Entertaining Myself

As an only child for several years, my mom wanted me to learn to entertain myself. Boy, did I ever take that lesson to heart! I invented all kinds of storylines for my dolls and stuffed animals. I created danger so some could swoop in for a rescue. I sent them everywhere from the beach to the zoo to outer space. I invented dialogue for them and uttered it aloud in different voices. That’s what playtime meant to me.

Little did I know all this was the perfect training ground for my future as a romance writer!

I’m always looking for unique ideas to incorporate into a future book. Something that’s proven the test of time is the phrase I used when I created stories for my “friends” so long ago.

What if . . .

Playing the What if game has jumpstarted me many times. I used it when I kept hearing the phrase “separated at birth.” My question? What if actual twins were separated at birth . . . and they didn’t know the other one existed? That turned into my western historical romance A Game of Chance, which featured a lot of problems thanks to mistaken identity. Another time I jumpstarted Music For My Soul with What if England had a woman troubadour?

For my latest release, A Bit of Heaven on Earth, I relied on it again to get my creative juices going. I’d finished reading a book about The Hundred Years’ War (Yes, I’m a history nerd!), and I was fascinated how noblemen captured in battle were ransomed back to their home team, with the funds going into the war coffers. What did I ask? What if . . . the ransom wasn’t paid? What would happen to an English lord in hostile France? And why wouldn’t his family pay for his safe return? Believe me, asking that led to some of the best conflict and story that I’ve written!

So anytime I’m stuck while plotting? I’ll think to myself What if . . . and see what magic occurs.

Blurb for A Bit of Heaven on Earth:

When Gavin of Ashgrove and his closest friend are captured in a fierce battle during the Hundred Years’ War, their captors demand a hefty ransom from their fathers for their return. Robert is quickly set free, but Gavin’s father refuses to pay for his son’s release, leaving him to rot in a squalid French prison. Aided by a sympathetic priest, he escapes and returns home to England, only to find he has been proclaimed a bastard and disinherited.

With nowhere to turn Gavin journeys to Kentwood, where he fostered as a boy, hoping Lord Aldred will take him on as a knight in his guard. The old warrior is close to death, but he soon realizes Gavin is his son. Aldred plots to have Gavin inherit Kentwood and marry his much younger wife, Elizabeth, a famed and opinionated beauty who remains a virgin after a decade of marriage.

Will the king recognize Lord Aldred’s first request of a marriage between Elizabeth and Robert, uniting Robert’s estate with Kentwood—or will the temperamental Edward reward Aldred’s years of service and honor a dying man’s final request?

Buy link: http://amzn.com/B00QHMH0IU
Author Bio & Social Media sites:

Lauren Linwood became a teacher who wrote on the side to maintain her sanity in a sea of teenage hormones. Her romances use history as a backdrop to place her characters in extraordinary circumstances, where their intense desire and yearning for one another grow into the deep, tender, treasured gift of love.

Lauren, a native Texan, lives in a Dallas suburb with her family. An avid reader, moviegoer, and sports fan, she manages stress by alternating yoga with five mile walks. She is thinking about starting a support group for Pinterest and House Hunters addicts.

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