Inspiration
One of
the most frequent questions writers get is: where
do you get the inspiration for your stories? In general, the simple answer is, all over
the place. The not-so-simple answer is,
it’s an evolving process that is almost impossible to describe or duplicate.
Take
for instance, my story Going After the Heart, which was inspired by a bad dream
I had a couple of years ago about myself and my husband. What started out as jotting down some
therapeutic notes to get over the dream, morphed into a variety of forms that
ended with the version of my book that’s available now. But it was a long multifaceted process that I
couldn’t begin to write down or explain step by step. During the process, it was fascinating to see
how things changed. Some were little
tweaks such as a character’s hair color, while others where large changes that
spanned the entire arc of the story.
Considering
my own experience, I’ve often wondered if other authors have similar
experiences. I know some authors are
much more methodical then me when it comes to plotting out their story and
figures out all the who and what quickly with little deviation from it during
the actual writing process. But still,
there are a large number of books I’d love to know what initially inspired the
story. One that comes to mind is a book
I just finished reading a few days ago, Bet Me, by Jennifer Cruise. (Which I highly recommend by the way if you
haven’t read it already.)
What
about you, any books you’d like to know how they were inspired?
Going After the Heart
by Kristen Beairsto
Contemporary
Romance
Publisher:
Self/Indie
Release
Date: December 18, 2012
Heat
Level: Steamy
Length: 234
pages
Buy Links
Description
Lizzy Bergstrum thought she
finally reached a point in her life when she could honestly say she had it
all. A thriving writing career. A wonderful daughter. And a marriage to the love of her life. But looks can apparently be deceiving because
her husband just walked out on her and their eight year old daughter hates her.
Gavin Bergstrum can’t handle the
direction his life has taken. Not only
did he get laid off from his job, but his wife seems to barely remember he
exists. Convinced he’s tried his best to
change things, he begins to wrestle with the possibility of divorce. But he can’t think straight in the same house
as Lizzy. Hating to leave his daughter,
but needing time to think and come to terms with what he feels he needs to do,
Gavin decides to return to his small home town in Oregon and stay at his family
ranch with his father and brothers.
In shock, Lizzy gives Gavin his
space. But as time passes and he doesn’t
say a word about their marriage, Lizzy decides it’s past time she takes matters
into her own hands. Without a word, she
follows Gavin to Oregon .
Now facing a daughter who blames
her for everything, an irritated husband, and a small town that feeds on the
drama, Lizzy finds herself trying to figure out how to convince Gavin to give
her another chance, teach her daughter it takes two to make a successful
marriage, and overcome her own insecurities – all without compromising who she
is.
Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it
contains adult sexual situations and/or adult language, and may be considered
offensive to some readers.
My 5 Star review can be found HERE
About the Author
In between her to-be-read pile
and trying to bring the characters in her head alive, Kristen spends as much New York sports teams.
As with just about
every other writer on the planet, Kristen grew up an avid reader. She started with young adult before she
technically hit the age range and moved on to sci-fi classics by Isaac Asimov
and Ray Bradbury. At fifteen, her best
friend gave her a book she just had to read! The book was Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts.
Always a sucker for a happy ending, she was a goner and fell in love
with the romance genre. Having started
writing novel length stories at the age of eleven, Kristen’s stories all took a
romantic turn from that point on.
Connect with Kristen
Beairsto
Website: http://www.KristenBeairsto.com
Goodreads: http://www.Goodreads.com/KBeairsto
Excerpt #2
“Here’s
the keys to the cabin. The round one is
to the front and back doors and the square one is for the shed.” Ray’s voice sounded clear and even behind
him.
Turning,
Gavin watched his father hand Lizzy a small set of keys.
“I
had Clare clean it up for you. Like I
said on the phone, it’s not the newest place in the world, but it’s still in
pretty good shape considering its age."
Lizzy
gave his father a small smile as she took the keys from him. “I’m sure it’s great.”
Her
gaze moved to him and resentment swelled watching her smile fade. Although, what did he expect, she hadn’t
smiled at him for months prior to him leaving.
Why would she start now?
But
the indiscernible look settling on Lizzy’s features startled him. After ten years of marriage and five years
together before getting married, Gavin would have bet big money he knew every
single one of his wife’s expressions.
But this one, he realized dumbfounded, he didn’t recognize.
Her
gaze dropped down to Sky. “Come on, Sky,
we’ve got to go up to the cabin to settle in.”
Beside
him, Gavin felt Sky’s shoulders tense.
“No!” She shouted the word venomously. “I don’t want to go with you,” she spat before turning pleading blue eyes up at him. “Dad,
can’t I stay here with you and Papa? I
don’t want to go with her.”
Apparently
he missed the memo about today being Surprise Day, Gavin realized, as he could
only stare at his daughter for a moment, never having seen this side of her
before.
“I
tell you what, little missy, no little girl is welcome in my house that sasses
her mama the way you just did. No matter
what injustice you think she’s handed you, a child never speaks to their parent
that way.” Ray delivered his little
speech with an even look and matching tone.
Sky’s
cheeks turned bright red. Gavin frowned
down at her. “Your grandfather’s right,
you know better than to talk to your mom that way.”
Looking
up to his wife, he arched a brow.
Apparently the statute of limitations for surprises for the day hadn’t been
reached yet, he thought silently in disbelief when Lizzy didn’t scold, or even
comment on, Sky’s behavior.
Rather
than say anything, Lizzy looked away and her back stiffened so much he thought
her spine would snap.
What the hell is going on? His bewilderment
bothered him.
Seeing
Lizzy wouldn’t say anything, Gavin looked back down at Sky. “Honey, since I didn’t know you were coming,
I don’t have anywhere set up for you to sleep.
I’m sleeping on a cot in one of the extra rooms. I’ll try to look at setting something up
tomorrow so you can stay a few nights with me.
How does that sound?”
A
stubborn look Gavin recognized all too easily surfaced on Sky’s face, but she
remained silent, temporarily mollified and nodded. Turning away from him, Sky made her way back
to the car and climbed in without so much as a single glance in her mother’s
direction.
Gavin
returned his gaze back to Lizzy, but she completely ignored him as she turned
to climb back in the car.
That,
at least, he’d grown used to.
Giveaway Info:
Prize is 5 eBook copies (1 each to 5 winners) of
"Going After the Heart" from Kristen Beairsto.
Contest is tour-wide and ends June 16.
Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Link to Schedule:
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