****
Sometimes you hear about authors who start writing a nice romance and all of a sudden their characters are stumbling over dead bodies. They end up writing a romantic suspense.
I'm kind of like that. My settings tend to morph into something not at all Earthlike--a water world planet with dome cities, or a fantasy Northpole cabin in the woods, or a cozy tree root home, or a nearly deserted space station. Now I have written a couple stories set in a bar in southern California, but in those cases the setting was detailed for me by the Aspen Mountain Press Del Fantasma bible. And then my characters morphed into otherworldly beings--a white tiger shifter and his love interest who sees ghosts and turns into a yeti shifter, or the half human daughter of an ancient god.
I have tried to write a straight contemporary romance story but no matter what I do either sci fi, fantasy or paranormal elements seep in there. I am, at heart, a speculative romance writer. I feel very fortunate that I am writing in the ebook age, when publishers will take chances on unusual speculative elements. Yay e-publishing!
Sometimes I am asked where my ideas come from, and I am not sure. I'm one of those weirdo global-abstract type thinkers and I read a lot. I like paranormal/fantasy/scifi tv and movies, also. I have three teenagers who keep life interesting. My mind is like Jiffy pop, a million things happening at once and then it's done. And often the best ideas come to me when my hands are busy with a visual task that takes no thought like washing dishes by hand, crocheting a known pattern or folding clothes. My solution for writer's block--read a good book or two and clean house.
Sometimes I am asked where my ideas come from, and I am not sure. I'm one of those weirdo global-abstract type thinkers and I read a lot. I like paranormal/fantasy/scifi tv and movies, also. I have three teenagers who keep life interesting. My mind is like Jiffy pop, a million things happening at once and then it's done. And often the best ideas come to me when my hands are busy with a visual task that takes no thought like washing dishes by hand, crocheting a known pattern or folding clothes. My solution for writer's block--read a good book or two and clean house.
I like to write stories of good and decent people in extraordinary circumstances-- people who don't deserve to be stranded in space, or born with the need to suck soul life from others to live.
And I have to write romance. I want everyone to find their true love, to find passion.
My latest release involves and magic weight loss spell, a gorgeous guardian angel and a devious famine demon. Also an angelic realm and a tropical pool. Her Accidental Angel is now for sale at: http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-releases/her-accidental-angel/prod_306.html
Check out my blog (http://melisseaires.blogspot.com/) for my contest! Thanks for having me, Amber.
****
No problemo, Melissa! Good luck on your newest release. Keep us posted!
Thanks so much for coming by Melisse! It was a great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for inviting me! I want to remind readers to make sure and put their email addy in their comments and I'll enter them into my Accidental Angel Drawing!
ReplyDeleteHooray for popcorn brains! I certainly understand where you're coming from - those darn 'realistic' settings just won't stay quite still.
ReplyDeleteJiffy pop analogy is GREAT! I wondered what was wrong with my brain and now I know. LOLL! Fun interview! And I love popcorn. Good luck with the new book!
ReplyDeleteMelisse,
ReplyDeleteI can totally understand where you're coming from. My mind races so many directions at once and only some of those directions pertain to my writing. Great advice for writer's block! That's usually what I do. :)
jessicasubject.writer[at]gmail[dot]com
Thank you Sandra and Pauline for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteJessica, thank you for stopping by. Glad you liked the post.
ReplyDeleteWow. So fun to find a like-minded writer. I think it's much more fun to let the story evolve, even if it is a more chaotic approach. Kudos
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for coming by Ciara! It is nice when you "ping" with another author.
ReplyDelete