Toni Allen
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Characters literally walk into my head and show me part of their story. Unfortunately I have no control over this and the character rarely steps in and shows me the very first scene of a book. If only it were that easy!
With Visiting Lilly my initial vision was of Frankie and Keith visiting Lilly. I saw them both standing in the bedroom of a beautiful woman who came from a different time than them. Something weird was going on because to me it felt like they were ghosts in her bedroom, appearing unsolid and slightly transparent.
Frankie was being very shy, revering this stunning beauty as he lowered his head, raised his eyes and dared gaze upon her. I instantly felt the spark between them. Keith acted like a total outsider, as if he shouldn’t be there and was intruding on something highly personal. He was standing to one side, sullen, wanting to go. Frankie said to Lilly that they had to leave, but that he would visit again, and as he spoke they both started to evaporate.
I then saw Frankie standing alone, back in a dark room, back in his body, appearing solid and real now. He was in a panic. Keith had not returned with him. Where was Keith? His body was gone.
This scene gave me the entire premise for the storyline. From there I had to work out how to write Frankie’s story, and at which point the story should start.
I needed someone to unfold Frankie’s story for him, and that’s how Detective Inspector Jake Talbot came into being. Once I had the detective who investigates the mystery, I was ready to start writing Visiting Lilly.
(hide spoiler)]
With Visiting Lilly my initial vision was of Frankie and Keith visiting Lilly. I saw them both standing in the bedroom of a beautiful woman who came from a different time than them. Something weird was going on because to me it felt like they were ghosts in her bedroom, appearing unsolid and slightly transparent.
Frankie was being very shy, revering this stunning beauty as he lowered his head, raised his eyes and dared gaze upon her. I instantly felt the spark between them. Keith acted like a total outsider, as if he shouldn’t be there and was intruding on something highly personal. He was standing to one side, sullen, wanting to go. Frankie said to Lilly that they had to leave, but that he would visit again, and as he spoke they both started to evaporate.
I then saw Frankie standing alone, back in a dark room, back in his body, appearing solid and real now. He was in a panic. Keith had not returned with him. Where was Keith? His body was gone.
This scene gave me the entire premise for the storyline. From there I had to work out how to write Frankie’s story, and at which point the story should start.
I needed someone to unfold Frankie’s story for him, and that’s how Detective Inspector Jake Talbot came into being. Once I had the detective who investigates the mystery, I was ready to start writing Visiting Lilly.
(hide spoiler)]
More Answered Questions
Donelle
asked
Toni Allen:
One of my characters, Zoe, in my soon-to-be-released novel, Between Heartbeats, is a psychic who reads cards, etc. I'd love to read one of your books to get a feel for something completely new to me. Zoe will appear in the sequel and I would love to expand her visibility and credibility. Which book would be a good fit for my research? :)
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