Inspiration from real life ghost hunts

Do you believe in ghosts? Whether you do or don't, would you go on a ghost hunt?

I've been trying to find an active group of paranormal investigators in my area. Perhaps they'll let me join, or, at least, allow me to tag along a few times. Many have disbanded due to the epidemic, but surely there must be people out there like me, eager to explore haunted places. I've made plans twice to meet fellow enthusiasts, but both times, I was ghosted. And not by the spirits!

None of my small group of local friends are interested. Many claim to be too frightened, even if they don't know if they believe in the paranormal. I do believe there are things we can't explain, but I've never had a definite paranormal experience myself.

I get a lot of inspiration from watching ghost hunting shows. The investigators themselves are marvelous characters. Many of them had experiences when they were young which compel them to seek out answers. Of course there is the tension of the investigation. The dark places, weird noises, and flickering shadows. Will something big happen? Or will there be a mundane explanation?

What I especially love are the tales about the locations and the people who lived there. Old asylums, hospitals, museums, manors, mines, and whole towns. There are always layers of stories which spark marvelous ideas in my head. While the ghosts are spooky, it's the real history that is astounding and sometimes immensely disturbing.

I'll keep looking for companions who are brave enough to investigate the unknown. Until then, there are countless paranormal shows for my enjoyment and my muse.

A Writer's Inspiration #shortstories #fantasy #alternatehistory

Writers are often asked where do they get their inspiration. The answer a lot of us give is either "I don't know" or "Everywhere." Vague, I know. We don't mean to be, but sometimes it's hard to nail down the moment inspiration strikes and a character steps forward to begin a story.

I recently have been working on a four-story collection to publish this year titled Folds in Life and Death. The stories take place in an alternate history where some people have the ability to bring origami to life (i.e. paper magics). The unique thing about these stories is I know what inspired them, and I have four anthology calls to thank for the creative spark.

Though I always wanted to write something involving paper magics, I didn't necessarily have a story in mind. We Untethered Realms' people were using the original four elements (earth, air, fire, and water) to create anthologies. The first anthology, Twisted Earths, had been released, and I was considering what to write for Mayhem in the Air. All I knew is I wanted it to involve paper magics. I saw a piece of paper floating in the air. Then, Mayor Alfred Merry stepped out from the shadows. The mayor hated paper magics and wanted to ban them, not because Paperists (paper magic practitioners) could be dangerous, but because his wife, a Paperist, had cheated on him with a man Alfred had trusted. His wife had not only abandoned Alfred, but also their little girl who eventually passed away from cancer. Alfred promised his daughter only her mother would release her soul to the sky, which is the key task for Paperists. This story also brought up a deadly sect of Paperists known as the Ritualists. Alfred created the Futurists, those against paper magics. The players in this new world were set in "Paper Lanterns."

In 2015, the Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) put out a request for alternate history/parallel universe stories, which was titled Parallels: Felix Was Here. I knew I wanted to revisit my paper magics' world, but what story to write? I thought about our history, and I remembered something I read as a child about the Curse of Tippecanoe, which stated every President elected in a "---0" year would die. In our universe, Reagan survived the curse, but in my paper magics' world, he wasn't so lucky. So what would that mean for the President elected in 2000? Allyson Moore, a Paperist and the President's sister, is just about to find out in "Folds in Life and Death."

I wrote "Folds in Life and Death" for the IWSG anthology, but if it hadn't been selected, I was going to use it for UR's Spirits in the Water. So I still had a new story idea to discover for our fourth Elements of Untethered Realms' anthologies. I wanted to revisit the paper magics' world. In "Paper Lanterns," I wrote from the point of view of a Futurist. From "Folds in Life and Death," Allyson is a Paperist. Now, I wanted to write from the point of view from a budding Ritualist. What would inspire a person to join what most of the world thinks of as a terrorist organization? Aimee Washington helped me understand in "The Folding Point."

Last year, IWSG had a call for YA Romance with a masquerade theme. I wanted to write from the point of view of an autistic, like me. Willow bloomed before me, but I unfortunately didn't complete her story in time for the anthology. I wasn't willing to give up on her, so I inserted her into my paper magics' world. She is a regular ol' human who hasn't yet taken sides when it comes to Futurists, Paperists, and Ritualists. She's just a girl in love with her best male friend. A girl who obsesses over theater and history and admires the paper magics' her love interest can create. Willow's story is "Paper Faces," and it rounds out the collection Folds in Life and Death.

I'd hoped to have published Folds in Life and Death by now, but I'm still writing "Paper Faces." The collection will be published soon, though. March or April. *crosses fingers*

If you're a writer, where has inspiration led you? Readers, I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse behind the scenes.

Weather Inspiration

Speculative fiction takes a lot of inspiration from what-ifs. What if aliens landed in the middle of the Super Bowl? What if a giant serpent really lived in the ocean? What if robots rose up against the human race?

Those what-ifs stretch the imagination, but there are every day things that spark ideas and generate new worlds. One of those things is the weather. That ever-changing, difficult to predict, mighty force. What makes it more ominous is that there is little we can do about it.

We've had no snow this winter where I live. It's been so warm, previous records have been broken on a weekly basis. What if this continues? Or accelerates? We now have rattlesnakes in the area and brown recluse spiders. People have died from bites. If the warming trend continues, we'll have even more poisonous critters moving up.

With the bouncing temperatures not being too cold or summer hot, it's the perfect environment for viruses. So many folks have been sick and hospitalized recently. What if a virus gains strength in these temperatures? What if it mutates?

I have friends in the southern hemisphere experiencing a brutally hot summer. Crops have dried up, and there's been several power outages. What if the temperature continues to rise? How hot will it have to be before people won't go outside anymore? How will we adapt then?

Some days I dream about winters like I had when I was a child. So much wonderful snow. I've never experienced a storm that kept us inside longer than a day, but the cold can be just as vicious as the heat. What if we were thrown into another ice age? What would our lives be like then?

What are some of your favorites stories that played off the what-ifs from the weather?

Hekate's torchbearer and a muddy prophet

We've heard all about the drama between the Greek gods. Who the cheaters were, who got turned into what an animal, and who tricked his fellows into doing something idiotic. I've always been fascinated by the myths, but I wondered about all the poor souls we never heard about. Ones with stories just as enthralling and suspenseful.

"The Torchbearer" was inspired by a loyal lampade named Desma. A what, you ask? Lampades are the nymphs of the Underworld gifted to Hekate by Zeus for her help in the Titanomachy. They accompany Hekate on her journeys and carry torches with flames which can drive mortals mad.

Desma's story takes place in the shadow of Persephone's kidnapping by Hades. You know the one, how Persephone became the Queen of the Underworld? Well, what if there was a chance that it could have been avoided? It's that possibility which drove me to write this mournful tale.

Hekate commands Desma to visit a handsome prophet at a crossroads and listen to his words. The Fates have a sense of humor in that his foretelling is spaced out over six nights. Desma must keep returning to the crossroads, and each time, she finds the prophet closer to death.

With Demeter's neglect of the land and the chaos of the Underworld, it is a simple torchbearer and a muddy prophet who can stop it all. I wanted to know what happened. And I hope you do too.

Did he think me hollow, an empty illusion, like my torch's fire seemed to me?

When Reading Books on #Writing and #Marketing

It's important for authors to read books on the craft and marketing and how to stay sane, or at least making it look like you're sane so they don't take away your computer, pens, and paper.

Sometimes we'll come across a book that will simultaneously light a bonfire of inspiration and make us bang our heads on the desk for doing it all wrong. Books like this are priceless. Sure, they might momentarily derail us from our goal of appearing sane, but this wicked tug-of-war with your writer's soul is a great teaching moment.

Here are four things to remember when reading books on writing and marketing:

1) There is no one right way for everyone. This is vital to remember. I'm sure you've heard every writer's journey is different. Prepare yourself, because no matter how frustrating it might be, it's true. Pantser or plotter? Whatever works best for you, or rather, for your muse. Twitter or Facebook? Hey, maybe you don't need either one. There is no magic formula for success. You just have to try everything.

2) Everything? Okay, you don't have to do it all, but it helps to try new things. This is why you must know your personal limits. What are you willing to write? Some folks won't venture into R-rated works or write stories about horses, and most people will refuse to combine the two. How much time and money can you devote to marketing? A lot of us have no money to spare. Bills must be paid. So when someone declares book ads are the only way to go, you find a different way that works for you.

3) Let the book inspire you. Get excited, talk about it, and let it propel you forward to being a better writer. Even if you don't learn anything new from the author, you still can be roused to greater heights, and that in itself is valuable.

4) Let the book open your eyes to where you're going wrong. Sometimes we can be stubborn about things. We don't want to change. This could be what's holding you back. It might send you into a wailing fit or make you want to throw your manuscript into the mouth of the Kraken, but don't do it. You can save yourself by trying something new. It might be scary and/or difficult, and it might not even work, but breaking away from stale old habits will help in the long run.

We need these books to keep learning and improving. A good writer is forever bettering herself. Even if you only find one or two nuggets of information in a book that will help you, it is one or two pieces of knowledge you didn't have before. Keep reading and you'll find more. Eventually you'll have all the components for your own magic formula.

What books on writing and marketing have inspired you lately?

Furry Muses

Some tackle us the moment we walk through the door from a long day at the working gig. Some provide a watchful eye on our writing productivity lazily swinging their tails to and fro while resting on top of the printer. Others insist on wording our sentences for us. Things like "shdoifhq9283yr8whetohfajsud" don't translate so well. But they are there for us. Loving on us in the middle of our doubts. Inspiring us with their antics. They are our Furry Muses.

* * * * *

Christine Rains

Thunder is the lord of his castle. Regal and handsome, he looks down upon us and sees all. He inspires my disinterested aristocrats, my scheming thieves, and my devious villains. Of course, Thunder is just over a year old, not much more than a kitten. He runs into things, swats at dust bunnies, and recently nearly broke a leg doing a daredevil tackle move on his cat tree. He is a young hero in the making. Not at all wise, but silly and charming. He might be able to pull off a graceful leap, but he's just as likely to tumble. He's smart enough to open cupboards and flush the toilet, but he'd be the one to try to make friends with the monster under the bed. And I think if anyone could, he'd be able to do it.

* * * * *

Angela Brown

Molly is my Tiny Terror. She's a Chihuahua mixed with a ball of energy, an attention-grabber, and will have her body close to yours...only after she's sniffed you, barked at your ankles, and let you know that this is her territory and me and Chipmunk are her humans to protect. Then she's putty in your hands.

It can be interesting getting the writing in, especially if I'm chilling in my bed. She wants to be right there in my lap. Which can be hard since that's where I need my laptop. But we tend to reach a compromise after a few hugs and she settles for being by my side. At two years old, fourteen in dog years, she keeps me on my toes about the angst of youth and the subtle ways in which we all yearn to be seen, heard, and loved.

* * * * *

River Fairchild

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My ideal imaginary cat would be fierce-looking, ready to attack anyone I didn't like with his ability to breathe dragon fire. He would be a lovable furball around me, though, curling up in my lap anytime I wanted attention. He wouldn't leave hair on my clothes or cough up hair balls. Alas, it's the other way around, but he would go on letting me believe in my delusion of the chain of command. 

* * * * *

M. Pax

Karenina (Nini, the seal point) and Makayla (Kayla B, the blue point) moved in with me when they were 7 weeks old in January 1997. We lost dear Nini this past July, but Makayla recently celebrated her 19th birthday. With catnip, of course.  Nini was always the happiest of kitties, bouncing into rooms with joy, loving to play and snuggle up until her final days. She was so full of life and often hung out on the corner of my desk. From her, I learned to read well for a crowd. If I wasn't animated enough, she 'd go to sleep. If I was animated, she'd listen intently. Kayla is starting to lose her sight, but she's happy enough. Somehow we find ways to spoil her worse by the day. She usually hangs out behind me (she is right now) on an ottoman. She used to toss puffy balls into the air and flip around to catch them. We all spent many hours together playing ribbon and blanket monster. Makayla especially loves to be flown around the house. The two of them made me laugh daily. There is much Kayla doesn't do anymore because of her age, but she still makes me smile every day. Thank you, Kayla. Thank you, Nini. We miss you, Nini. Every day.

* * * * *

Cherie Reich

Cinderella "Relli" (pictured left) appeared at our house when she was around four weeks old. Of her litter, she was the only one we kept. I couldn't birth a daughter more like me than Relli. We have our anxiety issues and weird behavior, but we're the sweetest things when we feel comfortable with someone. Relli teaches me it's okay if I don't have my characters figured out in the first draft. I'll get to know them more each time we meet. For a muse, she says I need to put the laptop away. It's blocking the best seat in the house.

We rescued Romeo (pictured right) when he was around three weeks old. His mother had either died or abandoned him, and his siblings died in a fire. The poor little kitten was singed and reeked of smoke and oil, but he promptly adopted me as his mommy. Romeo reminds me I should speak up more, even though I'm typically rather quite--until I become comfortable around you. He's my shadow chaser. We're an adorable awkward pair.

* * * * *

Catherine Stine

Bo, otherwise known as Heironymus Redneck Bosch is actually my older son's dog, but I "babysit" him a lot. He's half King Cavalier and half Cocker Spaniel. Here he is eyeing our pool game, and angling on how to get a play in. 

I can get writing done if I give him a nice pig ear or chew bone. Otherwise, he tries to distract me. But he is a great lapdog, so on cold winter nights he functions well as a heating pad while I watch TV.

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Meradeth Houston

Hi! This is my first post as part of this awesome group, so it's even better to get to share a bit about my little Kate :) She's a rescue from California and is now learning how to love the snow in Montana with me. I think she's part rat terrier, with probably some chihuahua thrown in for good measure. 

She's quite the attention hog, to be honest, and gets mad when I start typing and not paying attention to her. But if I'm lucky, and can wear her own with a long walk and romp with her doggie friend around the corner, she curls up next to me and lets me tap away on my keyboard. She'd very sweet, super protective, and loves nothing more than to be on my lap getting a belly rub. I love this little pup!

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Julie Flanders

Clancy (the dog) and Nate (the cat) are my furry babies. They are both 8 years old and were born about a month apart in the fall of 2007. I adopted Nate from an animal shelter in January, 2008 and brought Clancy home from a local dog rescue on Labor Day weekend of the same year. I couldn't have picked better companions! They were both featured in my first book Polar Night when I named a character Nate Clancy. I couldn't resist. :)

My favorite writing space is my couch and as you can see Clancy and Nate are also fans of this piece of furniture. I'm lucky they are willing to share it with me. I stretch out with my laptop on my legs and these two take their respective spots on the cushions. I've spent many happy writing days with these guys and I look forward to many more.

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Gwen Gardner

This is Koko and Tuffy. They are pitt-mix and perhaps queensland heeler. They are very talented at laying around, as you can see. But they're very smart! Their vocabulary is extensive so we've taken to spelling things we don't want them to understand--they're beginning to learn to spell, so I don't know what we're gonna do.

Koko "Puff" and Tuffy are brother and sister (littermates) and turned ten years old last summer. Koko, on the left, rules the roost. Tuffy is the strong silent type and always defers to her, even though he's bigger and stronger than she is. He even attacked a chainsaw to save his daddy once when he was one year old (see that white spot above his lip?), but he would never face down the fearsome Koko. She's way tougher than some ol' chainsaw.

They're both known to lend a paw when I'm trying to work. One time, Koko wrote forty-three pages before I noticed.

* * * * *

Jeff Chapman

Smokey is a rescue cat. My family rescued her when she showed up in our driveway one September Saturday afternoon and tried to come in the breezeway. She was meowing, begging for some TLC, and so friendly. For a few weeks we had been seeing this small gray cat around the neighborhood, mostly at night or at a distance. Try to judge the details of a gray cat in the dark. Today she was in front of us. No doubt that this dirty, bag of bones was sick and starving. She ate some dry and canned cat food as if she hadn't eaten in months, which was probably close to the truth. After a trip to the emergency vet, we learned that she was dehydrated, had no microchip, no terminal illnesses, no front claws, two missing canines, millions of fleas, and two infections: upper respiratory and eye. For the next two months, Smokey lived in our breezeway while we nursed her back to health with antibiotics, regular meals, and a safe place to sleep. We also learned that Smokey is deaf, probably from a horrid case of ear mites.

When I needed a model for an ancient cat for a novel in progress, I looked no further than Smokey. This cat may have been around the block a few too many times, but she now has a home and a place in literature.

* * * * *

Ellie Garratt

This was my late father-in-law's dog, Sam. Whenever he went on holiday, Sam became my dog. He wasn't the brightest dog I've known. Jack Russells are stubborn and difficult to train, and he always lived up to that reputation. You couldn't play fetch or teach him tricks. However, he never left my side and was quick to move into guard mode whenever we were approached by a not-so-friendly dog. I loved taking him on long walks, and not just for the fresh air and exercise. It was because while walking, I could switch off from all concerns and think about whatever writing project I was working on. There were no distractions other than keeping an eye on Sam, which meant my creative side could take over. I had numerous story ideas and plot breakthroughs on those long walks.

I wish I could have my own Sam now. Unfortunately, working long hours prohibits it. For now, I'll dream of a day when I can have another Sam in my life. I hope I don't have to wait long.

Music - A Universal Language

Observations of things around us, a quirky saying by a friend or a stranger in passing, a movie or television show: just some of the things that can invigorate and inspire ideas that turn into stories and novels.

Music is also something to consider.

I was inspired by Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" for my 2012 April blogging challenge. It was a blog opera that turned into Neverlove, the first novel in my Shadow Jumpers trilogy.

Musical numbers are a staple part of most, if not all, Disney princess movies (I swooned to "Ma Belle Evangeline" in The Princess and the Frog and will always adore "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast). And Star Wars is certainly known for some epic compositions.

Some of the music that can be heard in the background during Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Maul battle scene *chills*

So what music, soundtrack, singers or groups do you find as musical inspiration, whether it's for writing or the perfect background for a relaxing - or exciting - read?

What inspires a person to write? Second passions & vision

I recently took pictures of my Catskills painting studio, where I often go to write. Since many of us have a second passion that helps fuel our writing, I thought I'd give you a glimpse into my second love--painting. Which, by the way, I haven't done since I decided to write full time. I knew that I needed to focus on one thing--the writing--to see it through to completion. And I'd already had an active painting career. A pictorial tour:

My writing table, with my paintings around it

My bird liquor bottle collection

My painting table

My painting of Castro & Khrushchev, from an actual event,
where they stayed at a hotel in Harlem and roasted a chicken
in their room during a UN conference!

One of my painted dreamscapes

Desk wall with my small grasshopper painting-the mom is
feeding the baby grasshoppers coke syrup. My son drew
the graffiti BARN sign for me

My pig signage collection, with a pirate cup
and a skeleton on a motorcycle

paint table with my Tesla painting (incomplete)

My latest novella, Model Position, makes use of my years as an artist. It's all about Sienna, an MFA painting student who's finding her way in the big, bad world. The dreamscape painting above is the kind of vision that relates to my passion for speculative fiction. Worlds not quite in ours, but in our alternate realities, in our hearts. The background for the Nikola Tesla work also has that quality.
Painting and writing are so intertwined, at least for me. My Reds creatures in Ruby's Fire and all of the weird hybrid plants came from the same place in me as my dreamscapes.

What about you? What's your special writing place like? Your secret virtual studio? Your second passion that fires up your first?  

Pinterest: A World of Pure Imagination

Social media is both a writer's tool and a hindrance. We use Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and many others forms to communicate with our readers and fellow writers. But it comes with a price - time. If you're not careful, hours can be lost reading status feeds and twitter streams. For these very reasons, I resisted joining Pinterest until a couple of weeks ago. Boy am I glad I finally did join, and let me share with you why I feel that way.

• Pinterest is quick and easy to set up. A picture and couple of lines for a bio, and you're away. 
• There are no status updates, friends requests, messages, game requests you have no interest in, adverts, or a host of other time-sucking activities associated with some other forms of social media.
• You simply set up 'boards' (secret or public) that you pin inspirational pictures to. You can find these pictures by searching Pinterest, following other people or boards, or pinning from the web. There's a handy Pin option you can download to your toolbar. 
• Boards can be created to inspire a particular project you're working, form a working storyboard, or give your readers a visual teaser of the stories you have or are creating.
• Best of all, it's free.

For me, the most important thing about Pinterest is being able to visualize the world I'm creating through art. It provides me with a much needed shot of inspiration without draining to much of my time. Here's the board I've started, with little effort, for the science fiction series I'm writing.




The words of a rather famous song sum up how I feel about Pinterest:

Come with me and you'll see

In a world of pure imagination

Take a look and you'll see

Into your imagination

So, have you discovered Pinterest yet? Have I tempted you to take a look?