My first love in writing is creating mystery or romantic intrigue fiction. I’ve trained myself to find story ideas from some of the most unexpected places. Take this classified ad I came across recently. All it said was, “Limo New Jersey, danger, mystery, magic,” plus it listed a phone number and a web site. I was intrigued.

When I checked out the website I was disappointed. It turns out the company specialized in taking people to interactive mystery events where the participants get to solve a staged murder. That was much more prosaic that my imagination had hoped for.

And that imagination wouldn’t let the idea go. Before the night was through, I’d plotted a tidy little fantasy story about a limousine service that transported its customers to another realm where magic reigned and getting back home to the “real” world was harder and more dangerous than they ever imagined. Now, of course, I have to sit down and write this story. But that’s another … well … story.