This time I'm thrilled to have Kat Duncan as my guest! She writes edge of your seat romantic suspense that you're sure to love. Her latest release, 58 FACES is now available at http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=137&products_id=4366
Today we're talking about WHERE CREATIVE IDEAS COME FROM. So grab a cup of coffee and find out how Kat got her start on creativity.
Where Creative Ideas Come From
I'm a creation extremist. I like to take ordinary ideas and turn them on their heads. This all started back in my childhood at age 4 when one of my older brothers challenged me to jump off a picnic table bench. One fractured skull later, my life was changed forever. Nah, not really. I'm sure I was pretty cracked up before that, but it's a handy explanation to give out if I want to pretend I was normal once. Not to mention the bonus of life-long guilt I can heap on my brothers. Nobody remembers which of them it was, so I've made it a point to blame both of them.
I spent a day or so as a guest at the local town hospital. Absorbed in my own curiosity, I didn't really get the message that I should stay in bed all day. Or all night for that matter. I wasn't going to waste time playing sick, even if I did have a headache as big as the moon. The hospital had big rooms, 6 or 8 beds each with children and adults together, like an old-fashioned ward. No TVs in the rooms. Guess they hadn't thought of that yet. Good thing the place had nice long corridors to race down...and sluggish nurses.
I found loads of fascinating toys to play with. The unlocked handyman's storage was my playground within hours of arrival. And I met lots of interesting people. Lonely people. Stuck in bed with nothing to do but chat with a precocious little girl who could slip in and out of beds and rooms with the ease of a ninja. The chilly hospital gown was my glorious hero's cape slash dancing costume.
When the old doc finally cornered me, tracing linoleum tile patterns with a grease pencil, he promptly scooped me up under one arm and took me to his office to phone my parents. "Well, I think she's ready to go home," says he. "Don't you need to keep her under observation for at least a week?" my mom asks anxiously. My mom was a nurse, she knew the protocol. As I sat in the doc's lap pulling all the string off the grease pencil and leaving a lovely wax impression of a snake on his papers, the doc assured my mom, "She's going to make a complete recovery."
Ha. Adults are so transparent. The doc hands me the phone receiver and whispers, "Tell mommy that you miss her and really want to come home." I say, "Hi Mommy. This place is really fun. Can I stay, please?" My dad arrived within the hour to escort me home. He moved my bed downstairs into the living room so I could watch Santa Claus arrive. It would be Christmas in a few days. He tucked me in and as soon as he and mom were asleep in the next room, I plugged the Christmas tree lights back in and fell asleep under the tree. I'm a present, dreaming of being opened on Christmas day by some delighted child who wished for a friend for Christmas.
I'm pretty sure I could barely write my name at that point, but as far as I'm concerned became a writer then. Who else but a writer would take a potential tragedy and turn it into a life-altering character development scenario? If you've ever thought of becoming a writer, now is your chance to get started. I'm giving a year-long workshop for beginning authors. I'm going to walk you through the whole process from idea to premise to story. At the end of the year you'll have a completed submission-ready novel and a plan for getting it published.
Don't think writing is all it's cracked up to be? I can tell you from first-head experience...it is! What are you waiting for?
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58 Faces - Jewel of the Night Series Blurb:
Chief of surgery at a small children's hospital, Caroline's last hope to save it from financial ruin evaporates when she loses the Blue Diamond case to greedy Evan Quinn. When Evan buys the hospital property for high profit condo conversion, Caroline's hatred shifts into full red-alert.
But Evan is not her real enemy. Rolf, the hospital's chief administrator, has had his eye on the blue diamond since he learned of it from his Nazi grandfather. To be the 58th face to possess the Blue Diamond, one for each of its facets, grants the owner unlimited power. Rolf plans to kill the current owners and use the diamond to build his Neo-Nazi regime. Can Caroline give up her hatred and Evan his greed before Rolf kills them both?
58 Faces Excerpt:
"If I wasn’t sworn as a doctor, I’d pull this trigger.”
A flash lit the darkness. An ear-shattering echo reverberated in the concrete vault. Evan staggered. Caroline dropped the gun, and its over-sensitized trigger fired again. It spun like a top on the concrete. She rushed forward.
“Evan. Evan. Are you hurt? Where? I didn’t pull the trigger. It just went off in my hand.” She grabbed his shoulders, bracing him, scanning him for a wound.
He steadied himself and pushed her aside. “You missed.” He stared at the gun lying on the floor. He picked it up and hefted it, his brows pinched in thought. Pointing it away from her, he firmly grasped the weapon and gently tapped its side. It fired.
He turned on her, his mouth thinned into a grimace, his eyes squinting.
She put up her hands. “Evan, don’t…”
He tipped the gun toward the ceiling and, with a snap, removed the clip. He tossed the pieces in opposite directions. They spun and clattered on the concrete floor. In a few quick steps, he closed the distance between them. His broad hands engulfed her shoulders, infusing her shivering body with a surge of solid warmth.
“That gun was rigged by an expert. An expert who arranged for us to meet here. Then disappeared.”
Buy link for Fifty-eight Faces:
Social and Web links:
Website: http://www.katduncan.net
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/write_about
email: kat@katduncan.net
Thanks so much for being my guest today, Kat!
And remember, each comment gets you entered in our drawing:) Here's a list of the links:
Meet contemporary and paranormal romance author Jill James at http://amielouellen.wordpress.com/Meet romantic suspense author Kat Duncan at http://authorjenniferjakes.blogspot.com/Meet contemporary YA an adult romance author Linda Kage at http://www.ajbooks.blogspot.com/
Meet paranormal, and historical romance author Caroline Clemmons at http://lynneroberts.blogspot.com/
Meet historical and paranormal romance writer Lilly Gayle at http://maevegreyson.blogspot.com/
Meet Amie Louellen, author of fun and whimsical contemporary romance at http://amycorwin.blogspot.com
Meet erotic western historical author Jennifer Jakes at www.jilljameswrites.com
Meet author AJ Nuest at http://www.katduncan.net/writeabout
Meet author Lynne Roberts at http://lindakage.blogspot.com/
Meet paranormal romance author Maeve Greyson at http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com
Meet author Amy Corwin at www.lillygayleromance.blogspot.com
*giggle* I was a curious child too - I think it's probably a trait that most writers share. Lacking the older brothers, though, my mischief was usually of the less dangerous variety.
ReplyDeleteFirst-head exprience?! Love it. I need to come up with some kind of tale to tell why I am the way I am!!
ReplyDelete...curiosity...yup, but so far it hasn't killed this Kat! :) Thanks for stopping by Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteLinda, my friend Elwood says "Scars are like tattoos, but with better stories!"...just a suggestion. :)
I love your story, Kat! I was an imaginative child too. I still remember walking through the woods and turning around fast to catch the fairies that I knew must be hiding behind the ferns. Is it any wonder my first love is fantasy and paranormal romance?
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
...turning around fast to catch fairies...love it! Thanks for sharing, Lynne. I can imagine a child doing that...guess we were born with wild imaginations! :)
ReplyDeleteWow! The blurb and excerpt sound exciting. Funny story about where your creativity comes from. Maybe I need to dive headfirst off a picnic bench. Then again, maybe not.
ReplyDeleteSo great Kat. Now if I could only pin my odd nature onto my brother's shoulders! :-)
ReplyDeleteYikes, Kat! You truly were intrepid! Wish I had a wonderful story like that, but unfortunately, my curiosity was limited to reading. I was afraid of heights, afraid of water, and afraid of falling. What a dull and boring kid. Maybe that's why I love to spin historical yarns, so I can experience all the fun and excitement I missed!
ReplyDeleteYour book sounds intriguing. As does that year-long class. I wish you the best with both.
I just remember always making up characters to play with when I was growing up. People were always in love then fighting then making up. There was always a happy ending. When I got older the stories in my head didn't stop, and I tried because I thought people would think I was weird! LOL Well, I am, but I proudly admit it now... Finally, I decided to write them down and VOILA! I should've realized I was a romance writer so many years ago! :)
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you and best wishes on the book and the year long course!
Cute story.
ReplyDeleteI remember being little and getting into the hall closet. Boy, did it have some interesting things in there, lol.
ReplyDeleteHeck if that's what happened when you cracked your skull. Imagine if you needed an operation, the poor hospital! And It makes sense you have the perfect temperament to be a great author!
ReplyDeleteOh, my, it's a good thing for the world that we were not children together! Loved your anecdote.
ReplyDeleteKat, I loved, loved, loved this post. I could just SEE you, sleeping under that tree. What an awesome story. And maybe, just maybe, you should be thanking your brothers?? After all, if you would've never fallen, the world might be short one kick-a** writer.
ReplyDeleteHi Sherry - I'm glad you like the blurb for 58 and my childhood story. As for jumping off picnic tables...hm...well, I'm not 4 anymore... ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Amy - yup luckily my brothers have very broad shoulders... :)
Hi Barb - hm...right, stories let us live out our fantasies without actual danger...dang!...wish I'd thought of that BEFORE I jumped! :)
Hi Kellie - nice to meet you, too! I'm glad you didn't succeed at stopping the people in your head! :)
Hi Lilly! I'm so glad you stopped by!
Hi Janice - Hall closet, hall closet...oh yeah, that was definitely an interesting spot to explore on a nice rainy day or anytime there were chores to be done...
Hi Mary - yeah, I've not been kind to hospitals over the years...
Hi Caroline - ah, a kindred spirit...best to keep the two of us from joining forces, eh?
Hi AJ - Yup...just kidding...I wouldn't trade my brothers for anything. I'm blessed with 3 of them, and also got an awesome younger sister to boot!
Whew! I'm so glad to hear you survived THAT trauma. I love your story, Kat. It's so cute and I look forward to reading '58 Faces'.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that as writers we look at the ordinary and turn it into extraordinary. As the youngest child and only girl, I would create my own little worlds and 'special' friends; such as Whisky the Frog...long story there. Anyway since we lived out in the country and not many neighbors, imagining and creating different characters became a necessity in order to survive any lonliness...and of course it entertained me as well as my parents. :)
Thanks, JD...and it was quite the trauma according to my parents. For me it was just a fun little jaunt away from home. I've always wondered what it would be like to live far out in the country with no neighbors. I wonder if I'd love it or hate it. Thank goodness for your active imagination! I hope you get a chance to read 58 Faces...
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post of Where Creative Ideas Come From. I am an avid reader and am amazed at great writing. One I read last year was Lilly Gayle's OUT OF THE DARKNESS, a very suspenseful romance that I couldn't put down.
ReplyDelete58 FACES sounds like a great read.