**Originally posted athttp://lachesispublishing.com/?p=3338
Our guest blog today is from Lachesis Author Kim Baccellia. Kim writes YA paranormal with a mixture of humor, sass, and spookiness. Her book Crossed Out (book 1 in a series) follows a teenage girl who can see dead people and has to get them to cross over. But an evil force is trying to stop her from doing this.
Our ongoing topic is: what inspires your writing? Over to you Kim . . .
Inspiration for me really depends on what I’m working on at that time. For my YA paranormal Crossed Out, I watched a lot of TV shows like Joan of Arcadia, Dead like Me, Medium, and Ghost Whisperer. My favorite TV series had to be Joan of Arcadia as I loved the idea of God speaking to a teen through other people. Stephanie shared the same conflicts and struggles of Joan whenever she had to go on a heavenly quest.
** Joan of Arcadia photo courtesy of TvTropes.org
When I start a project, I love to totally get involved. I even went to a psychic or two to get a real feel for the paranormal world. I admit I’m a huge sucker for anything that deals with the paranormal. I blame my love on my mother who used to write down the horoscope signs of her Sunday school kids on this huge bulletin board in order to get a real sense of their personalities. **Yes, this didn’t go over too well with the Mormon community but that only encouraged me to read up on astrology. As a teen I would buy monthly horoscope books to find out what ‘might’ be my own path. I used my findings to put a spin on a horoscope column in my middle school paper. It was a hit! Oh, if anyone is curious, my sign is Aquarius.
Music is a huge part of my writing process. For Crossed Out, I listened to lots of Linkin Park. The song, ‘What I’ve Done’, is Stephanie’s theme song and reflects her struggles/conflicts of her calling as a Rescuer—someone who helps murdered teens cross to the Other side. ‘Numb’ is another song that reflects how Stephanie feels toward her mother’s secrets and expectations of her. To get into Dylan’s head I listened to lots of Christian Pop groups including Casting Crowns. The song I listened to during his confrontation with Mark in the basement of a coffee house was ‘Set Me Free’. At first Dylan has a hard time accepting the idea that someone like Stephanie can interfere with the Other Side. **My own childhood experiences with the church warnings about not messing with the paranormal are seen through Dylan’s eyes.
I also love to use Pinterest to post photos of characters, scenery, and other fun things. You can follow me there.
In my current project, a New Adult multicultural thriller, I have photos of my Latina protagonist and her love interests set in a harsh desert backdrop. I purchased iStock photos to use on my Pinterest boards.
My other project takes place in Paris with a fifteen-year-old Audrey Hepburnolic who finds herself a goddess magnet, but not in a good way. This is the second book in my goddess series. The photo on the right is one pic that I use for my inspiration.
Image courtesy Istock.com
Here’s a glimpse at my work station:
Yes, and I can’t write unless I have one of their yummy drinks. My all-time favorites have to be any of their ice tea lattes with sugar-free chocolate powder. Right now I love their Blueberry Pomegranate ice tea latte with a shot of espresso.
Books inspire me too. I seriously get withdrawal pains if I don’t have a book or two close at hand. I love to do research for all of my novels. For Crossed Out I read One Last Time by psychic John Edward.
And another huge plus for doing research has to be the Internet. I love Google Earth as it takes me to places I otherwise couldn’t visit. I’m currently exploring the streets of Paris!
Inspiration doesn’t stop there. I’ve been known to use other artist’s talents
Image courtesy artist Liz Jones
such as this painting done by the very talented Liz Jones! It shows characters from my novels Earrings of Ixtumea, a YA multicultural fantasy, and Crossed Out. On the bottom right hand corner of the painting are illustrations of Stephanie with her cross talisman and Dylan with his trusted surfboard.
Finally a big shout out to my local chapter of the RWA (Romance Writers of America) OCC RWA that helps inspire me to continue writing by being very supportive and encouraging. I love the events. Here I am getting into the Mardi gras spirit at the last RWA Birthday Bash:
Inspiration can come to me in many different mediums and places. Instead of waiting for the so-called Muse to work magic, I go out and find it. You never know when a song, movie, book, or even tea latte might get the creative juices flowing! And dark chocolate doesn’t hurt either!
You make writing sound like so much fun, Kim. I love to research too and always find great stuff about not only the subject I'm looking for but others as well.. The paranormal fascinates me. I went to a ghost conference once and these people were serious. They had videos and sounds of ghost sightings. Really exciting. A neat mask too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bev! I've always been fascinated with the paranormal and ghosts! Never been to a ghost conference though I have been to some places where others shared their own paranormal experiences.
ReplyDelete