Something new, something old

As I've been working on planning my NaNo novel for 2013, I've been getting very excited about writing it.  I'm not saying yet what it is, because I'm thinking about making the reader guess... and I don't want to give anything away in case that's what I decide.  It's not a vampire story (...exactly), and it doesn't take place in Ruby's world (although I suppose it could), but it does have a dark theme in keeping with my vampire series.  My plan is for it to be a short novel that I finish in November (should the NaNo gods allow it), so that I can get back to my Ruby revisions afterward.

Taking a break from Ruby Ransome

I've decided that this year for NaNo, I'm going to work on a completely different project.  I'm not going to start the second novel of Ruby Ransome, nor am I going to continue working on revisions of the first novel (where I've been stalled for about a month now).  I am going to start a new project, one I thought of a few days ago -- something to write for FUN.  I don't necessarily have plans to publish it, just to write and enjoy it.

What do vampires, flappers, and the Chicago mob have in common?

What do vampires, flappers, and the Chicago mob have in common?

Well, Ruby Ransome, of course!

I'm attending the Muse Online Writers Conference this week -- I've attended it in the past and recommend it for writers and aspiring writers, although its too late to register for this year's conference -- and it has me thinking about the creation of the idea my whole series hinges upon.

Vampires in the mob in the 1920s.  When, and how, did I actually come up with this idea?