What? No Candles?

Good news. You’re peeking into my writing corner on a good day. Bad days there are dirty coffee cups stack

ed like a Jenga game on the desk, chewed bits of paper on the floor (from my dog, not my anguish), and research books laying around like dead little soldiers.

As you can see, there aren’t a whole lot of romantic inspirations on those two walls. No photos of dashing young heroes—that’s what Pinterest is for. Here’s my hero board. There’s not a cut-glass bowl of dark chocolates. Hah! As if that would last even two minutes. And you’ll notice there are no candles or soft fabric or fresh flowers. So, what in the world inspires me to write romance? Two things that are invisible . . .

Music

Spotify is my usual haunt that I play in the background as I write. For each of my stories, I make up a soundtrack. Here’s the one for Brentwood’s Ward. Or check out my playlists on Spotify under mmgriep. Almost always it’s instrumental music that makes my mind wander and heart melt. Think about some of your favorite movies. It’s not just the story and visuals that touch a person’s soul. Music has a way of crawling into the deepest parts of the human psyche.

Scent

I’m not a hippie, but there are some lingering aftereffects of being born in the 60’s. I love the smell of patchouli, myrhh, and lavender. Not all mixed together, though. That would make me sneeze. The thing is that writing is sensual, and no, not in the 50 Shades of Grey kind of way. I’m talking the five senses. Engaging all the senses tends to make me enter into a scene more realistically and/or romantically. Sounds kind of mystical, eh? Not really. Studies have shown time and again that the brain fires all its pistons (disclaimer: my technical term for a big word I can’t pronounce) better when the senses are engaged.

There’s your peek into my little writing corner of the world. I admit, though, there is a chair in the corner at my local Starbucks that’s a little worn from my behind as well.