Raindrops on roses...

...and whiskers on kittens. Both of these are my favorite things as are bright copper kettles, wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings and silver white winters that melt into spring.

I get inspiration from things of beauty, and those things which draw me to them; the sea crashing on rocks, a babbling brook in a still, silent valley, a misty-blue vista seen from the top of a hill, my wooden bookshelves gleaming softly in the light, full of real books.

Not only do I feel inspired by beautiful things and places, I'm also inspired by people. Writers sat in a room, often alone, tap-tap-tapping away at their keyboards, working at making their dream a reality. And not only that; sharing their process, ideas, snippets of life, extracts of their writing and much more. These float round the world in the ether; electronic inspiration arriving on my computer screen. I love it! :)

The fact that a group of people scattered round the world, with a shared goal of getting a book written and published, forming a community even though many of them may never meet, supporting each other and having fun doing so is something I find enormously inspiring!

So, I pass on the question I read on a blog the other day (thanks Rabia!) which started all these thoughts:

What inspires you? What helps your motivation change gear?