My friends often ask where I get ideas for my novels. Honestly, my problem is not coming up with ideas but organizing them into a story. Many of my ideas are from simply paying attention to the world around me. I’m one of those annoying people who say, “Did you see that?”, when we’re watching the exact same thing. So many things fascinate me that I feel the urge to make sure that the rest of the world notices them too.

Did you see that as you were walking around Rome? [image error]

I am also easily impressed by talent and creativity. When I witness these qualities, I go from “did you see that” to “you have to see that”. When I started working on SNOW & WHITE, I didn’t know it was going to be a mystery. I just knew I wanted to write a novel about a singer.

Why a singer? Because I’ve watched a few season of The Voice and every time I thought, “this is the best performance I’ve ever seen”, somebody else topped it. There are also dozens, if not hundreds, of singers on YouTube that make song covers sound better than the originals. And then there is Pentatonix, who’s in the league of their own. Just now, as I was deciding which video I want to include in this blog, I ended up listening to at least ten songs.

I’ve been fortunate to see a few live performances. I’ve been to OneRepublic, Maroon 5, and Sia concerts. Each one was amazing in their own way, but the one that stands out was a recent concert by Jewel. For two hours she performed by herself. There was no band, no backup singers, just Jewel and her guitar. Her voice sounded out of this world, and her lyrics were the story of her life.

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So, if you’re one of the people who wants to write a book, but doesn’t know where to start –  look around. You’d be surprised how much more you’ll see if you start looking at things as potential ideas for your book.