Holiday Inspiration

I've been bad. Very, very bad -- no bloggy Santa for me this year! I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get ready for my impending departure, and I'm afraid I haven't had much time to blog hop these past few days. *hangs head* I can't wait for January when things will hopefully be calmer!

Anyway, today I'm thrilled to have two wonderful writers visiting, talking about their inspiration behind the stories in Madness Under the Mistletoe (Amazon, Nook, Smashwords), an anthology in which I'm participating. D.D. Scott and Tonya Kappes are both chock-full of energy and, as co-founders of The Writers' Guide to EPublishing, they're super helpful people, too.

First up, Tonya! Take it away...

Definition of superstition: Noun 1. An irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear. 2. The way Maggie Greenlee lives her life…

Yes, this is the first line my novel, Never Tell Your Dreams Before Breakfast. I absolutely love this novel. No matter what authors say, there is a little bit on themselves in every one of their novels. And I’m no different.

My Grandberry Falls series set in the fictitious town of Grandberry Falls, is less than fictitious. It’s actually based on my small hometown. And if you know anything about small towns, there is a lot of superstition. From which house is haunted, lifting you feet up as you drive over railroad tracks. It’s just something that is ingrained in you.

A SUPERSTITIOUS CHRISTMAS, in the MADNESS UNDER THE MISTLETOE anthology, is the prequel to my third Grandberry Falls novel, Never Tell Your Dreams Before Breakfast. I wanted to give everyone a glimpse into what it is really like in a real small town, superstition and all. Starting with the Greenlee family seemed like the right place.

Maggie Greenlee, like me, was raised on superstitious beliefs, and it’s hard to explain those to potential boyfriends or husband in Maggie’s case. Sometimes they understand your crazy beliefs and sometimes they call you crazy! Either way, superstition is so ingrained in your soul, it’s nearly impossible to try to live your life without it. I NEVER leave a house/store/restaurant through a different door than I came in. It would simply mean bad luck and anyway I can ward it off I will.

I thought it would be fun and funnier to write a book about a small town girl who moves away to a big city where she finds love and happiness. Or so she thinks, because you know she’s been trying all her life to get out of that small town.

What happens when she does land that great job, hunky and rich Hampton boyfriend who thinks her superstition is childish? Well, it turns out that the Greenlee’s traditional Christmas is turned upside down when Maggie brings her “other” home! A SUPERSTITIOUS CHRISTMAS is a fun tale of family and what true happiness really is.So next time you have a dream...be sure to never tell it before breakfast!

I write fun humorous fiction, some with romance and some with a little mystery. More than anything I love to connect with readers! I'm a huge fan of them and LOVE getting to know them. I love to make readers smile, and remember not to take life to seriously. KARMA plays a big role in my life, and I believe in being kind to everyone, even if they aren't kind back. I'm addicted to coffee, McDonald's Diet Coke, and Red Hots Candy. I'm the co-founder of The Writer’s Guide to E Publishing (thewritersguidetoepublishing.com) where we give writers the true grit on what helped us sell more books, and reach more readers. When I'm not writing about quirky characters and even quirkier situations, I'm busy being the princess, queen and jester of my domain which includes my BFF husband, three teenage boys and two dogs.

Now over to D.D. Scott!

Hello to all of you in Talli Roland Land!!!

I'm thrilled to be here with y'all today and also thrilled to be partnering with Talli in our superfab Christmas Anthology MADNESS UNDER THE MISTLETOE.

One question I get a ton from my readers and fans is "What inspired you to write this book?"...so here's the superfab fun scoop for my contribution to Madness Under The Mistletoe - Hullabaloo and Holly Too: Without a doubt, Hullabaloo and Holly Too came from my luuuvvv of all-things-Whoville...as in The Grinch's Whoville!!! I go beyond gaga for Whoville! In fact, I'd love nothin' more than to live in a for-real Whoville. Cindy Lou Who would be my BFF!!!

Because of that little fixation, I asked myself (and my muses too) the proverbial "What If"...

What If my Cozy Cash Mystery hero and heroine - Roman Bellesconi and Zoey Witherspoon, who are very Will and Kate gone Bond, James Bond - spend the holidays in their very own Whoville?! And not just any Whoville... What If their Whoville is along the fabulous shores of Lake Michigan AND is also home to Zoey's parents, who suffer from a Delusional Disorder in which they believe they're Santa and Mrs. Clause?!

So with that over the moon quirky-fun premise, I went to work creating Hullabaloo and Holly Too!

I also like to explore social issues in my humorous mysteries, so I decided to also make this story very "Green". Yep, as in Save The Earth kinda Green. How did I do that? Well...Zoey's dad George Witherspoon - aka Santa Claus - is also an inventor, among other very odd things. Anyhoo...he's in the process of developing a revolutionary new reindeer diet food. Why? Because his reindeer have an emissions problem from eating too much cabbage on Christmas Eve. BUT...there's one other big-time problem too...
Father Time has been phone-hacking Santa, and is doing everything he can to stop Santa's progress. That's it...the Behind-and-Beyond My Books Scoop regarding Hullabaloo and Holly Too! Y'all are welcome to take a Sneak Peek at the story on my online home D. D. Scott-ville!!!

Thanks beyond bunches for hosting me today, Talli! And Happy Holidays to all of you from my home to each of yours!!! --- D. D. Scott

D. D. Scott is a Bestselling Romantic Comedy and Humorous Mystery Author and a Writer’s Go-To-Gal for Muse Therapy, plus the #1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Muse Therapy: Unleashing Your Inner Sybil and the co-founder of The Writer’s Guide to E-Publishing, your destination site for Everything E-Publishing. You can get all the scoop on her, her books, her Muse Therapy Online Classes and Live Workshops, plus juicy tidbits too from D. D. Scott-ville http://ddscottville.blogspot.com .




Thank you, ladies. And now, I really am going! Yes, for real this time. I'll likely drop in with photos and a few guests posts, but normal service will resume after the 3rd of January.


Have a very happy Christmas and/or holiday season, everyone!