What Ever Gave You That Idea?

I'm still giddy over my Team Patriots win, that's why this post is late (plus I had to clean up after the party).

When I do author panels, or meet readers at signing events, I get asked, "How did you come up with the idea for your novel?"


For Blonde OPS, our editors at St. Martin's, Peter Joseph and Kat Brzozowski had the original idea of a 16-year-old hacker girl who goes to Rome, works on a fashion magazine, thwarts an attempt on the First Lady's life. They'd read Sirenz and liked our style. We wrote several drafts, filling in characters, plot, and details, and they offered us a contract.

Sirenz is a long way off from how it originally started... as a vampire book. With the success of books like Vampire Academy and Twilight, Natalie and I figured we could write a funny vampire book. But then we saw how many vampire books there were. And the Percy Jackson series was so popular... We decided to do a Greek mythology book for girls, only we didn't want to be similar to Percy. So we chose to focus on sirens. Of course a number of the Greek gods had to saunter through the story.

Which left us with plenty of opportunities to bring the two main characters, Meg and Shar, back. And, being that he was such a hit, Hades, the Underworld bad boy delish, was central to the plot again.

Now that I'm focusing on my solo novels, I can tell you my ideas come from a lot of places. For my sci fi novel, Lethal Dose, I watched a Discovery Channel special about space travel and the possibility of humans being able to live on other planets which intrigued me. Then I saw another program about a murderous poisoner. My devious mind put them together. (Sorry, no cover yet- I'm in the midst of revisions for my agent. Stay tuned.)

Last month I sent a my agent a middle grade manuscript based on Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. (Sorry, I can't give any more details and I don't have a cover yet...). I got the idea thinking about all the popular books that were mashups or 'rethinks' of popular stories, like Wicked and Dorothy Must Die for the Wizard of Oz. Or Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies. Or Cinder for Cinderella. I browsed through my library and wondered, which one hasn't been done...?

My two year project is another middle grade novel, but this one is historical (hence the 2 year timeline- research). It's set in 1937, at the Berlin Zoo. I saw a program on the History Channel about one of the many disturbing programs the Third Reich instituted involving pushing science past then currents limits for nefarious purposes. (I love that word and never get to use it.) Of course I can't tell you more because that would give away my twist. "Truth is stranger than fiction" is a phrase I've come to endorse, so I watch scientific, historical, and technical shows. (I can fix a lot of stuff.)

Dear to my heart is a faery story (yeah, I know, there are a lot of faery stories out there), but I like mine because it deals with murder, the Mafia, art forgeries, angry fae kings, and a conniving little backstabber out to make trouble for my main character, Breena. This idea came from... I don't remember because I've been working on this story for so many years. (I refuse to give up on it.)

There is a rough manuscript about a girl who gets a heart transplant and wakes up so very different from the operation. That idea came from an article I read in Reader's Digest about heart transplants and how one woman emerged changed more than just physically. (There's no magic or super powers involved.)

I can walk down a street and see a couple arguing--and make a story around them. I got an idea for a horror novel from watching my cat. Other inspirations? A news story about a runaway. Driving in my car and passing a twisty, unkempt street. Walking in the woods on a snowy day and seeing footprints wander off... So many things spark story ideas that I wish I had time to write them all. (Well, I would if I could just write them and not have to revise, revisit, rework them.)

So if you're stuck for an idea, watch a show that normally you wouldn't- Underground Cities. Biography Channel. Foreign news. Muscle car fix ups. Hoarders. Explore a road you've never been down (you have GPS, so don't sweat it; just get out before dark.) Rummage through an antique store and imagine the history of weird and wonderful things. Visit a hospital/nursing home and listen to people's stories. Make your worst nightmare come true. Trace your genealogy. Take two unrelated things, like a sock without a mate and the squirrel in a tree and think how they ended up together in the neighbor's yard. Harvest your dreams, especially the weird ones. Sniff your grandmother's favorite perform. Listen to a symphony you're unfamiliar with. Taste a food that grosses you out. Feel the softness of a milkweed seed.

Ideas are all around you; use your senses and your imagination. You can find a story.

Char

And introducing....

Busy Week! I'm hopping from Anabelle Bryant's blog to here, then over to- well, you'll see.

While Anabelle and I have never met in person (yet!) we've gotten to know each other over Facebook (isn't it amazing how many people you can 'know' just through FB?). We're writers. We encourage each other, post about our lives, talk about books, funny things we see on social media, and writing. Anabelle's new book, To Love A Wicked Scoundrel, is

available now, for those nights when you want a little wicked romance... If you're interested in her book, tell her I sent you! You can find her here.

And now Anabelle wants me to tell her:

What am I working on?

So many things! Blonde OPS did a surprise release at YA Fest, and my co-author Natalie Zaman and I will be doing a ton more signings and appearances. My solo projects include a ghost story called Cold Water (which I think I've sent to my agent. *note to self: check!). I'm finishing up (another!) round of edits on my sci fi novel, Lethal Dose, and just beginning the revisions on my NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) project, called The Meaning of Time which is not time traveling per se, but more time hopping. And there are so many ideas sitting in the pot...

Tell me one element of your current work that you really love:

In Blonde OPS, I love the non-stop adventure. There are very few spots that aren't filled with car-chasing, spy tracking, high fashion wearing, computer hacking, vespa riding, teen flirting action.

What part of the book did you most love to write?

Oooh, hard to decide! I love the scenes with bitchy Candace because she's, well, bitchy and those are the fun characters to write, and I loved writing the spy thriller stuff. After doing research on the Secret Service, and hacking, it was so much fun to write the vespa chase through Rome. I really want to do that!

In your writing process, what was the most difficult?

Blonde OPS was a work-for-hire; the premise and most of the characters were the creation of our editors, Peter Joseph and Kat Brzozowski of St. Martin's. They had a basic idea, but we had to fill in the details, add supporting characters, come up with the computer hacks, lay out the plot. Sometimes, they didn't like what we'd written, so we had to revise, revise, revise. It would have been so much easier if we were psychic and could read minds!

And now I tag Maria Andreu!

Her first book, The Secret Side of Empty, debuted March 11th, and is getting lots of notice.

You can check it out here, along with info about her other writings- magazine articles and essays. I'm looking forward to meeting her personally at the Somerville Street Fair, where we have an author's booth. If you're in Central NJ, stop by to meet both of us and other great authors, from PB to YA, on June 1st.

Finally, I tag Tori Corn! She, too, will be at the Somerville Street Fair author's booth and I will finally meet her there.

Her latest picture book, Dixie Wants An Allergy, has been getting a few nods of approval. Continue the blog hop here and check out her other works.

And now Jessica Souders! I met Jessica at the Romantic Times convention in Chicago, when her first book, Renegade, debuted. She's sequels and prequels since then- take a peek here and continue the hop to... who knows? But you can guess it'll be to more great authors you should know!

See ya soon!

Char

Deja Vu All Over Again

Today, I'm going to be time efficient (not lazy- I have to run away to the editing cave) and take you to my friend Gae Polisner's blog. I don't want to give any spoilers away so I won't say anything other than ask a question:

Do you believe in reincarnation?

Whether you're a writer, film maker, poet, genealogist, or simply curious, sometimes things just seem too...coincidental.

It's an intriguing question that has fascinated people for centuries with no definitive answer. But Natalie Zaman and I give our take on it.

Gae's blog

And if this question piques your interest, check out Gae's new book, The Summer of Letting Go. (All her information is available on her blogsite or here: The Summer of Letting Go)

So what do you believe?

Char

What I Like About You...

I love to read--romance, humor, fantasy, sci fi, thriller, mystery, non-fic on occasion. In every book there is one element that I just LOVE. (Not "love" but "LOVE") In some books, it's the wit, like in Mary Janice Davidson's Undead series. I was laughing out loud in B&N and got some serious "You need help" looks. JRR Tolkien's sweeping saga, The Lord of The Rings has it all--love, death, good vs. evil, romance, adventure, poetry, magic, dragons; how can you not swoon? I learned to write dialogue from Julie Garwood's snappy romances like Ransom. Almost every book has that one special "What I like LOVE" about you.

The one element that I LOVED in Weather Witch (St. Martin's, June 25th, 2014) by Shannon Delany was... the weather. Seriously. I'm sure there are other books that deal with weather and possibly magic, but weather, magic, and steampunk?

I was graciously allowed to read the ARC of Weather Witch and for some reason the whole premise of a few select people being able to control the weather magically--in a society heading toward serious industrialization--and being ostracized and held prisoner for it--was just way cool. While I love any good fantasy story, I need a break from traditional dragons, elves, witches, and the like. (I know, the title says 'witch' but it's not like the main character knows she's a witch, or practices it, or lives in a family surrounded by witches.) There are no herbs, chants, wands, or eyes of newt associated with this witch, making it fresh. How cool would it be to call down lightning on someone who's done you wrong? (At least enough to scorch their backside...) This fan obsession might be connected to my love of watching storms (I've witnessed a small tornado, several hurricanes, and our house has been hit by lightning 3 times, with me and one of each of my boys in the house. I might have weather issues.).

Weather Witch debuts...tomorrow! So grab a copy--don't wait until the next storm. Check out her website http://www.shannondelany.com/joomla/ for signings, tour info, and such.

(All images, unless my own or otherwise credited, are courtesy of Microsoft Clip Art.)

Char