Vampire Hunter Inspiration at Home #writetip

Today I am inspired to show where some of my writer inspiration comes from. I live a very self-contained life at the moment while I nurture two young children and support my husband through his career development. Therefore, I haven't travelled very far recently, except in my imagination. Ah yes, the imagination... my old friend never deserts me!

Anyway, back to the subject. Last year I began writing a novel about a vampire hunter who lives on a canal boat and travels the UK waterways, working as a university lecturer by day, and hunting vampires by night (or during her spare time... my vampires are awake all day and can move around in sunlight). Strange idea, right? Well, that's my story, it caught my imagination, and I will write it!

The novel has stalled a little admittedly, and now I am feeling the need to include themes of angels and demons, and maybe a few reincarnation/past life experiences as well... it could get complicated! Ultimately, this whole story was inspired by one early  morning walk along my local canal, on my way home from the shops. I walked past a moored boat and could smell bacon cooking. I am vegetarian, but the smell still appealed to me. Suddenly, my vampire hunter appeared, and she has a story to tell...

What random, and seemingly small events, have inspired your stories recently? Please share!

Planning and Writing my Books

My book writing schedule is at a funny stage right now. I am awaiting the public release of my third adult paranormal romance novel Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel). This is the third in a series that I affectionately call the Redcliffe novels, and it concludes the trilogy of how we met our heroine Jessica Stone and the insane supernatural love triangle that she fell into.

The story doesn’t end there, however. Love Redeems finishes on yet another cliffhanger. I won’t give it away, but suffice to say that the Redcliffe werewolf pack are in need of support and their alpha is broken hearted. I have to write book 4, not only because the series demands it, but because these characters are real people to me, and I hope they are real to a lot of other people who read my stories. So I am currently planning Redcliffe book 4 in my head, but have yet to begin writing it on the computer.

In the meantime I stepped away from Redcliffe to try something else. For NaNoWriMo 2012 I wrote a story about a vampire in Blackpool and what happened when she met a vampire hunter. I quite liked that story, and it is now awaiting editing ready for submission to publishers and/or agents. I then got the urge to begin writing another story about a vampire hunter who lives on a canal boat. That one came to me while I was out walking one day, ironically enough next to our local canal!

Well, this story is faltering. My heroine,  Dr Jennifer Worthington, has secrets to uncover but they are not coming out quite in the way I expected. I am writing this story in the third person, whereas the Redcliffe novels are in the first person and told by Jessica Stone. My muse has decided that this new vampire hunter story needs to include something about angels and demons. I have yet to write them properly into the story, and that is where I am faltering. Still, it is a challenge and I will not be defeated. No matter how long it takes, I will complete this story. But I might venture back into Redcliffe before then, because that is so much easier and more natural for me…