Inspiration
Tomorrow, the subject of my Fictionista vlog post will be ‘Inspiration.’ Today, my colleague K.N. Lee talked at some length about finding joy and solace and writing space in the music she loves, and she is very specific about what she listens to when she writes. (The fact that she mentioned ‘loving bagpipes’ leads me to question her sanity, but I suppose that will reveal itself in time.) I’ve heard lots of authors talk about this – many of them now offer soundtracks to go along with the book itself.
This is a great idea that I will never take part in.
I don’t have to have silence when I write, as anyone who has heard me yammer endlessly about the evil contractor and his band of orcs and goblins who took 6 months to renovate the apartment above my head can testify. They only poked FIVE holes in my ceiling! (I know, imagine if you got to hear me bitch about this EVERY DAY? Sorry, all my friends.)
The working theory is I translated my boiling rage into my work. The more noise they made, the worse it went for Rhuun and Lelet. (They might have had hot demon sex in the first chapter if this guy KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING DO YOU EVEN HAVE A LICENSE?) I digress. It’s been blissfully quiet since they finished, and it’s too soon for the new owners to start in snake handling/Irish Riverdancing/playing bocce and I’m still tormenting my beloved characters, so maybe that theory is suspect. Much like K.N.’s mental health, time will reveal it. (Seriously, what in the hell were they DOING up there for six months? Recombining DNA? Making meth? Drum circle?)
The one thing I really can’t have while I’m writing is music. My hands hover over the keyboard and I just…listen to the music. I enjoy music, I’m not a monster (like the contractor, for instance) but not while I’m working. Oh my god, what if my new neighbors are musicians? Maybe I should go with what I’m used to, and start writing at the airport. On the runway.
Oh, book news! It’s a thing now to have a cover reveal, and that’s a great idea I am very much on board with! My cover, done by the sweet and sassy Greg Simanson, will get all the ooohs and ahhhs it deserves this very Friday, three days from now. Come on over and take a peek! It’s so pretty!
Finally, as advertised on the vlog, here’s a delicious slice of the new Commander of the Night’s Watch. Congrats, Jon, nothing could possibly go wrong now!