Every writer has fielded that question, probably more than once. My short answer: “You don’t want to live in my head!” Which can be a pretty scary place at times. Actually, ideas come from myriad sources: dreams; newspaper or magazine stories; spins on folk tales; a possible title that springs into my head; an event, large or small, that piques my imagination; an overheard comment or conversation.

But the one question a writer relies on most is “What if?” Walking my dogs on a trail just outside of Lead, South Dakota, I happened upon a clearing where a giant puffball mushroom was growing. On the way home, I asked, “What if that puffball mushroom turned out to be a skull? What if it belonged to a child? What if there was more than one?” These questions formed the basis of Season of Evil, Season of Dreams, my first Ben Logan mystery.

Many years and many revisions later, the book was published. I’ve completed the second in the series and am starting work on the third. All from asking “What if?”