Luv the Midwest

  At a major writers conference I attended in Phoenix, AZ last year with three colleagues from the Midwest, we received a significant amount of feedback and encouragement from editors because we were based in the Midwest.  Too often, they admitted, they overlook the Midwest as a viable travel destination.   So with that encouragement, I came home and researched, then pitched a couple of ideas about romantic honeymoon destinations in the Midwest.

   “Everyone can imagine the romantic possibilities of honeymooning on an island in the Caribbean, walking hand in hand on a sandy beach as the setting sun brings a golden glow to your new husband’s face – a place where honeymooning couples are a dime a dozen,” I wrote.

   “But what if time, budget and personal preferences call for something else?   Can romance be found in a small, Midwestern town where palm trees are replaced by oak and elm, and the setting sun is most lovely in the common city park?”

  Well, the answer was NO from some of the editors at the major national magazines, but then my editor at The Kansas City Star needed something romantic for Valentine’s Day, and voila, I had a quick sale.  The resulting story was “Six For Sweethearts” in the February 10 issue of the Star’s travel section.   

http://www.kansascity.com/270/story/480273.html 

That’s how some of my stories come about, and that’s what I want to share with readers in this blog.  One of the most common questions I get as a writer is “where do you get your ideas?” and “wow, how did you learn about that?”   That’s what I’ll attempt to share with you in the coming posts here, as well as a few behind the scenes snippets from my travels that won’t appear in print.  

 I hope to post these insights in time for you to read the current issue of the publication in question, and find insight into the world of writing, intrigue to explore the world, and encouragement to follow your dreams, as I did in pursuing my career as a freelance travel writer.