Don’t you love that title? I do. One of the crime show dramas uses it as a tagline, and I think it’s great (though I don’t watch those shows so I have no idea which one actually uses it).

I’m not big on watching TV, but I do love to watch the news. Especially when I’m at the gym on the treadmill, beating feet and listening to my ipod. Best way to watch the news actually – no sound, great music, and you get to read the story via closed captioning.

Today as I was sweating and watching, I couldn’t help but think how many fabulous plot ideas are right in front of our eyes.

Take for instance the Massachusetts man who’s suing Continental Airlines because his ex-wife took their 3 yr old daughter into Mexico without a notarized letter from him stating it was okay. (BTW, I did that, took my 1 yr old to Canada with me a few years ago and didn’t realize I needed a letter from her dad stating it was okay for her to leave the country. Canadian officials raised an eyebrow, but they let us through without much of a hassle).

How about the Sheriff in Florida who lost his father to a serial killer years ago and Tuesday night lost his wife to a home invader?

Or the mother in NY who accidentally smothered her baby while trying to fend off rats.

Or the mummified man found dead after six years

Not interested in headlines? Try Hollywood. What about the Tara Conner controversy or anything dealing with Brittany Spears or Madonna’s adoption fiasco or….the list goes on and on.

Looking for plot ideas? Try watching the news.

Have any news stories stood out in your mind as great plot ideas? And have you ever written a story that developed from something you saw on the news?

I’m obsessed with American Idol. I blame this new obsession on Karin Tabke. (Thanks a lot, Karin.) My husband thinks I’m nuts, although he watched it with me last night. It’s so hard not to cringe during this first round. I know I should stop watching, I just can’t. It’s like a train wreck. And as much as I hate Simon Cowell, I can’t wait to see what horrendous words will spew out of his mouth or what ludicrous expressions he’ll make next. I’m sick, I tell you.

Completely, over the moon in love.

I spent all afternoon brainstorming a new book with my uber-cool mentor who, surprisingly, doesn’t think I’m nuts after she heard the twisted idea I’d come up with. (DH, on the other hand, cringes any time I bring it up.) I’m not going to tell you the idea – it is still in the brainstorming stage – but I have a question for you. What do you think of books with pregnant heroines? This is a single title RS, and while I’ve seen pregnant heroines in category books and ST contemporaries, I can’t remember the last time I read a ST RS with a pregnant heroine. Her pregnancy is pretty central to the plot, however, I could possibly write it without her being pregnant. It just wouldn’t be quite as “personal”.

My one-year-old is obsessed with Cars. “Car! Car! Car!” I hear that about twenty times per day since Grandma gave us the movie for Christmas. Actually, all three of my Gremlins are obsessed. The four-year-old got a bunch of Cars merchandise from Grandma as well – a fuzzy blanket, three miniature hot wheel-type cars, and a larger wind-up Mater. He knows how to find Cars online (www.carsthemovie.com – in case you missed it), and all three of them walk around singing the music from the movie (they especially like the Sheryl Crow title track – Real Gone).

I’ve never been a racing fan. I’ve never had the urge to watch Nascar or Formula 1. And when the movie was first released, I didn’t take the kids to see it – simply because it didn’t interest me. But after watching the movie on DVD, I find myself totally interested. Everytime we watch it, I find something new to ask my DH about – like who was that famous voice? Why did Luigi recognize the Ferrari and not Lightning? And why do they all slow down when that yellow car drives out on the track? (Yes, I’m racing green). So you could say my kids (and DH) are educating me about racing – in the animated, kids version, anyway.

Of all the kids movies I’ve seen lately (and a lot of the adult ones, too), this is one of my favorite movies of 2006. A total surprise for me. Regardless of how you feel about the movies Disney pumps out, their animated ones are good. Pixar’s in particular. I love Lightning’s character arc in Cars. I love the budding romance (of course!) and the subplot with Doc. What I love most about it though is that it’s a very simple plot at heart. No big fancy bells and whistles, and totally driven by character.

Did you see Cars? And what other movies of 2006 rank high on your list?