My Favorite Place

I've had the good fortune to live in and travel to many different places in my life. Some that sound very exotic, like St. Lucia and Iceland. Others that are more homegrown, like Michigan, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas. But of all the places I've been, the one I love the most is Ouray, Colorado. True, my books are set there, but every time I visit this town, I fall in love all over again.

Why?

Let me start by giving you a little perspective. I'm currently a suburbanite living on the flatlands of Texas. I'm surrounded by highways and virtually every parcel of land is being bulldozed in order to build more homes or businesses. Old buildings aren't restored, they're torn down to make way for something more modern. 

But Ouray... 

Everywhere I look, there are mountains. And I don't mean in the distance. In Ouray, they are up-close and personal. Stand anywhere in town and you are enveloped by thirteen and fourteen thousand foot peaks. Trees perch on minuscule outcroppings, planted by the hand of God.

In Ouray, seventy percent of the town's Victorian buildings are still in use.

They revel in their history. No bulldozing going on here.

In Ouray, I can feel as though I'm on top of the world.

And marvel in alpenglow, when God paints barren gray rock the most incredible shade of red/orange/pink.

In my book, Ouray is like no place else on earth.

Do you have favorite place? I'd love to hear about it.

Mindy Obenhaus lives in Texas with her husband and two of her five children. Her debut novel, The Doctor’s Family Reunion, is a finalist in ACFW’s 2014 Carol Awards and her second book, Rescuing the Texan’s Heart, is a September 2014 release. When she’s not writing, Mindy enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her grandkids. You can learn more about Mindy and Ouray at www.mindyobenhaus.com.

Finding Inspiration for Characters by Merrillee Whren

What can serve as inspiration for a character or a set of characters? I don't know about other writers, but my characters come to me in a variety of ways. One of my early attempts at writing a novel came as the result of my mother's sudden death. I wrote a story about a heroine who was coming back home to her mother's funeral. Writing that story helped me cope. The book went through numerous versions before it finally sold many years later. I was thrilled when that story was published because it is dear to my heart. Here is that book.



The hero and heroine in the story that became my first Love Inspired book formed in my mind because of a song by Dwight Yoakam called "Ain't That Lonely Yet." The song tells that story of a guy who got dumped by his girl, and now she's back and trying to patch things up. He doesn't want anything to do with it. The characters in my book, THE HEART'S HOMECOMING, were born as a result of that song.



Secondary characters often become the heroes or heroines in subsequent books. The heroine of LOVE WALKED IN, Beth Carlson, didn't even have a name in THE HEART'S HOMECOMING. She was only referred to as Max's mom. Max was a fourteen-year-old boy in the story. We see Max again as a troubled teen in LOVE WALKED IN. Ever since I wrote about Max, I've wanted to give him his own love story. But before I could do that, I had to tell Brittany Gorman's story. She and Max eventually become high school sweethearts, but if you read my upcoming January 2012 book, MONTANA MATCH, you will see that their relationship doesn't last.



I could go on and on about what makes characters spring to life in my mind, but I want to know what kind of characters grab your attention? Do you like to read about people who are larger than life or a character who is more like you? What kind of characters stay with you long after you have read a book?