Where Do Authors Get Their Ideas? by Cathy Perkins
Where do authors get their ideas? Someone told me
they think an author’s brain is a scary place! We do constantly ask, “What
if…?”
Sometimes a daydream offers a story start, but ideas
and inspiration can show up in the strangest places. My husband and I were
hiking along the Snake River in a game management area called Big Flats (which
happens to feature in So About The Money, the first book in the Holly Price Mystery series). We had to
push through some tangled foliage at the shoreline. Being a mystery writer
whose mind really can go strange places, I glanced over my shoulder and said,
“Wouldn't this be a great place to find a body?”
That germ of an idea kept growing. Why would the
heroine be at Big Flats to stumble over the body? How did the body end up
beside the river in the first place?
The idea for In
It For The Money, (Book 4 in the series, which released today!) came while
I was chatting with a friend’s nephew at a party. He was all excited about
designing some bizarre machine called a Rockcrawler. I had no clue what he was
talking about, but I picked up on his passion. And my writer’s brain went, Hmmm… Rockcrawlers… That’s different.
Let me explain Rockcrawling—or rather, here’s how
Holly described the sport to her friend, Laurie Gordon, after Holly dragged Laurie
to the opening day events:
"Two guys were sitting on their back porch,
drinking." Holly raised her wine glass and Laurie clicked the rim.
"One polished off his beer, belched, and popped open another can. He
pointed at the vacant lot next door and said, 'Betcha I can drive my truck over
those rocks.'"
"You're lying." Laurie narrowed her eyes.
"Swear to God." Holly raised her right hand.
"And since God takes care of idiots and drunks, the first one made it over—alive—and
his friend and all their friends had to try. And their friends..." She
waved at the scene before them.
In It For The Money released today! After several
“related world” stories, it was fun to climb back into Holly’s head. What a
crowded place—rockcrawlers, drug rumors and relationship woes compound an
already hectic work schedule. (Guess I better get busy on Book 3 and see what
happens next.)
IN
IT FOR THE MONEY
Holly Price traded professional goals for personal
plans when she agreed to leave her high-flying position with the Seattle
Mergers and Acquisition team and take over the family accounting practice.
Reunited with JC Dimitrak, her former fiancé, she’s already questioning whether
she’s ready to flip her condo for marriage and a house in the ‘burbs.
When her cousin Tate needs investors for his
innovative car suspension, Holly works her business matchmaking skills and connects
him with a client. The Rockcrawler showcasing the new part crashes at its debut
event, however, and the driver dies. Framed for the sabotage, Tate turns to
Holly when the local cops—including JC—are ready to haul him to jail. Holly
soon finds her cousin and client embroiled in multiple criminal schemes. She’s
drawn into the investigation, a position that threatens her life, her family
and her already shaky relationship with JC.
Links
Amazon:
iBooks
Thanks for letting me visit today!
Cathy Perkins |
An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories. A contributing editor for International Thriller Writers' The Big Thrill, she also coordinated the prestigious Daphne du Maurier contest.
When not writing, she does battle with the beavers
over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in
Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.
Sign up for her newsletter on her website (https://cperkinswrites.com ) or follow her on BookBub (https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cathy-perkins )for new release announcements.
Comments