Fire Star Press: inspirational romance

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Where Does Inspiration Come From?

I'm old enough to remember television before "reality tv" became a thing. I was underwhelmed when the first reality shows came out. I didn't understand the fascination and swore I would never watch them. As I have done so many times before, I had to eat my words.

There are several reality shows that I enjoy, among them: Chopped, Project Runway, and Ink Master. It took me a while to realize that the shows I like have certain traits in common: competition and creativity. I enjoy watching various creative processes from the beginning to end. Give the contestants, whether they are chefs, fashion designers, or tattoo artists, the same challenge and each one will have a different interpretation and the end results will be completely different. Why? Because each artist is an individual with different experiences and different thought processes.

Image courtesy of Depositphotos.com

It's the same with writers. Each of us sees the world through different eyes and will be inspired by different things. Romances in particular seem to get a bad rap. Many people think they are all the same. I beg to differ. Each author approaches their stories from their unique perspective.

What inspires me? All sorts of things. My Kudzu Korners series was inspired by a rescue cat named Zombie.

I was also inspired by the story of Melissa Dohme, a domestic abuse survivor who married one of the EMTs who rescued her. The next installment in my Kudzu Korners series, Dances with Werewolves, features a Sydney, a heroine who learns to love after domestic abuse. I didn't specifically have Melissa's story in mind as the when fleshing out Sydney but I know that it was there in the back of my mind as I did.

My most recent inspiration comes from a video I saw on Facebook. You can view it HERE. There will be a scene loosely based on this video in an upcoming inspirational romance titled Choosing Love.

What inspires you?

Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/isabellanorse

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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

What's Next?

Last month I mentioned my plan to use National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November to pound out a rough draft for my first inspirational romance, Finding Faith. I guess the other story ideas in my head were listening in and at least one of them, Blood Lines (a fantasy romance), got jealous.

Like most writers I have dozens of story ideas swirling around in my brain. Not all ideas will become books. Some ideas have already been absorbed into other story lines, some just don't have enough substance - at least not yet - to make it on their own. Prioritizing what I plan to work on next has never really been an issue. I pick a project and work on it until completion making brief detours along the way to make notes on which ever story is threatening to hold is breath until it turns blue in order to get my attention. Recently, Blood Lines has become that whiny child. (Mommommommommom. Look at me mom! Dances with Werewolves is your favorite; you never pay me any attention.)

So now, instead of knowing what story I'm going to be working on next month I find myself staring at two very different story ideas that I love in different ways. The facts:

Finding Faith will be the first story in a three-book series.

Blood Lines is a stand-alone - at least for now. There is a minor character that may demand her own story at some point.

I suspect that Finding Faith and its sister books will be somewhat emotionally draining to write. These three books will have the most of "me" in them by far.

Blood Lines calls to me because of its sense of humor and pop culture references. It also has the type of cocky hero that always wins my heart in books and video games.

So now, at the last minute, I'm kind of changing my mind and leaning toward working on Blood Lines. The past couple of years have been an emotional roller coaster and I think it would be a blast - and maybe even a little healing - to write something that's just fun.