Sometimes I have trouble slipping completely in to the world of my characters.  When I’m unable to shut the door on work or family and dedicate myself wholly to writing, I find that I can have difficulty writing with the proper emotion.  So what to do?  I get myself in the mood.  I immerse myself in music, movies, and books that make me feel.  Sometimes, I cry, sometimes I laugh–it doesn’t really matter what emotion is elicited.  This method takes me beyond the stress and over-stimulation of my world and places me solidly in my literary universe. What I choose varies with what I’m writing.  When I was working on “The Happiest Day” I listened to Ludovico Einaudi, an Italian pianist who plays absolutely haunting pieces.  It just seemed to fit with the historical aspect of the book.  When I was working on “Saved by Grace” I would pop in my ear buds and listen to Passenger, an English folk-rock singer songwriter.  The poetic verses helped me get in touch with the angst that I felt Sebastian must be experiencing.  The new book I’m writing, Second Chance, begins with a near tragedy for the main character, Ellie.  I didn’t believe that I was quite in touch with what she must be feeling, so I watched the scene from the 1994 version of “Little Women.”  That’s right, I cried through Beth’s death scene.  Painful but necessary.  If I find myself in the same dilemma again, I know that I can always turn to “Steel Magnolias.”  The scene where Sally Fields drives to see her grandson after Julia Roberts dies gets me every time.  Excuse me, I need to go find a tissue.