Where Do Ideas Come From? (The Tale of a Nameless Jogger)
How a mystery jogger crashed into my awareness and hatched a story idea that led to a five-book series…
Some writers grow tired of the oft-asked question “Where do your ideas come from?” While it’s true this question is asked a lot, I always get excited when asked! I have the best, most direct example of how ideas turn into books (or in this case several books). If you. haven’t yet heard the tale of a nameless jogger and how it led to a whopper of a contract for Yours Truly, keep on reading.
Once upon a time . . . or, well, in June of 2016 . . . my husband and I were on a Tennessee vacation with a group of close friends. We’d just bellied up to the bar and ordered drinks when my husband leaned down and muttered into my ear, “In three seconds, turn around and look at this guy running by the bar.” Since it was about 98º F outside, I was sure that my hubs was pointing the runner out because he was wearing wool knee socks or a weird propeller hat or something. With a smile on my face, I turned to look over my shoulder.
To my utter shock, the guy running by didn’t have a silly gait nor was he wearing anything funny. In fact, he was wearing very, very little. I watched the runner—in his gorgeous, splendid, shirtless glory—jog by in a tiny pair of red running shorts. All of him was built like a machine, and he was musclebound, his sandy blond hair bouncing in the breeze. Jaw dropped, I watched the jogger until he vanished out of sight and then turned to my husband, who wore a smirk to beat all. When I gave him a questioning smile, he said, “You’re welcome for your next story idea.”
The evening continued, and we went to another restaurant and even a dance club. While I was supposed to be relaxing and enjoying my vacation, I couldn’t get the hot jogger out of my head! I kept wondering what kind of heroine would be watching that golden god jog by. Who was she? Where did she work? Why hasn’t she run outside to introduce herself yet?!
At 4 AM that next morning, I jolted out of bed. The answers came through a fuzzy, gauzy haze. I grabbed my laptop and started typing. I thought I knew what I was in for when I decided that my heroine’s name was Jacqueline Butler, a divorced woman who watched the jogger from her office window every day around 11 a.m. It was a safe way for her to harbor a crush without ever having to put herself out there. Then her best friend (co-Vice President at a marketing company where they boy work) entered the picture and I was shocked once again. The moment Vince came into the scene, I realized that he was the hero, not the jogger…
Once I was home in Ohio, my agent called to find out how my vacation was. When I told her I had an idea for a book she laughed and said, “Why am I not surprised?” We decided that I would type up a submission for her to send out so we could get that baby sold… and then during that bit of writing, Vince’s best friend Davis came onto the page in a way I couldn’t ignore… which meant he needed a book as well.
We started off with Eye Candy and Arm Candy, and eventually each book sort of had a book baby of its own. The Real Love series is now complete with five books.
Five books!
All from that one moment where a jogger ran by outside of The Whiskey Kitchen.