Shelley Lee Riley
Generally, I find inspiration when I am not looking for it: a story in the news, the lyrics of a song, or a life experience, to name three. For example, my latest novel, Labyrinth of Ruin, was inspired by song lyrics and personal experience. One day, as I was writing, I had music in the background, and Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra came on. How many of you can say that song, with its amazing upbeat sound and inspiring lyrics, doesn't move you? As I dug into the lyrics, I detected a certain subtle message, at least for me
“Oh, Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why you had to hide away for so long?”
Thus, my main protagonists are all different in ways that set them apart from their peers. Whether overlooked, tormented, or bullied, each strives to go unnoticed.
Secondly, it is often said that a writer should write about what they know. As a woman trainer of racehorses for over two decades, a business predominately dominated by men, especially in the higher echelons of the sport like the Kentucky Derby. When I came across a weedy colt that nobody wanted at a sale in Lexington, Kentucky, who could have predicted that one day I would be screaming my heart out as that colt ran down the lane in front of the rest of the field in that storied race? Certainly not me.
So, using that hard-earned knowledge, I added wings to the equine athletes I was so familiar with and let them soar into that blue sky. While understanding through my own experiences how something or someone can be ridiculed and overlooked only to exceed all expectations, I let my characters discover their strength and self-worth, as did I. You can read more about Labyrinth of Ruin as well as Casual Lies at my website www.shelleyleeriley.com
“Oh, Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why you had to hide away for so long?”
Thus, my main protagonists are all different in ways that set them apart from their peers. Whether overlooked, tormented, or bullied, each strives to go unnoticed.
Secondly, it is often said that a writer should write about what they know. As a woman trainer of racehorses for over two decades, a business predominately dominated by men, especially in the higher echelons of the sport like the Kentucky Derby. When I came across a weedy colt that nobody wanted at a sale in Lexington, Kentucky, who could have predicted that one day I would be screaming my heart out as that colt ran down the lane in front of the rest of the field in that storied race? Certainly not me.
So, using that hard-earned knowledge, I added wings to the equine athletes I was so familiar with and let them soar into that blue sky. While understanding through my own experiences how something or someone can be ridiculed and overlooked only to exceed all expectations, I let my characters discover their strength and self-worth, as did I. You can read more about Labyrinth of Ruin as well as Casual Lies at my website www.shelleyleeriley.com
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