The Sparrow's Nest

"Pariahs" is coming out in November. It's a dark fantasy about a boy who has been claimed as a demon's son, and he has to find a way to escape. For "Pariahs," the writing process was long. I mean thirteen years long. I couldn't put two sentences together. I couldn't even type. I was one of those people who could find the entire alphabet on the keyboard except the letter I wanted. Seriously, three minutes to type my first name. I wrote "Pariahs" in a notebook. It spanned about five five-star notebooks, each with 500 sheets in it. It's interesting to go back and see what I had. One thing I had was about thirty characters. They have now been distributed throughout several books, and will make their appearances accordingly. "Pariahs" went through about 300 drafts, and I may be under-exaggerating. I had to chop characters until I had the small group that you will see in November. Life was good. Everything was fine. I was ...

Coming to you today about where inspiration comes from is the talented author Barbara Avon. And so, without further ado... Recently, in conversation with a reader, they asked me where my ideas come from. “Write what you know, right?” The answer is so much more complex. Authors have often been advised to “write what they know” but I think that is far too restrictive. If we only write what we know, we are limited and so is our imagination. My inspiration comes from a dark corner of my soul. A place of dreams; a different dimension. This is not to say my stories are dark, (not necessarily), what it means is that words flow from somewhere where they are otherwise hidden. A place deep inside. We have all seen that quote floating around the internet attributed to the great Ernest Hemingway: “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” This quote best sums up my own writing style. No fear; no holds barred. In writing what scares you most, o...