshine to his troubled soul?
Welcome to the small town of Dahlia, Georgia, where everyone feels at home!
His Summer Valentine by Missy Tippens
Isn’t Missy great? She’s a Rita finalist and a Carol Award finalist. Her books are awesome, and so is she!
Thank you, Missy for guest hosting today on the Inspy blog!
After more than 10 years of pursuing her dream of publication, Missy Tippens, a pastor’s wife and mom of three from near Atlanta, Georgia, made her first sale to Harlequin Love Inspired in 2007. Her books have since been nominated for the Booksellers Best, Holt Medallion, ACFW Carol Award, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, Maggie Award, Beacon Contest, RT Reviewer’s Choice Award, and the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award. Visit Missy at www.missytippens.com, https://twitter.com/MissyTippens and http://www.facebook.com/missy.tippens.readers.
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USA Today featured author Lindi Peterson lives in north Georgia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with her husband and a lively array of cats, dogs and birds. She loves sharing life with her family and friends. Her passion for reading led her to writing, and then God spoke words of love into her heart and changed her life forever.
I read a wide variety of books, themes, genres.
Christmas stories always pull me in. There is something rather special about them.
Hi Lindi and Missy. Missy, your books are new to me, so I look forward to checking them out:) It is always interesting learning about how authors come up with their ideas- love the idea of cheap therapy!!
Blessings:)
Wow, thank you, Lindi, for introducing us to Missy! All of these books sound amazing, my favorite is reunion theme…!
Welcome Missy Great to see you hear. I still remember the lunch we had together in Atlanta when I visited.
Love learning where stories come from
I like different types of books. I can say what I don’t like more. I don’t like secret baby books. I do like the Father with a daughter needing a mom type of book. Or Widowers/widow. Also characters trying to find themselves
Thanks for the post!
Hi Lindi & Missy! Missy, welcome to Inspy Romance and congrats on your new novella release! :)
Hi Lindi! Welcome Missy! Thanks for sharing your writing process and your stories. As a retiree, I enjoy reading a variety of books, themes, and genre. With so many new releases to choose from, I enjoy a story that is unique, unique characters or occupations, a well described unique setting, or the theme. Your story A Family of Faith reminded me of a video clip about a school bus driver, who braided girls’ hair in the morning. The single father had struggled with his daughter’s hair and was touched. Simple touches of kindness can make a difference, especially in the lives of children. I enjoyed reading your Amazon bio. That you wrote stories for 10 years before trying to be published. Wow! Inspirational. Best wishes and Happy Writing!
New author for me.
Mary, I love Christmas stories! I think I’m drawn to them because I love the covers so much. :)
Wemble, it took me several books to realize that God had been working on me while I was writing them. I suddenly realized that my characters were sometimes similar to me in their faith journeys. :)
Paula, as you can see I love reunion themes, too. :) And I particularly love to add in that they were best friends in the past. I love a reunion of old friends that turns out to have fireworks. haha
Jenny, it was so fun to meet you in person a few years ago! I’m so glad I was able to have lunch with you, Debby and Patti Jo.
I love all those hooks as well. I’ve actually been working on a secret baby story a bit, but I’m just not sure it’s going to fly. I decided she needed to reveal it as soon as gets back to town, but now I don’t know if the story is going to work. I’ll have to send it to my critique parter extraordinaire (Lindi!) to see what she thinks. :) Thanks for sharing your opinion on the hooks! That helps to know.
Mindy, it’s good to see you here!
Thanks for the welcome, Narelle! And thanks for the congrats as well. It’s my first indie release all on my own, so it’s been fun. :)
Renate, I think I saw that video (or read about it) as well! So touching. You’re right about simple touches of kindness.
Thanks for checking out my bio! Yes, it was a LONG road that Lindi and I have traveled together while working toward getting our books published. Lots of rejections along the way. But so exciting to get The Call!
Kim, thanks for reading the post!
Hey Missy, good to see you here. I love reunion romances, friends to love, and pretend relationships that turn into real ones.
Hi all~~ Missy is amazing–so glad she’s on the blog with us today. :)
Hi Missy,
Great to see you here! Am fangirling here in hot, humid GA.
Wishing happy writing days ahead for you! Love your books!
welcome Missy. what a fun post. i have not read this author. i would love to. her books sound like a lot of fun.
Oh I just love hearing the stories behind author’s books! I have had a few interesting things pop into my mind from hearing or seeing things and I’m not even a writer. :) I don’t have a favorite theme, but do enjoy the “opposites” ones a tad too much. It might be because my hubby and I are opposites!
I had to laugh when you referred to writing stories where characters work through some of the author’s issues as ‘cheap therapy.’ #guiltyascharged
Thanks for sharing those fun tropes!
Shannon, I love all those as well! I haven’t written a pretend relationship one yet but would love to someday.
Lindi, thanks so much for having me!
Jackie, you’re so sweet! I wish we could meet up sometime. Maybe you and Lindi and I can plan a get-together!
Lori, thanks for reading the post! If you get a chance to read any of the books, I hope you enjoy!
Susan P. I probably love them for the same reason. My husband and I are opposites in some ways–mainly he’s a filer and I’m a piler! LOL You should see his side of the closet (evenly spaced hangers and practically color-coordinated) compared to my side (looks like an explosion has happened). :)
Valerie, I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one! :)
I love stories that have heavy faith and family themes, and of course if the hero is strong and manly with a tender side, all the better.
Queen, I agree! I love a tough man who can be tender with the heroine and others.
BTW, I love your screen name. :)
I loved the blog post.
It is always nice to learn the back story.
I love how you start with conflict right away in your ideas. I also find that I have been writing a lesson that I end up needing before it’s published. Like my most recent one, Love is Patient, I started out writing about waiting for marriage. However, after losing all of my edits and then being frustrated for two more months about formatting issues, I finally realized the Lord was trying to teach me more patience. ? Your Summer Valentine sounds so good!
Thanks, Linda!
Lila, isn’t that cool how God works? Although, it’s sometimes a tough lesson to learn (like with patience!). :)
Thank you for sharing ladies. Blessings
Thanks for stopping by, Lucy!
Sounds absolutely amazing! I’m so happy to be here and to have met you.