The Inspired (Part 1?)

I'm bored of talking about myself, so let's talk about other people. Awesome. I asked for input last week after my own little venture into character/place inspiration, and a surprising amount of readers and writers had posts for me to read, said they would write one in the future, emailed, tweeted, etc. Today I'm going to collect the first couple -- the ones that were ready to go. I'll do it again in a month or two when some of the people in brain recovery and/or still searching for theirs have em. Hell maybe it'll be a regular thing.

So, before I do this, I want to point out that I am an equal opportunity romance reader: historical, queer, straight/cis, menage, erotic, unfulfilled, steampunk, scifi, smut, humor, even angsty bloody teardrop emo vampire romance -- okay, I'm more likely to pick up something with a historical or speculative element than a contemporary, but that's just cuz I'm an unabashed genre nerd. So with that disclaimer in place, check these out:

Kirsty Logan. Kirsty writes incredible things -- she writes about all sorts of things, but she hits you in the heart. I first got to meet her when she did a... sort of supershort epistolary lesbian vampire erotica piece (complete with beautiful Abigail Larson catalogue illustrations!) at The Red Penny Papers: Pullen & Bumber's Catalogue of Particulars.

Kirsty does a series on her blog called Thievery about her inspirations -- and I can't believe I forgot this, because I distinctly recall reading the "Girl A" piece about halfway down the first page right now not long after I got to work with her at RPP and falling in love with it. The most recent entry is one about her award-winning story "Underskirts", the lovely Susie, and the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. Please to read it here, because it's fabulous.

Belinda McBride. Belinda is a busy, busy woman, if you haven't noticed. She's just had Blacque/Bleu out in August (this is in my basket already, btw), and this Tuesday saw the release of When I Fall, the sequel to An Uncommon Whore. (Link to the series page, there.) Yeah, I know, right -- and that's just the really recent stuff. So you know she's got some serious head voices going on. 

She was kind enough, in the middle of this whirlwind of awesome, to send me a link to this post: Thursday at the Tire Store. In it, she prettily dissects what goes on in her authorbrain on a rainy afternoon, wrapped up in the awkward, quiet, mostly male atmosphere of -- you guessed it. The tire store. It's a fascinating thing... and uh-huh. That's exactly how it works for me, and most writers I know. ('Cept I wouldn't have put it as prettily. Articulation. I need it.)

Speaking of busy, Jessica Freely. Yeah, so, Broken's the next romance I'm reading, if anyone wants to know. I clearly need to add Amaranth & Ash to the list because... guys. Guys, the post she linked me? It could not have been more perfect. It's actually called Rorschach Rocks My World. Bonus read -- totally click through to the article Rorschach Doesn't Do Dirty Communist Liberal Gender article she links from a Bryn Mawr course.

(Okay, I'm gonna talk about myself a little after all: I love Rorschach. So does Sam. Just sayin.)

Louise Bohmer is -- well, like me. Her work is split between horror and erotica, and the wires get crossed now and then. She's working on a collection of her erotica shorts as L. Bohmer right now (yeah, so, I was lucky to get an early look and... yum), and when she unleashes it on the public, I'll be sure and have her stop by to talk about it in depth. Click through to the post for the delicious cover.

She left a telling comment on my original blog post confessing to an affection for cheesy 80s videos... and hair. But if you've seen my playlists, you know I really have no room to mock.

Last month she did a post called Falling In Love With Characters Again -- another one I can't believe I didn't think of instantly, as I made an extensive comment on it at the time. I don't think that before that post I knew she was a fellow pervy horror person, as I'd only read her wonderful horror-sans-perv. Well, as close as it gets, anyhow. ;) Oh, now I know. I adore her story of character rediscovery... and the visuals are nice, too.

And Lisa Kessler. Lisa is a paranormal guru, my friends. I met her via the first Vampire Awareness Month ages ago, and through her seductive combination of vampires and music -- two things that really ought to be together always, but more on that another time -- the Stoker Nominated "Immortal Beloved". (It's a two-parter, but the second part, I think you gotta buy the book. Good book, though!)

Lisa has loads of other romance going around -- right now, most notably, I think she'd point to Book one in her Night Series (vampire-esque, but there's more to it than that), Night Walker. I don't have a post to link you, but we had an awfully fun email exchange on the subject, and yep -- music, music, music:

Yeah I usually have songs that remind me of the hero and heroine on the playlist...

For Night Walker I had "I want to spend my lifetime loving you" from Marc Anthony for Calisto, and "Come What May" from Moulin Rouge for Kate (especially since she spent the entire end of the book almost dying!) LOL

Then the bulk of the playlist was the Mask of Zorro soundtrack.  It was very Spanish sounding and dark and heroic.  It really helped me keep in the mood of the book.

I'm editing Night Demon now, and Lukas and Gretchen have two theme songs each! LOL  Lukas is "If I can't Love Her" from Beauty & the Beast and "Broken" from Seether.  And Gretchen's are "Falling Slowly" by Linda Eder and "My Immortal" from Evanescence.  The rest of the playlist has most of the soundtrack from Apocalyto and a few songs from the new Fright Night soundtrack.  Very dark and scary.

Yeah. That sounds familiar. Except she has better taste than me. Oh, and Calisto plays piano, so we get those tracks in too, I've been told. As someone who has done very similar things, listening to a piece over and over when it's actually in the scene... I feel you, man.

Sooo yeah, that's enough for this time. I just had to share because this is pure awesome. Anyone else has any, hit me and I'll save em up for next time. Published, unpublished, whatever. These stories are great.

Man, the places the voices take us...