Part of the Flash will be posted on Wednesday, in the meantime enjoy Guest Blogger, Emma Ray Garrett's post:

Stress, coffee, and "Wild Orchid"


Coffee. Stress. "Wild Orchid". If I didn't have any of the aforementioned things in my life, I wouldn't be the writer I am today, LOL!

I love to read. I've been reading since I was three and I have no intention of stopping, ever. I love to write and have been doing it just as long. But I'll be honest. I never really thought I'd be a 'writer'. Writing was such an integral part of my life that I didn't think of it like many writers/authors think about composing words to tell a story. I wanted to be a cop, a vet, a CIA agent. But a writer? I already was a writer, in my mind, but I never really thought about it beyond doing it for myself to relieve stress or get good grades.

Until I saw "Wild Orchid", that movie... wowza, "9 1/2 Weeks" was okay, but I was so HOT after seeing "Wild Orchid", I immediately grabbed a pen and paper and started writing out all of these wicked fantasies, LOL! I'd written some erotic thoughts before, but not with the cohesion I had after seeing "Wild Orchid". Alas, that phaze passed and pretty soon I was so busy working and raising a family that my writing was choked back to brief journaling when I had a few spare minutes. Until I read a book, the latest in one of my favorite series, and it was a total wall-banger. That book is what really stripped away all my excuses for not writing. I knew I could write a better story, one that I'd be satisfied with at the end. And so I did. And when the story came to life, and I had moments of sensuality or sexual intimacy, my mind flashed on "Wild Orchid". I wanted to make the readers feel the same gut-pulling, breath-stealing, overwhelming hunger I felt as I watched the movie unfold - in every emotional scene.

Coffee. A must have in most writer homes. Coffee is fantastic for so many different reasons. The smell alone gives me a smile and makes me feel alert and ready for the day. It also brings certain memories to mind about my grandparents. Grandpa took his black, no muss, no fuss. He brewed it at the crack of dawn and the smell never fails to make me smile and think of him. Grandpa never stopped - he was always on the go, moving, working, DOING. I know it wasn't the coffee that did it, but the man he was. However, every cup of coffee makes me feel like I'm channeling a bit of him and I drive myself to produce.

Stress is the last thing anyone would think a creative mind would need. And partially, that's true. Too much stress steals away my creative energy with such a fury that no amount of coffee can recharge. That said, I firmly believe that in order for any artist to create - regardless of medium - they have to be a little unhappy, a little angry, a little irritated. I think artists draw from that dark spot most people try to hid when they create. A writer can make a reader feel the exquisite joy a character feels because the writer them self has experienced the most horrible sorrow. A writer can make us laugh out loud because they have been so down that laughter became a figment of imagination. A writer makes vivid emotion because they feel the spectrum and because they know how bad things can get, but with a writers unique take on things, they are able to embody hope and happiness in the written word, even though they may be suffering as they write said words.

So, in short, coffee, stress, and "Wild Orchid" are some of the best things that have ever happened to me. What about you guys? What three things in your life, good or bad, do you think have had a profound impact on the person you are today?

Emma Ray