Where do I find inspiration?

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(Image by fiach from Pixabay)

I hate the question. Where do I find inspiration? It’s one of those open-ended questions that causes my mind to go blank. Just…blank. No ideas. Nothing.

So I thought I’d share where I got the initial inspiration for a few of my different books.

– the Blackbird Series: a crazy dream I had the week before NaNoWriMo started.

– After the Scrum: I made the mistake of watching 7 Nation rugby a week before NaNoWriMo one year.

– Royal Marine: Bake Off. Seriously. I binge-watched a few seasons of it, and Akash sprung from that.

– One Last Heist: Ocean’s Eleven.

– Motts: Motts was inspired by two things. One, the idea of someone naming their child after the food they crave while pregnant. Two, the series Rosemary & Thyme.

– My current WIP is inspired by Britain’s Secret Treasures, a show all about the artifacts people find while using metal detectors.

– Cosplay Killer was inspired in part by this:

– Pure Dumb Luck: I saw a news story about someone winning the lottery and sharing it with their best friend.

If you’re an author, where do you find inspiration for your books?

What inspires you?

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(Image by fiach from Pixabay)

The beginnings of the idea of Cosplay Killer started in the back of my brain ever since I wrote The Grasmere trilogy. I knew I wanted to write a full M/M cosy mystery series with an established couple. There were just other stories to write first, so I let this one percolate for a while.

Inspiration came from a number of places, and I thought it would be fun to share some of them for you.

– Hamilton and Six: The Musical.

I’m not sure which came first–Cosplay Killer or my new obsession with Hamilton and Six: The Musical. But they’re definitely intertwined.

– Cosplay

My vision for Dannel and Osian was of two men passionate about video games, the theatre, movies, and cosplaying their favourite characters. It’s something I hope to explore further as the series grows.

– Video Games

– Air Ambulance/Ambulance shows

There are a number of the shows out of the UK. My hubby and I watch them religiously. I’ve had friends who are paramedics who talk about burn out. I knew I wanted one of the MCs in the series to explore that concept.

– Covent Gardens

The image above is one I found while looking for something else. And it sparked something in me about where they lived.

If you’re an author, where do you find inspiration for your books?

The theatre, the theatre…

what’s happened to the theatre?

Bonus points if you know what movie that quote is from.

In Cosplay Killer, Dannel and Osian love the theatre scene. I thought I’d share some of their favourite places.

Drury Lane (Theatre Royal), the oldest London theatre still in use. Dannel believes there’s an energy to the place that transfers to performances.
The Theatre Cafe, a coffee shop not far from their flat that has live performances.
Apollo Victoria Theatre
The West End, in general, with all of the museums and shops, etc.
The Old Vic

Musical Theatre Faves

My two main characters in Cosplay Killer are obsessed with musical theatre. Here are ten of their favourite shows.

1. Hamilton

2. Six: The Musical

3. In The Heights

4. Wicked

5. Only Fools and Horses

6. Matilda

7. Jesus Chris Superstar

8. Little Shop of Horrors

9. School of Rock

10. Rent

Hamilton.

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Since Hamilton came to Disney+, I’ve watched the entire play about ten times. I’ve watched the first half an additional ten or more. The second half tends to make me weepy and I’m not always in the mood to cry.

Each time I watch Hamilton, something new seems to stand out to me.

Here’s a few things I’ve noticed.

1. Christopher Jackson’s face during the final song while Eliza sings about his story and slavery.

2. The brilliantly subtle moments of foreshadowing woven throughout.

3. (or technically, 2a) Burr’s ‘like I said’ comment at the first scene in the bar where Hamilton meets Lafayette, Mulligan, and Laurens.

4. The Bullet. If you know, you know.

5. David Diggs. His pure joy in performance.

6. Brilliant word play and musicality.

7. Leslie Odom, Jr’s masterful performance.

8. The emotion evoked by Renee Elise Goldsberry in Satisfied.

9. Jonathan Goff’s laugh after One Last Time.

10. The interplay between Hamilton and Samuel Seabury during Farmer Refuted.

What am I reading?

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My goal for 2020 was to read at least a book a week. I did brilliantly in January. And then didn’t read a thing in February. Ahh well. I’m going to try to catch up since I’m in between WIPs.

So, here’s what I’ve been reading lately.

1. Lavender Blue by Laura Childs – I have mixed feelings about this one but overall I enjoyed it.

2. Thicker than Water by Becca Seymour – Adored this. 5 stars!

3. Follow My Lead by Louisa Masters – Also adored this one.

4. Julia Chase’s Kitty Couture series for a second time. Such a fun cozy series.

5. Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Late to the Party.

I’m currently writing Cosplay Killer an MM Cosy Mystery featuring two men who are into video games, music, and musical theatre.

In doing research, I had to brush up on some Broadway stuff. I’m not massively into plays. It’s never been my thing, though I have a lot of friends who are. I knew a little about Hamilton from friends and also because I think Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius of a wordsmith.

So, I found this video of him performing Alexander Hamilton at the White House.

I watched it twenty times. I was mesmerized. History has always been an obsession of mine and I was entranced by his performance.

Now, I’m autistic. I frequently fall down rabbit holes into new obsessions. And I haven’t had a new ‘special interest’ in a good while.

And I certainly didn’t intend to find one while researching a new cosy mystery series.

But there I was, going from one video to quite literally watching every Hamilton thing I could find on Youtube. Now I’ve listened to the soundtrack of the original cast a hundred times at this point.

Christopher Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda performing One Last Time are particularly brilliant.

The things I do for book research.