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 ;) )