A few days ago, someone mentioned to my husband that the model on my book cover reminded her of Toby Keith.

Funny thing about that, Kylie.

I listened to a lot of Toby Keith while writing Moonlight Serenade. I bought his entire backlist of CDs. If he was on TV, I taped the segment so I could study him. I even did something I’ve never done before: I joined an official fan club. The Toby Keith International Fan Club.

Yeah, hard to believe. I was a Road Warrior.

Then I learned Toby would be in concert  in my general area. I conned a friend into saying she would go, and bought tickets.

Then, just for giggles, I entered a lottery for a backstage meet & greet. And won. Squee!

So I drove to the venue–several hours away–and reported to will call, where there was an envelope with my name on it.

Inside the envelope were instructions and a name tag.

I reported to where I needed to be. I had my husband’s digital camera. I was nervous as all get out. A lot of other people had also won meet-and-greets, so the line was long. We really only had a minute with his Toby-ness, while one of his staff snapped a photo.

And what did I say? “Thank you for the music.”

His response: “That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever told me.”

All of that said, the hero of Moonlight Serenade is not based on Toby Keith. For starters, I very much doubt Toby is a werewolf.

The motion picture Crazy Heart  thanked Toby Keith in the end credits for his help with the movie. I’m thanking Toby here for inspiring my muse.

Moonlight Serenade features a country band. Most of the musicians wear hats.

Somehow, while I was writing this book, I accumulated cowboy hats. Now, I like hats. I own quite a collection. But three cowboy hats?

This purple hat is crush-able for easy packing and is supposed to have magical sun-screening properties. I bought it before going to Reno in for the RWA conference in 2005, but I don’t think I’ve ever worn it.

This one is actually a leather “barn” hat. It reminds me of the hat worn by the model on the cover of Moonlight Serenade. I was very pleased to note the similarities, such as the braided band.

This is my favorite. It’s wool. It’s pink. I think I bought this before going to Dallas for the 2004 RWA conference. I wore it, too. There may even be pictures of me in it floating around on the Internet. Oh, and I have matching pink leather gloves.

I think it’s very important for an author to have tools to put her in the frame of mind to write her story.  Hats are one of mine.

Moonlight Serenade, on sale, March 26, 2014.

 

 

 

 

Exactly one month from today I will see the fruition of a lifetime ambition: I will be a published author.

Writing is hard work. Really hard. Writers develop strategies to help them back into the story when life intervenes. I listen to music.

I create playlists for every book I write. I listen to the selected songs in the car, on my mp3 player at work, while I’m at the computer. So, to countdown the weeks until the publication of Moonlight Serenade, I thought I would share some of the music behind the book.

First up: Daniel, by Elton John