I read everything from classics to trash,  never happy without a book at my elbow. Half of my writing takes place in my head while dozing off to sleep at night,  and ideas often come to me in my dreams. 
I have just published a contemporary romance (love,  sexual tension,  and laughs),  "Jan's Excellent Romance" and the sequel "Jan's Romantic Dilemma" is nearly ready to publish,  with a total of 4 "Jan" books planned.
I have also published a historic-gothic-romance "The Mistress of Clifftop Manor" and a modern romance,  "Billy and Maeve,  in Love Forever" that weaves together the lives of two American families from 1940 to 2040 centered on an erotic 77-year romance between the main characters. This novel had been swimming around in my head for about 4 years but every attempt at writing it it was perfectly awful,  and I'd give up. Then I read "The Time Traveler's Wife" and got an idea about telling the story in the voices of the characters,  and it suddenly all fell into place.