Saturday, August 28, 2010

A Sense of Place

I'm often asked what inspired me to write Nightshade. In the case of this trilogy, the inspiration was Calla, a character whose story had to be told. But this story is something new; I wrote Nightshade between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2008.

Love of writing is something that's been with me much, much longer.When I think about what inspires me to write I always go back to where I'm from. Recently I had the chance to take a trip to my hometown and was reminded once again why I love it.

The South Shore of Lake Superior is exquisite, but remains undiscovered in many ways.
It has a quality of wildness that lends itself to creative sparks.The landscape itself holds secrets, memories, and histories that evoke storytelling.
My writing also thrived because of the unwavering love of my wonderful family (that's my mom watching the island during our ferry ride. Hi Mom. Thanks for being you!!)
Places inspire me, but none quite as much as that very place where it all began.

What inspires you?

2 comments:

  1. I love the starlight-sparkles on the shallow water. Gorgeous photos, and I can totally understand the inspiration. I get inspired on rocky seashores and in deep forests--my two favorite kinds of places.

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  2. EVERYTHING inspires me. Music, places, people-watching, the news...but most often inspiration comes to me when something odd (or not-so-odd) happens and the subsequent what-if/what-next questions start popping in my head.

    Lovely pictures. I too especially like the sun-sparkly shallow water photo.

    ~Lola

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