IN DER VILLA DES GLÜCKS von: MYRNA MACKENZIE
The first clue that things might not go as planned was on Friday night when I was heading for the Bay Area to pick up Jessica and Barbara on Saturday for our three days in Yosemite. The news was reporting a new forest fire near Mariposa - which is a few miles south of Yosemite. Oh, oh. California had been plagued with major fires prior to that July, was this going to be as bad?We headed for Yosemite Saturday morning and when we reached the first lookout which normally displays Bridal Veil Falls in all it's beauty, the entire valley had a hazy look. Plus, thanks to a very dry winter resulting in a smaller-than-average snowfall, the billowing plumes of water normally associated with Bridal Veil was missing. It was a mere trickle.
We headed for our motel room in the late afternoon. Entering the lobby we were surprised to find it crowded with long lines of guests-- and very dim. Were they conserving on electricity? No. The power was out. Only emergency lighting was available and only one computer running, so all reservations had to be checked on that one computer, leading to a very long check in time. When it was our turn to check in, we were also issued a flashlight to light our way. The clerk also suggested we might wish to buy a candle from the gift shop. Which we did.
one set of mountains, we dropped down toward the Big Trees and the air was clear, the sun shining and the temperature pleasant. Reaching the Grove, we initially wanted to walk the trail to the top and see all the Sequoias along the way, but after only a short trek, the two Barbaras (me and Barbara H) turned back. I injured my knee several years ago and it's not up to hiking steep trails. We took the tram and ended up running into Jessica at the top. We all enjoyed the day. And on the way back, saw two small brown bears frolicking near the side of the road. What fun to watch. My first bear sighting in Yosemite.
Nothing was turning out as planned. We couldn't access Jessica's laptop with no power. We couldn't read our own notes with only one flashlight and a single candle. So another night was spent on the balcony. But by the next morning, we had had enough and decided to leave after our day in Yosemite--no more cold showers. After another day in the valley, Jessica who is a champion trekker, going to Vernal Falls, and the two Barbaras to Mirror Lake, we headed for Sonora, a gold rush town from the 1850's. Good thing we'd already checked out of our motel - as we made the turn for Sonora, we saw the road we would have taken to the motel was closed. The fire was spreading and the road closed due to even heavier smoke. Can you imagine all our clothes and things being there and we stuck 20 miles away in Yosemite Park? We found a nice motel room in Sonora, and the first thing we did was take hot showers. Then the rest of the evening and most of next day we finally worked on our workshop. As Jessica said on our way to San Francisco, it was good that things happened as they did. We got to know each other very well on our late night balcony talks and were more candid and forthcoming when working on the program than we might have been otherwise. After the conference, one of my editors visited Yosemite. The fire was out, the air crystal clear and she had a wonderful visit. How sad that my two writer friends missed all that. So the best laid plans...
I wish readers a happy and safe Christmas with friends and loved ones, and may 2009 be good to us all. Best, Jackie Braun
Wishing for a safe and happy Christmas for All! - Claire Baxter
CARA COLTER - DOGONIĆ MARZENIA
My answer probably isn't a lot different from everyone else's--I find ideas everywhere. I read voraciously, everything from Newsweek to Rachael Ray magazine to cereal boxes, and watch so much television, I should just glue one to my forehead. ;-). All that media influence gives me a swirl of ideas floating around in my head. Like with MARRY-ME CHRISTMAS, I thought about food (okay, so I'm ALWAYS thinking about food) and whether a food could make someone fall in love. I've seen all these destination restaurant/shop/diner shows and thought I could combine something like that with a food that made someone fall in love and chose my favorite food--cookies. That's where the idea for MARRY-ME CHRISTMAS came from. I set the story in Riverbend, which was really popular with readers last Christmas (in MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS EVE) and brought back several favorite characters (including Earl, who gets more of a starring role this time, and a little love story of his own). I used to keep folders with ideas but they were starting to take over my filing cabinet, and I found that I kept having so many new ideas I didn't get back to the old ones. So now I just let them file away in the old noggin', and somehow they shuffle out when I need them.
This month we welcome Melissa McClone to the hotseat with her Spotlight in Six!
Where do you find new and fresh ideas? 
