I’m a sucker for a sweet historical romance, and I also have been toying with the idea of accepting author guests again, so when Katherine Givens approached me about doing a guest post, I didn’t say no. I did warn her that the remnants of my audience consists of a few awesome folk who have morphed into true friends who have stuck with me through thick and thin. Unsurprisingly, this appealed to her.
Her book, In Her Dreams, looks very fun, and I will probably read it soon.
I love this from her bio:
Katherine Givens is a museum employee with a secret. Few know the truth of her greatest passion, but those closest to her know she loves to write historical romances… Alright, maybe more than a few people know she is a writer. Anyone who will listen to her can glean this from a conversation.
I can totally relate! Here she is.
~*~
Not all ideas come with ease. Sometimes a manuscript is started, but later abandoned when your inner editor deems the story a failure. Other times your muse turns her back, her ray’s of creativity no longer shining upon your face. Frustration builds and builds, which only adds to the hindrance.
The accepted phrase for this artistic disease is “writer’s block.” It is the author’s plague. A story’s greatest enemy. Breaching the wall writer’s block builds is often difficult. There are tactics to move past it, but these don’t always remedy the situation. In several articles I’ve read, one should listen to music, write in new surroundings, or just walk away from the manuscript.
Sometimes this advice works, other times it fails. Miserably. The frustration continues, and the muse keeps her back turned. But once writer’s block is conquered, a treasure trove might await. This was my experience before In Her Dreams came to fruition.
One day about a year ago, I was in a rut. A writing rut. I bounced ideas around in my head, but I shot each one down. Only one image stuck in my head during those days, popping up like unwanted weeds. Emerald eyes with amber drops floating in the lonely pools.
The concept was very vague, but my ability to conjure up ideas was as arid as the Sahara. So, I sat before my laptop with my iPod blaring. I started with those haunting emerald eyes, and the opening scene of In Her Dreams fell into place. Rain had come to the Sahara.
With every clack of my laptop’s keys, a sentence was strung. With every sentence, a story formed. Three weeks later, In Her Dreams was finished. Writing the story was one of the most amusing and enjoyable experiences of my life. The witty lines of the characters. The devotion of two sisters towards one another, no matter the draws of jealousy and sadness. The underlying message regarding dreams, and how love conquers all. All this came with ease once my writer’s block was conquered.
A couple months passed before my manuscript was sold to Harlequin Australia’s imprint Escape Publishing. The process of preparing In Her Dreams for publication was the highlight of my summer. If I was down for any number of personal reasons, all I had to do was think on my little gem. My dash of good fortune.
Even though I sold the manuscript some time ago, the magic has yet to wear off. In fact, with the continuous growth of my writing, the spell I am under continues to thicken. And my horrid cases of writer’s block are lessening.
http://katherinegivens1.wordpress.com/.
She can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Ever have an idea like Katherine’s that just seems to persist?
“I did warn her that the remnants of my audience consists of a few awesome folk who have morphed into true friends who have stuck with me through thick and thin.”
That can happen when life throws you some curves. If you post about them, you learn which readers are as concerned about your life as your book reviews and interviews. {Soft Smile}
And welcome Katherine. That does sound like an interesting story. {smile}
I’m glad you were able to break thru your writer’s block. Sometimes that’s tricky indeed. Fortunately, that makes doing so even more rewarding. {SMILE}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Oh! And thank you, Anne! 🙂
You’re most welcome, Tia. {BIG WARM SMILE}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
I have had ideas that persisted like that. One was the idea that became The Sevenfold Spell, where the burning spinning wheels put hundreds of spinsters not only out of work, but in a situation where their very livelihood was banned. It seems that those ideas that really stick with you are often the stories that tell themselves with the least effort. At least that is the way it is for me.
Thanks for the nice welcome, Anne! After getting the idea for IN HER DREAMS the words just flowed onto my laptop screen. And I agree with you, Tia. It just takes that one image or historical fact to trigger the formation of an entire book.
You’re most welcome. {WARM SMILE}
It’s great when a story really flows, isn’t it? {SMILE}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Thank you for the warm welcome, Anne! The evident loyalty Tia’s readers have is what really appealed to me about her blog. I love it when a great fan base is invested in an author beyond their blog posts.
I have to agree with Tia. It takes that one image or historical fact to trigger the formation of a book. It’s even better when partnered with this trigger is the natural flow of words and passionate zeal 🙂
Sorry about the moderation–that only happens the first time you comment here.
This has happened to me with art as well, and with music. For music and writing, I can usually get my concept to work, either as a song or a scene. But for art … ugh. I can almost never get the result to match my vision. I am just not as good at art, I guess.
A very interesting post today and I love the premise for your story, Katherine. HUGS to Tia!
Thank you, Veronica!
Tia, I’ve never even tried to use art for inspiration. The best I can do are stick figures, and that isn’t very romantic 🙂
Music is the best aide to help with the flow of writing. It sets the mood, helps with pace, and is just fun to listen to.
Ack! Late to the party! If you are still checking in at all, Katherine, hi! 🙂 You have great cover art. I really like the gold and creams, and the way the sofa colors tie in to the necklace.
Yes, I’ve had an image that just sticks with me already. I remember once I saw a front cover of a book I didn’t buy. It was two people on a horse riding through a dark and twisted forest. I ended up spending several months trying to answer the question of who these people were and why they were in the forest together. (The story died out when a love triangle somehow appeared, and I couldn’t solve it. I hate love triangles.)
Since the subject of art came up, I have heard of authors who look for pictures in magazines and stuff of people who resemble their characters, just to give themselves a better idea of what they’re looking for. I remember, Tia, not long ago, you posted photos of actors from your time-period -I mean the time period you were working in. I can see how something like that would be great for helping with clothing and such, too.
I watched some old movies too–recently “It”. Considering it caused such a scandal when it came out, it seemed very tame to me!
Costume sites are also wonderful for learning the dress of the time period. And boy–those gowns from the 1910s are very strange. The dropwaisted gowns from the early 20s were lovely. I have two great pictures of my grandmother in some wonderful dresses.
Which 1910s dresses were you thinking of as strange? When you said that, I quickly, and didn’t find anything that bad for pre-raised-hemline dresses. However, I didn’t look all that much, so I could well have missed something. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin