The Making of “Memento Mori” – The Creative Process

Make no mistake; this book was the most difficult book that I’ve ever written. A combination of unrealistic expectations, uncertainty about the direction of the book, and a whole host of other reasons are why I make that declaration. The goal was to have the book published by the end of the year; I was starting from scratch. I’d scrapped five different beginnings for the book including nearly two hundred pages of previously written material. A good deal of it was written before “Vox” was published. Want to know why? 

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Inspiration Through Music: Kosheen

Several weeks ago, I decided to make a playlist on Spotify of music from one of my favorite television shows, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. That means that I looked up all of the music that had featured on the show and searched for it song by song in Spotify. This all equals the fact that I don’t have too much of a life outside of my writing. When I get into a sticky spot with writing when I’m not sure where to progress, I like to look up and discover new music. So, I spent a lengthy time searching through all of the music. I was lucky enough to rediscover a band that I’d heard of years ago and yet, hadn’t fully explored, the amazing Kosheen.

Inspiration Through Music: Understated Horror Movie Soundtracks

For those of you whom are long-time readers of Inspiration Through Music, you’ll know that I’m an absolute fan of original score soundtracks. Anything instrumental that has a creepy, mysterious, or dark tinge to it immediately becomes a favorite of mine. So of course, in the wonderful month of October and Halloween to come, I thought it best to assemble a collection of original score music from Horror/Thriller movies that I thought were over-looked and, to this day, are kind of understated. I made the list by going through movies that genuinely frightened me (whether they be horror or close to it) and came up with this list of six songs. Below are the things I see when I listen to them.

Inspiration Through Music: Dead Island Soundtrack

In last week’s Inspiration Through Music post, I talked about being able to identify with characters based on other emotions they might be feeling. Especially while writing horror or apocalyptic fiction, it is sometimes easy to skip over the idea that a character has entered a completely different world, one where the old rules don’t apply. It’s a jarring and often horrifying experience, but also very sad. It can also be hard trying to get into your characters head, trying to decipher what their reactions are toward what’s going on. My advice, in this instance, is to always look toward your own life. What is your normal routine? What are the things you look forward to everyday? Now imagine that those things are no longer here. Imagine there is no conceivable way you’ll ever get them back. Scary, isn’t it? I find it’s easier to imagine this if you have some piercing emotive music to listen to, something that really hits you. That is why I’ve chosen this week to share the Dead Island Original Game Soundtrack with you.

Ten Interview Questions For The Next Big Thing!

Good morning!

I’ve recently had the opportunity to participate in an online interview of myself and my WIP (works in progress) which I’m thrilled to do. As many of you know, I have several different items in the works right now but for this interview I’ll limit my focus to only three of them. First, though, I’d like to take a moment and thank Elizabeth Lawrence for the chance to be a part of this. You can find her blog here! Now, on with the interview!