I’d like to welcome this month’s guest blogger, Angelita Gill (AKA my writing soul sister!) She truly knows how to bring her characters to life on the page. Glad to have you, Angelita.

A question people often ask, once I proudly tell them I am a romance writer, is where do I get my inspiration from? The answer may seem a little broad to most, but the answer is everywhere. I’m always using my notepad on my cell phone when inspiration hits. Street signs. A magazine ad. Articles on Askmen.com and poetry in Hallmark cards. A quote from a Charles Dicken’s novel.  A verse in a song. A line in a movie or tv series. I just heard “I trust you know you are a dead man, sir” and thought that would be an excellent first line on a first page. I wrote that down. The name of a beer, the look in a stranger’s eye as he walks by me, all have contributed to my obsession.

I have been making up stories since I was given a #2. I have been obsessively writing romance since I discovered the undeniable power of attraction and true love…at 13 or so. Hehe. I used to write romances about my best friends and their crushes, and these were the days long before I ever touched a laptop or PC. I go back and see a few of those notebooks I filled front to back, long hand style! Oof! One thing I see, I haven’t relinquished my love for the dramatic. I remember in high school an English teacher returned my short story to me, her bold script written on top of my front page. “Too dramatic. Re-do.” Now, it seems to be working for me.

The first novella I received a contract for, The Untouchable, stemmed from the simple question of how a hero would deal with not being able to touch the one woman he wanted the most, without excruciating pain. Dimitri is cursed. Anytime he’s touched or touches someone, it hurts like hell. So I decided to torture him some mo’ by throwing in a heroine whose passion for her cause, and passion for him, makes it impossible for him to deny her. And it’s painful every time. How is that for torture. Eh, he likes me in the end.

I have many story ideas that go back to 2001. I had started a scene or sketched out a scenario and saved it on a floppy disk. Eventually all of my ideas have transferred to a snazzy little flash drive. Several of the novels I want to write are ideas I had ten years ago and I plan to write them all.

Just last night, I was telling someone I am living my dream. Writing romance, being published, talking about both in my jeans and heels, sometimes with a martini in my hand never, ever, ceases to get me excited to get home and “write my pea-pickin’ heart out”, as my mom would have said.

Currently I have 2 published novellas through Cobblestone Press. The Untouchable, a paranormal, and Rush, a contemporary novella set in Sedona, Arizona. Both are erotic and graphic. As the readers like it. I have a third paranormal novella with Decadent Publishing’s 1 Night Stand series coming out. It’ll be out later this summer or early fall and I’m very excited, titled A Demon’s Lure.

Without trying to sound too corny, I daresay (I read historicals, I just adore words like “daresay”) pursuing my dream has changed my life. Just as a lady I used to know slid a Judith McNaught novel across the table, saying, “I think you’ll like her”, literally changed my life. Obviously the romance novel plays a huge part in my life and will hopefully continue to do so.

I will be giving away a copy of The Untouchable on here to a random commenter on this blog. =) Cheers!

Tags: Angelita Gill, Guest, Guest Showcase