Inspiration for the Tamisa in "Solace: Lost"

I was asked where does inspiration come from?  My answer: Everywhere.  Sometimes it's as I walk through the woods, or a small event that I witness and I think what if, or while I practice Tai Chi  - the moments after, or while I'm exercising, and sometimes it comes from a song I hear.   Music is a huge inspiration for me just as much as being outside away from the business of life.

Today I decided to share how the Tamisa was created that is in the 2nd book of Solace.  I was driving to Stoney, listening to a CD I had copied from my playlist when this song played through.  I could feel everything.  The air around Karissa, the energy that moved tried to envelop her, Karissa's curiosity that she didn't want to listen to, her untrusting nature.   However as the rhythms began to play she allowed the music to move through her.  I could visualize the way the universe would thrust her away from those that would never give her the answer she sought.  (Of course I replayed this song over and over getting a little more of the scene that I was about to write) Visualizing the others around her, the way they disappeared, the way they fade but didn't disappear as they avoided the shadows around them.  I could sense Karissa's fears, and beliefs, how they all faded from her as his hand slid onto her side.  Her tears as she refused to believe what she knew deep inside her to be true.  As the music continued to play through I saw Astaza move herself closer to him and how he looked away from Karissa.  Then as I allowed my CD to play into the next song the scene continued as Karissa ran from him, from what she wouldn't allow to happen.  Tears that ran down her face.  How she couldn't understand how the universe did not see that he would die if he continued to stay with her.  How could the universe want him dead?  He was all that was good, the opposite of her.  The music brought his gentle touch,  her refusal to let him be close to her, the fight that she began against him.  She needed him to live.   His arms embraced her and he explained how he felt, forcing her with gentle words, to see the truth.

Here are the two songs that inspired the Tamisa scene in Solace: Lost. (Click on the titles if you want to hear the music.)  The first song is Santa Maria by the Gotan Project.  The second song is Secrets by OneRepublic. 

Not Human Cover

Okay here's the cover for Not Human:

 

 

 

Prologue

 

After the Syntai arrived, everything changed on Earth - for the better it seemed.  The Syntai people had integrated into our society perfectly, and the planet as a whole became as peaceful as the Syntai seemed.  I personally hadn’t ever interacted with them, but they appeared to be like everyone else on this world.  They had families, their children went to school, the adults went to work, and for the most part they were upstanding citizens.  My father had said that the Syntai were an extremely intelligent race.  He had told me how they took high ranking positions in the military, the medical field, and some were even working with the government leaders.  Like us humans, some were amazingly gifted, while the others just lived a life that simply made them happy.  

    It was after my sixteenth birthday when history began repeating itself.   Through the history of human life every so many years there would be a war waged against a certain type of people, claiming that they were dangerous and cruel.  This time, however, the general public was not as quick to jump on board.  We were not going to go up against a race just because they were different.  The media eagerly led us to believe that the Syntai were attacking our cities, but stories slowly began to leak out about government paranoids capturing the Syntai and killing them long before the first attack.  

    The Global Government dished out propaganda, and the media all too willingly fed it to us, lacing it with as much fear as they could.  They began blaming the Syntai for the sudden changes in the atmosphere, the weather, the growing deserts, the disappearance of people, and even the destruction of whole cities.  They argued that the Syntai had strategically placed themselves within our society to destroy the human race.  Not all of us bought into it, especially since we had another feed of information, which took the government several years to find its source and shut it down. 

    This illegal feed of information was known as The Underground.  It had been around for years, but had fallen silent shortly after the awareness of Syntai integration was peaceful among the nay-sayers.  It wasn’t until the government had begun weaving its web of lies did the Underground reconnect with the world.  According to the Underground, it was the Global Government behind what had happened, that the cities that were destroyed - killing practically everyone who lived there - were actually war zones between the government and the Syntai.  The problem was that it was not clear who struck first.

   After The Underground was silenced, the government began to openly strike down the Syntai and anyone who tried to help, causing the human race to divide.  Soon everything was in chaos.  No one knew who to trust.  It wasn’t long before people began trying to take matters into their own hands, and the hope for a peaceful resolution quickly disappeared. 

   The Global Government had lost control and raised its ugly head.  It created fortresses known as Facilities - very few people who were forced to enter ever came back out.  The Global Government tightened its hold on civilization by sanctioning guidelines that you were to follow if you wanted to live.  These rules drew a very thin line which stated that if you did not meet their criteria then you were against them, if you challenged any of their rulings then you were against them, if you did anything that you were told not to do then you were against them.   Many died in the uprising that followed. 

   There are now three sides you can pick from.  First, is the Iron Fist, formally known as the Global Government.  The second is the Syntai, which humans didn’t join because the Syntai had become impossible to find.  There were rumors that they hadn’t left the planet, but sightings were far and few between.  The third is the Family, a group of individuals that have bonded together out of necessity.  This is the group that humans who have any individuality and spirit left have accepted to be a part of - because the Iron Fist would destroy you for those two flaws. 

 

Working hard to get my books done.  After trouble with my printer, I was able to get it up and running again (took me a couple of days to decide that best plan of action was to remove it and re-install it - I had to remember where I put the disc).  I have printed off my adult book  to send to a couple of people to see if it's been worth my time.  I've also finished story 11 - yea, they both are in need of titles.  I think I'm going to do one more read through on Story 11.  I changed the ending because as I was fixing my revision on my computer I realized it was not a good ending and there were a lot of unanswered questions, leaving me a little frustrated.  Luckily I woke the other morning with a better ending.  Yeah!!   I've also started a new story.  Right now it's more just a lot of ideas... a little different process than usual, so I'm curious to see how it works out. 

As of right now I've published stories: 1, 5, 6, 8 is at copyright, 9 is going to a couple of people, and 11 is almost ready for my editors.    So what about all the missing stories.  Okay well 2 is actually book 3 of Taken.  I've only written about 10,000 words for that one.  Story 3 is my longest written story and isn't finished (because I will not be able to Ebook it since I haven't found a way to work with a third font style that doesn't leave the reader confused.  I had put it on the back burner since at the time I hadn't decided to publish paperback) but I am very excited to get back to this story, Story 4 was almost done when my computer decided to erase most of it, I about cried.  I was able to scavenge a chunk of it, so I've been working on it a little bit here and there until I get frustrated with what had happened, Story 7 is only about 10,000 words and hasn't taken on a life of it's own yet.  Story 9 I really like, but just haven't had the time to keep working on it.  Story 12 is also waiting for my time, and Story 13 is my latest endeavor, lots of idea but not much of a story...yet!    I am also working on The Shadow Dragon (book 3). 

So what do I do with my spare time, or not so spare time, I write.  I write because I love it, because I know that people love to read a good story.  I write because I want my children to never forget how important it is to see outside the box, to believe that anything is possible.  I write because one day I woke up and realized that I had lost my dream, and now I get to share with people everywhere, people who yearn for adventure, who want to get lost in someone else's world for a little bit.    In just over 2 months Not Human will be released.   I will have published 4 stories (7 books) since October of 2011.  I have already done more than I thought possible, and I am truly blessed to be able to continue!