My Inspirations

Inspiration for my stories come from a variety of things. It can be a song lyric, an image, a quote, or a dream. I do spend a lot of time looking through images I find on Facebook, Pinterest, and Google.

Now, I will not claim that I'm actually looking for images to inspire me, but every now and again, one will leap off the screen and send my mind whirling with a storyline.

In fact, that is how the YA book I'm working on came to be. I spotted a picture and the story simply came to me. There is so much to the story that I've put it on the back burner while I work on a different project, but it is still bubbling away. I'll share the picture once I'm ready to reveal the story to you.

Last night, a FB friend posted a pic. I sat and stared at the picture for the longest time. Usually, the stories begin from the female's point of view, but I have a feeling this one is going to be different. The picture caught my eye and there are about 5 different story possibilities running through my head. One will become more pronounced and that will be the man's story. My process is weird, but it is mine, so I trust it.

Natural Born Enemies began with the Celtic Thunder version of "Hallelujah!"

In fact, the entire story was written to the men from Celtic Thunder. There is absolutely no Celtic elements in the story itself, but the music made the characters come to life.

I've got four different stories I'm working on now. One had a Southern Rock soundtrack. Another has a Sinatra, Michael Buble, Chris Botti, and Harry Connick, Jr. soundtrack. Another one is all 80s Love Songs (don't ask because I have no idea where this came from) and my YA story is heavy on Celtic Woman, Celtic Thunder, and other Celtic artists.

My inspirations are just as vast as the stories I write. My Cedar River series may be all shifters, but each one is a person (in my mind) and has a uniqueness that is all their own. Each story comes from a different direction and that is what makes it special.