A Writer's Creativity: Out of the Shoebox and Into a Book

Like most authors, I’m often asked how and where I get inspiration for the books I write. I like to think a lot of what I put into my books comes from personal experience. Not so much the steamy love scenes, or otherwise I’d probably still be married. Most often, my character’s personalities and story lines come from somewhere in my past. Usually, the more off beat the better.

The perfect example of using life experience resulted in the first book I ever sold. Many years ago, I worked for a large medical center in the very heart of a big city. One night on my way home I stopped at a red light. A man stepped off the curb and came to stand in front of my car. The neighborhood was dangerous, and I was terrified. I thought, if this man pulls a gun on me, I’m going to run him over right here in the street. No ifs, no ands, no buts! Instead of drawing a real weapon, he whipped open his coat and he was stark naked underneath. I began laughing, so hard in fact I think I insulted him. He got angry, closed his coat and stomped away. That ridiculous incident became the beginning of Courting Trouble, part of the Precious Gems line, from Kensington way back in 1996.

I remember telling that story at a writer’s retreat and one of the ‘younger’ participants bemoaned the fact that she must have led a sheltered life because nothing exciting ever happened to her. As a writer, you should never assume you’re too young to have had a book-worthy experience. On the other hand, don’t be afraid to use the stories handed down over generations as well.

When my mother passed away a few years ago, I was cleaning out her house and found a shoe box filled with what most people would consider junk. Not the writer in me ... the writer saw every item for what it was: a story waiting to be written. From the ten cent card of pearl cluster buttons to the book of ration stamps from WWII, everything screamed RESEARCH ME, PLOT ME, WRITE ABOUT ME! My creative mind just KNEW there was at least a half dozen stories in that one box of junk.

The experiences don’t have to be your own. The next time you’re out of fresh ideas, if you’re lucky enough to still have grandparents, call and ask them to recount one of the silliest, or most dramatic, events of their early lives. Chances are not only will you get a new story idea, but you will have also brightened their day and yours!

Inspiration knows no age and can also come from the young. Such is the case with my most recent release from Decadent Publishing. The idea for The Vessel - my first foray into sci-fi/alien romance - came following an end-of-world movie marathon with one of my grandchildren. The idea of an apocalyptic world where people of different species must learn to coexist for the good of mankind appealed to me. Once I had a handle on the "why" of an alien romance, the rest just fell into place.

A career soldier, Major Liam McGregor has been following strict military orders for over a decade. Considered one of the best by his superiors, it’s not surprising he’s the operative chosen for an assignment that, if successful, could save mankind.

Years earlier, chemical warfare left the women of earth sterile and the population is dwindling fast. The only hope for survival lies in the government scientists’ ability to successfully breed alien females with healthy human males. So far, their attempts have been mediocre at best.

Alora, second daughter of the House of Delawon, is their last hope. A government protectee since her family’s transport crash landed on earth years earlier, she is the last surviving fempod from Tethys, one of Saturn’s habitable moons.

Together Liam and Alora must travel from the government’s safe house in what used to be the state of Colorado to Traverse City, the new capitol of the United Republic. Their route takes them through both safe and hostile territory.

What poses more of a threat? The lawless marauders who’ll stop at nothing to vanquish their prey? Or, the forbidden desires tempting the soldier and the alien princess?

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This is all for now. For the writers out there, keep plotting and writing and searching for that new twist! And, for the reader, keep reading. You are why we do what we do.

Nancy