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Finally published, I began work on my next novel, Getting Back to Delaney. This would be novel number three. I had a publisher, Ellora’s Cave, and an amazing editor, Kelli. The importance of a great editor cannot be underestimated. Kelli pushed me to be better and better, keeping my stories real and engaging.

The one thing about being a writer is there is no resting on your keyboard. While I was still in the glow of having that first book published, I was busy working on edits for the second book, and outlining the third book. Sometimes the wires get crossed and characters jump from book to book. Yikes. We can’t have my heroine calling out the wrong hero’s name in the throes of love, now can we?

What I’ve learned so far, (and I have a lot more to learn), is you’re only as good as your last book. In the e-book business, your fans are always asking, “When’s your next book coming out?” Just because they can download them instantly, doesn’t mean I can write them that way. It takes me a good year to write one of my novels. Then there is editing, revisions, rewrites and production, which is faster with an e-book. I’m sure if I quit my day job, the process would be a lot faster.

To keep those creative juices flowing, I also need time to be inspired. Nothing is worse than “having to” write something. I want to be so excited about the characters and the storyline that I can’t wait to get to the computer. So how do I stay inspired? A number of ways.

While I was researching the setting of The Write Man for Her in Santa Monica and Marina Del Rey, California, my husband and I decided to run over to Venice Beach for the rest of the afternoon. We walked up and down Abbot Kinney Boulevard, popping into the shops, having a bite to eat and ended up in an art gallery. This street was so cool and interesting that I began to think it would make a great setting for another novel. Maybe something about a gallery owner and a surfer, since Venice is a beach town. And so, Getting Back to Delaney was born.

For me inspiration comes from so many places: in my first book it came from personal experience; in my second book from meeting an amazing flight instructor who happened to be in a wheelchair; and in my third book it was the location that inspired me.

Writer’s conferences also provide great inspiration and motivation. I try to go to at least one a year. From feedback from other authors to one-on-one visits with editors, I always come away with a notepad of ideas. One thing I always hear is that the publishers, editors and agents are looking for something fresh and new. On the drive home from one of those conferences, my thoughts were ricocheting around like pinballs. I came up with a “brilliant” idea and spent the next year and a half bringing it to life. What happened next is also part of being a writer.

Tomorrow: Christie Walker Bos Day 6: Birth & Death of a Great Idea

Bio

Christie Walker Bos lives in Big Bear Lake, California, with her husband Robbie, her very own Magical Man. She has four published novels: Magical Man List, The Write Man for Her, and Getting Back to Delaney. And writing as Susan Ashworthy, she has the first novel in the Hot PurSuits series of erotica, Stealing Hearts. She has two Web sites: www.ChristieWalkerBos.com and www.SusanAshworthy.com