We're Sorry. We Have to Interrupt This Blog.... by Jo Ann Brown

I had just sat down at the computer here in Florida, getting ready to start my blog post, when my husband's phone beeped to announce an incoming a text. Who was contacting him on a late Sunday afternoon?
It was the security system at the house we're selling Las Vegas. But we've already got a deal on the house, and the folks buying it always contact us if they're going to come over. So who was there? The security company called a minute later, and we told them that nobody should be in the house. Now, they let us know, someone has hit the medical emergency button as well. Do we need an ambulance as well as the police? We suggest they send just a Metro police patrol over to check out what's going on. We alert the new owners, just to check with them that they hadn't gone into the house, as well as our realtor. Five long minutes later, with lots of prayers that nothing was wrong at the house and nobody had broken in, we hear back from our realtor. Another realtor had come into the house by mistake. The house next door to ours is also for sale, but they don't have a sign in their yard, so when the realtor pulled onto our street, she went to our door. Now the houses don't look alike and the numbers are obviously different, so she was embarrassed. Once we knew what was going on, we just laughed. And laughed harder when our buyers asked if the potential buyers next door had kids because they're eager for playmates for their little ones.
Why am I sharing this? Because readers often ask me where I get ideas for my stories. Here's a good example. One of those that's listed under the heading of "I couldn't make this stuff up." Will the events go into one of my upcoming books? The chances are really good, though there will be enough changes made that nobody involved will recognize themselves. Most of my books have some aspect of something that's happened to me or my family in them.
For example, in A Ready-Made Amish Family, my fifth Amish Hearts book, out this month from Harlequin Love Inspired,

two of the children in the story have health challenges. They were inspired by issues my two daughters faced as young children, and my characters had the same questions and the same experiences that we did. It gives the story an air of authenticity as well as allowing me to know all the parade of emotions my hero and heroine would be feeling.
So when I get interrupted when I'm working, I always hope the interruption will provide fodder for my next story. Right now, I'm being interrupted again... This time by a sound of something out in the leaves under the bushes at the front of the house. Is it just a squirrel? Could it be a snake (and I have to confess that I find snakes fascinating)? Perhaps a lizard? No matter what it is, it'll be interesting...and who knows what ideas it will spark?