A few things about writing the people of Taken

A few funny and interesting things about creating the people for "Taken":

I only knew that I wanted Ava and Gabriel to be the Eternal Love for the other... a love at first sight (sort of) romance.  

Ava and Gabriel were also the only people who didn't go too astray from what I had originally seen for them.

It took me forever to figure out Gabriel's name which gave me the idea to keep his name from Ava for the first few chapters.  (It was my first book and I found naming the characters as hard as naming my children.)

Lisa was supposed to become Ava's best friend after Ava was Taken.

Lisa was supposed to be Gabriel's sister.

Jake was not going to be as pivotal of a person.  He just had a few parts when I began, but as I continued writing, he just kind of wouldn't let himself disappear.

Will...  well, Will ended up not being who I expected either.  I mean I knew he was the bad guy, but I did not understand what really drove him until closer to then end of the second book.

Ava's, umm, Alter Ego (I guess you could say), Rage, was not an inkling of a thought.  It was in a revision that I realized it had been created.  (Always a joy when that happens and you have to figure out how to write it in properly both before and after the realization of the existence... especially the first time.)

Naliak was written just to be an Elder, however he became so much more.  He really took on the idea of ageless wisdom.  (The wisdom of the old with a young face.)

The music for "Taken"

I'll be honest, I can't remember how the specific music I listened to became a part of the writing, but Taken was written under the strong influence of Evanescence.  I listened to Evanescence's albums "Fallen" and "The Open Door" repeatedly.  I, of course, had my own playlist of music that I mixed in as well, but it was nothing compared to Evanescence.  (I often wish I had written down the titles in the playlist I had listened to, but I did not.  Who knew that one day I would want to give credit to each song.  😊  )

In "Marks of the Satrii", the music helped me see the story... clearer?  I guess clearer is the right word.  I'm not really sure how to explain it.   I definitely did not sit down and write up an outline.  I couldn't have if I wanted to.  I had no idea what the details were until I wrote it (But I'll get into that more later).   With that being said, the music really influenced, or perhaps encouraged my mind to see more details is a better way to say it.  I say music because even though almost all the music I listened to had words, I didn't always hear what was actually being sung.  In my head the vocals became another instrument which created an even more beautiful peace of music, and allowed the imagery in my mind to flow.  For me, writing "Taken" was like watching a movie (as it is with every book I've written).  I wasn't creating a story, I was sharing it.  I'd be staring at the computer screen, listening to music.  But really, the world around me fell away, and instead of seeing a screen full of words and hearing the vocals of a song, I saw images and felt the emotions of the people in it.  (Which is why I tend to refer to the "characters" as voices in my head.)   Do I always listen to music when I write?  For "Taken", yes.  Looking back I can't remember not having music playing while I was writing.  (Now, that isn't true for all my stories - most, but not all.  Sometimes I prefer the silence.)  Even when my kids were sleeping, I'd have one of my earphones in.

There are two songs in particular that actually influenced a scene in the story, but they both happened in book two "Blades of the Ytinu Srebas".  And I will share those scenes next month when I get more into the second book.   Although, I'm quite confident that I've talked about it before, because whenever I hear the song, I can remember the scene perfectly: what was happening, the emotions, the scenery...  And well that's something I love sharing, because to me it's real.    

It's kind of strange how the first book "Marks of the Satrii" was written in a general flow of music, but the second book "Blades of the Ytinu Srebas" has scenes where the music became so much more. 😄

Inspirations for "Taken"

The inspiration to write Taken came from... Well there were a lot of things that inspired me to write Taken: a book I read, the people around me, needing an escape, my desire to believe in an eternal love, music...  

How did a book inspire me? Well, I happen to have read a Young Adult book that I very much enjoyed (I really liked the author's creativity and how she thought outside the box), except there were a few parts that bothered me. They didn't just bother me, they really irked me. I kept catching myself saying "if I wrote a book, I would have..." and "She did such a good job writing blah blah blah, it doesn't make sense that she would do that" (most of my complaints had to do with the interactions of the main characters). A few people (some that agreed with me, some that didn't) said, "why don't you write a book then." I laughed. I couldn't imagine writing a book because it had been made clear to me (by many teachers) that I wasn't any good at writing. But the more I heard "maybe you should try writing a book", the more the idea began to root itself inside me.

So I began writing "Taken" in 2009, there was a lot of paranormal popularity... or maybe that was just what was in my circle of life at the time. I remember as I started writing I couldn't escape the idea of what if Vampires weren't human's at all. What if they were an alien species. I had never forgotten the love story in the movie "Bram Stroker's Dracula", the reason Dracula was born. That concept of eternal love inspired the creation of the Lanigiro people. That concept of eternal love was a huge inspiration for this book.

I never want to admit it, but I can't escape the notion that writing "Taken" was a way to bring to life a dream i needed in a reality that I saw crumbling to pieces and trapping me in the rubble. I hadn't realized it at the time. To me writing was something I just felt I wanted to do. Although I guess it's safe to say, those emotions inspired - and are laced deeply into - the story. Writing "Taken" became a Sanctuary. It allowed me to shed my broken heart and build something amazing and strong. To live vicariously through a woman whose way of life was taken from her, and instead of surrendering to that fact, she became stronger, she learned to fight, she found love. One of my favorite parts about writing this book, was that it inspired me to become a stronger person.

I think my favorite inspiration came from my oldest son, he was 9 at the time. I had already started writing "Taken". I was only a few chapters in. I always did my writing when the kids were playing with their friends, watching a movie, sleeping. I'd like to say that I was just an awesome mom and since they didn't need me, I might as well be writing. But the truth is, I was embarrassed that I had started writing. I didn't want anyone to know. It was just something I would do because I wanted to. Well, one day Patrick walked in on me writing and immediately asked me what I was doing. I of course didn't know what to say, so I just stared at him until the word nothing found its way out of my mouth. He moved closer to me and the computer. He glanced at the screen and then me. I reluctantly told him I was writing. He inquired what I was writing. I shrugged, and said just writing. He must have been reading the screen, because he says "You're writing a book?!" I quickly replied, "No. Not a book, just writing." He says, "You're going to be famous!" "No, I doubt that," I assured him. He proudly told me, "But you could be." The smile on his face, the confidence that he spoke with inspired me to dream a little bigger, and actually think about publishing a book.

So there are some of the inspirations for "Taken". There are some scenes that have their own inspiration... Most of which came from music. (But I think I blog about that another day ;) )

Writing for the month of July

For the month of July I am going to focus on my book "Taken: Marks of the Satrii" because it is the first book I wrote. 

Here are the basic things about this book:

Genre: Adventure/Contemporary Fanatsy/Young Adult

Age: 10 and up.
(I let my kids read them when they were 10. There is suggestive language and mild violence so it's a parental choice. My kids really enjoyed the adventure and characters as do all my fans which spread across the spectrum from preteen to seniors)

Published: 2011

What it's about: 
A guy and a woman. (Hee Hee) Here's the official blurb: Ava's day started out just like every other. She had no idea that when her best friend, Ashley, told her they were going out for a "girl's night" that her very normal life was about to take a turn that she never saw coming. She runs to the woods to escape the reality that she doesn't want to face, only to be hunted by shadows that shouldn't be there.

Who: 
Ava (Earth woman)
Gabriel (Trinnatium man) 
Jake (Lanigiro man)
Lisa (Trinnatiu woman)
Will (Lanigiro man)
Naliak (Lanigiro man)

Where:
The story takes place on Earth, but only in the first chapter. After that we are taken to the world of the Lanigiro, which I'll get into more details later.  ;)

I think that covers the blah blah blah part of the book, if you have questions or want more information feel free to ask.