One thing I’m really grateful for is that I have a spouse who not only supports my writing, but who’s my best sounding board when I’m working out ideas or what needs to happen in a tough scene. That’s why all my books include him on the dedications page.

I have a birthday coming up, and since both of us have reached the point where when we want some material thing (within reason) we just buy it, that means that wrapped gifts aren’t as exciting as they used to be. Instead, I asked for time. I’ve got an index card box full of idea snippets for upcoming Stone books—some just scenes, some entire books. For a long time, I’ve been meaning to sort them and put together a timeline for the next few books in the series. So I asked him to find us a place where we could go, put technology away (no Facebook checking or Twitter updating!) and spend a few hours hashing out ideas.

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He came through great! He talked to the folks at his church and got us the use of one of their conference rooms, and yesterday we went out for a nice breakfast and then spent the next three hours writing up ideas on big pieces of paper (I felt so corporate!), discussing them, arranging them in some kind of logical order, and just generally sorting out all the snippets into a coherent plan.

The view from the Summit

The view from the Summit

When we finished, I had the basic plots for the next several books on the timeline ready to go. I now know where the Stone Chronicles series is going through Book Thirteen (so, that’s ten more to come past the three already published, plus a few shorts and novella ideas). And we got some really good stuff, too! One throwaway item that I thought, “wouldn’t it be cool if…” turned into what will probably be one of the best, most intense books in the series. It’s a ways down the road, though, so I hope people will keep reading!

After we finished up the Summit and gathered up all the papers, we had lunch and it was off to Stanford University. Stone teaches there and I’ve never been there beyond a quick drive around, so I figured it might be fun to check out his stomping ground. We spent a couple hours there, taking pictures, hanging out in the bookstore, and just soaking up the atmosphere. I still want to talk to somebody who actually goes there (or better yet, someone who teaches there), but this was a great first step.

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(A few photos of Stone’s stomping grounds, there)

So, thanks to my wonderful spouse and fellow Magespace Press employee for a great and productive day!

Now, back to writing. Those books don’t write themselves, and I haven’t hit my NaNo total for today. 🙂