Getting in the Zone

I've got two of my favorite tools right now - a hardback copy of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Character Naming Sourcebook and music. One's by my right elbow, the other piped into headphones from my laptop. The songs themselves don't matter nearly as much as the shear presence of music.

Music is my motivator. It helps me get into the zone and get writing. It increased my productivity.

Sometimes it inspires a character or a story. Most of the time, it gets me unstuck and writing.

As for the name book, it's a must when starting a new project or creating new characters. I love this particular book because it tells you the meaning of the name, variations, and where it originated. There's also some surnames listed and lists in the back of the ten most popular names for various years.

Between the two, I'm making good steady progress on another standalone romantic suspense project. Working title STEAL YOU AWAY, it's about Cassandra Sidell, a hotel employee who nearly died three months ago at the hands of refined killer Garrett Ramsey. A client of Ramsey's wants revenge for a failed job and wants both the killer and the complication, Cassandra, dead. They'll have to learn to trust each other if they want to survive the coming storm.