Inspiration comes in a lot of different forms. Some are rather classic, some are mundane, sometimes the search for inspiration itself becomes a story in itself.
 An author can climb a mountain all the way to the top. Once she gets there there might be a wide panorama of beauty around her. Eagles flying above or below. Dust-devils might dance over hot borax springs. Light fluffy clouds march row on row till they meet a wave-front of dark thunderhead. OR she might find the top of the mountain shrouded in thick mist that allows no view at all. 
An author might wander down to the bus stop and make up stories about the people offloading from the buses. That old man has a limp, gained in the Great War perhaps? That woman is clutching her handbag. Are there spy document inside? The young man has an ax tattoo. A fireman perhaps? 
But for this author the most successful thing to do is to sit down and WRITE! So off I go! 

So as part of the deal with the publisher they handle the printing and the shipping and I do the marketing. Part of that is this website and blog, part of that will be getting reviews from independent book reviewers, and a large part will be contacting radio shows and newspapers. So now I have a list of newspapers in every state in the US and I really should get a list of Canadian newspapers to now that I think of it. I will be trying to get the larger papers to do reviews of my work and the smaller papers to carry the human interest story I will make about it. 
Then there are the radio shows. Hmmm, I wonder if I could get an interview on NPR?   

So what is in a name? Take a tale of two kitties for example. Two sisters to be exact. They were born on the same day, to the same mom and pop, they have the same odd coloring, the same polydactly feet, but the get very different reactions at the vets....
Lover Girl (Pictured) and Bloodletter
Apt names as I am currently bleeding. Hopefully the vet is used to crazed wild barn cats and was not lulled into complacency by her sister today.
A book also needs a name. I gave my manuscript a good name and was mildly surprised when the publisher requested three alternate titles just in case someone had already used that name. Well, I provided the names but we ended up going with "Dying Embers" after all. 
Hopefully there are lots of sales in that name. 

Another round of editing under the belt. The publisher did assign me a good editor. The changes made to the manuscript have really improved the story. Next step is printing! 

The manuscript has been edited...again! 
You know Mr. McCoy, my third grade teacher, he warned me that there would be weeks like this. Did his best to explain how revision works...But I guess I kind of let that lesson slide. Now I know.
Aren't third grade teachers amazing? 

The editing is coming along well. I am in constant contact with my publisher. It is time to think about marketing! I have scheduled three events so far in my local area.  I will be attending:
Norwest Con in Seattle, WA
Cherry City Comic Con in Salem, OR
Orycon 37 in Portland, OR

I will be wearing my "Dying Embers" tee-shirt and carrying lots of bookmarks!
Hope to see some of you there. 

So while my editor liked the version we ended up with the editor in chief decided that it needed a few more tweaks so here we go again! 
Round ...I lost count but that is all part of the process.