THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY – Nights in White Satin -March 2, 2026

The question most often asked of writers is, “Where do you get your ideas?” Novel writers are lucky. They don’t need to come up with a new idea more than once a year (or twice if they’re prolific). On the other hand, short story writers are more likely to produce a whole story, with a beginning, a middle, and an end, as often as once a month. The superstars among us seem to be able to do it even more often than that. I have no idea how they manage it.

As for me, my annual New Year’s resolution for the last six years has been to write, rewrite, and rewrite again, and then submit a story to an editor or publisher at least once a month. Please don’t ask me how often I’ve managed it. Somehow, though, I’ve been fortunate to have 31 of my stories accepted for publication thus far.

I had no idea what I was doing at first, but the key to the dilemma of pulling new ideas out of the air became a lot easier when I learned to look for anthologies that were seeking submissions. The advantage of anthologies over magazines and other potential markets was that anthologies always have a theme. To be considered for publication, all you have to do is find a story to fit the theme. Not as easy as it sounds, though.

When I stumbled on the call for submissions for Peace, Love, and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Songs of the 60’s, I had an aha moment. How hard could it be to come up with a song from an era I knew, up close and personal? When I researched the top songs of the era, I was surprised to see that “Nights in White Satin,” one of my favorites because of its poetic ambiguity, wasn’t actually called “Knights in White Satin.” The lyrics made more sense without clunky armor being involved.

The story showed itself in the guise of a beautiful old mansion a block from my house that was frequently rented out for weddings. White satin! It would be the perfect setting for a murder. Adding to the mix, PTSD was in the news often. I envisioned a wedding photographer who had survived Afghanistan only to find herself caught up in the hazards of trying to keep prima donna brides happy.

You’ll have to read the story to see how it all worked out. I’ll just say that unlike in romance stories, happy endings are not guaranteed. Stay tuned for next month and the story behind "An Orchid to Die For."