"How do you stay inspired?" I get this question a lot. Almost as much as I get
asked, โWhere do you get your ideas for a story?"
The questions are closely related. Story ideas are everywhereโ on the news, from
a snippet of conversation I overhearโ you name it.
Inspiration is a little trickierโ more abstract.
Sure, I might watch a YouTube video (hey- itโs research!!) about kangaroos that
will inspire a scene, but true inspiration, the kind that keeps the fire going
though out the entire novel is harder to grabโ and holdโ onto.
The truth is you can't wait for inspiration to strike, you have to sit down and,
as the slogan goes, just do it.
Even writing badly is better than not writing at all.
That's not to say that there are never days of seemingly divine inspiration when
the muse floats into my office on gossamer wings, alights onto my shoulder and
begins whispering in my ear. It happens.
Rarely.
One of my favorite Stephen King quotes is about inspiration. He says, โAmateurs
sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.โ
Not always an easy pill to swallow, but I think itโs true.
Which means the answer to the question is I stay inspired by the thing I want to
be inspired to do: write!
About HORSE OF A DIFFERENT KILLER
Animal behaviorist Grace Wildeโs psychic ability gives her insight into the
minds of all kinds of creatures. If only humans were as easy to readโฆ
Dead men may tell no tales, but they can screw up your life with a few phone
calls. Graceโs abusive ex-brother- in-law, Anthony Ortega, needs her helpโat
least thatโs what he said on the messages he left before his sudden death. Grace
is inclined to let the matter rest in peace, but when her sister is named a
suspect, Grace decides to get to the bottom of the cryptic calls.
Her only lead is Ortegaโs fiancรฉe, who believes that he had arranged to surprise
her with the purchase of a Frisian gelding named Heart. The horse was being
stabled at the R-n-R Ranchโbut was taken in the middle of the night. Now, with
her sister in trouble and a missing horse on her hands, Grace hopes the
information harnessed from her psychic skills will be enough to rein in the killerโฆ
About LAURA MORRIGAN
Spending the first years of her life on a Costa Rican coffee farm blessed
Laura Morrigan with a
fertile imagination and a love for all things wild. Later she became a volunteer
at a local zoo, helping out with everything from โwaste managementโ to teaching
an elephant how to paint. Drawing from her years of experience with both wild
and domestic animals and her passion for detective novels, Laura created the
Call of the Wilde series.
She lives in Florida with her husband and far too many cats.
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