The Highwayman by Ali Katz

I love the mountains. We lived in the Sierra just south of Yosemite for twenty years, and I miss them. My father grew up in the Carpathian foothills in a little town in southern Poland, an ancient place with a fascinating history. One of my WIPs, a historical romance, is set in that village.The Highwayman takes place farther south, in the rugged mountains of Transylvania near Dracula's Castle - not a vampire or werewolf in evidence. I traveled via Google Earth for my research. Not enough can be said about the genius behind the program's development. Google Earth is a virtual world tour on your desktop.

What inspires a great story? I asked some fellow authors about their “sudden brilliant and timely ideas.”

Here’s what they said.

Santa's Elf by Qwillia Rain

Santa’s Elf was predicated on the idea of "What if Santa had some naughty thoughts about his Elf?" It grew once I started thinking about how he'd coax the woman he wanted into playing the games he liked. What was even more entertaining for me was the fact that the relationship between Elfina and her mother was inspired by the relationship with my mom. There was never a taboo subject for discussion with Mom. And I always knew she'd back me up in any life path I chose to take. It isn't hard for me to visualize my mom facing down a man the way Eleanor squares off with Dayton at the end of the book. My mom's support and belief in my writing is the reason I dedicated the book to her.

Steal Away by Amber Green

My editor asked if I was interested in a piece for Black History Month.  Yes!  The Harlem Renaissance!  I dug into encyclopedias and magazines of the early 1920s, charting out the conflicts and transitions that form the characters of their times.  But my muse kept nudging me to look at what happened in the hard times, after Wall Street fell.  I hesitated.  Why write about people doomed to Depression?  But then...think of it: however bleak the times, not everything is depressing.  Some spirits can't be crushed.  I played Steal Away over and over, both the version Dr. Reagon sang and the version The Fureys sang.  And the story took shape.

Watch the Hour by J.R.Lindermuth

I grew up in Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal region. Stories of the Molly Maguires, an alleged Irish terrorist organization which was targeted by mine owners as responsible for labor problems, were familiar to me. Those tales were the initial inspiration for my novel Watch The Hour. Research helped fill in the blanks and my imagination did the rest.

An Invitation: Ariel's Pet by Qwillia Rain

An Invitation: Ariel's Pet  was a joint project with my friend and fellow Loose Id, LLC author, Jennifer Cole. While chatting one night via IM (Jen lives in Canada and I'm in North Carolina) Jen told me about a story she had about a pair of friends who trained Dominants and submissives. She knew what she was going to do with one friend; how the man was going to be forced to face his fears because of the machinations of his best friend and the temptation of the woman who owned the eatery he liked. Unfortunately, Jen didn't know what to do with the friend. But I did. In a chat that lasted less than twenty minutes, Alayna Valerian ended up with a little sister who was the chef of the family cafe and the ultimate nemesis for Dane Reese, the well-meaning business partner who puts everything into motion.

“Inspiration: the process of being mentally stimulated to do something, especially something creative.

A sudden brilliant, creative or timely idea.”

Animals by Gemini Judson

I have to admit, Animals was written with a particular guy in mind. He was (is) a fisheries biologist and told me of the beautiful streams he’d studied in remote wilderness areas. A little story bulb flickered. What if...stranded... running through the woods... wouldn’t that heighten all your senses? And add the element of danger with an evil twisted man waving a gun? Jessy evolved as the story did. She originally was a nurse, but morphed into a musician after a few drafts. And Kevin -- he’s a wise-cracking young man I once knew very well. You might say I spent the summer with him one night! I have to say in this case, the characters came first and told me their story.

When inspiration doesn't come, I go halfway to meet it.

~ SIGMUND FREUD

Night Blooming Jasmine by Gemini Judson

The inspiration for this one was simple. The awful man I created in Animals, Red, had to have a history. Why I made Jasmine an addict I cannot say. At first she was just working at the Addiction Recovery Lodge, but she needed more depth. I was timid at first because I didn’t know whether I could create the devastation of addiction fairly. As I researched pieces for the lodge itself, I became more confident I could create Jasmine with the delicacy I needed. And Adam? Yum, he might be a guy I dated in college. Only much sweeter.

Green Grass by Gemini Judson

As much fun as it is to create a

totally new human being, I love

bringing a character from a

previous story to center stage.

This is where Green Grass came

from. More than anything, I

started with a title, and I knew

Kevin Shepherd’s love would be an oddball.

As my critique partner said, I sure know how to create forlorn characters. When we meet Adrian, she is exactly that, with a heart of gold. Her sad home is bleak and brown, but with the fragrance of green grass.

To find out more about the authors and their books, click on the covers.

Once Upon a Mate by Christine Kirchoff, It's actually kind of strange how this book worked out. I was in this funky mood, couldn't sleep and the dog had to go out. It was near midnight and as he went to go do his business I sat on our love seat swing. I didn't fall asleep -- just sort of day dreaming and this entire scene played out in my head. I just stared out into the night sky with the creepy trees around and could imagine 'Avery' though he didn't have a name then, appearing out of the shadows. It was all terribly romantic in my head.

Stray by Ash Penn

Stray was inspired by a song called Sewn, courtesy of British band The Feeling. The song is a few years old now, but when I first heard it the lyrics immediately caught my attention. Here was a man singing about, dare I say it, another man in a way that might be construed as romantic. At least that was my interpretation. To me it was a song about a man falling in love with another against his will. And from there the seed of an idea was sown. One character came to me ready-made straight from the lyrics. Dan was my intended focus, although Terry, my narrator, seems to have stolen some of his thunder somewhere along the ways. 

I had a lot of fun with this book although it was never an easy write. Whenever I got into difficulty though, I’d just listen to Sewn a few times and imagine Terry singing it to his very own Danny boy.

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You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.

~ JACK LONDON

When I'm inspired, I get excited because I can't wait to see what I'll come up with next.                                                   ~ DOLLY PARTON

It is in the midst of the city that one writes the most inspiring pages about the country.                                 ~JULES RENARD