|
Behind the
Scenes... |
|
Because I'm one of those
spastic people who adores listening to music (and doing pretty
much anything other than writing...sigh), I thought I'd put
together a little something that explains what in the hell is
going on in my head when I come up with a story idea, and how I
beat it into submission!
Before we get started,
understand one important thing...I am, in no way, witty when it
comes to talking about myself or my process, so proceed at your
own risk!! |
|
|
|
 |
Once upon a
time, many many moons ago (okay it was only 18 months), I got it
in my blonde head that I should try to write erotic romance...I
mean, I read it, I edit it (for Liquid Silver Books)...why
shouldn't I write it?? Yeahhhh, riiiight!! I was
pretty happy with what came out of my experiment (Blink of an
Eye), and I fell totally in love with Cassidy and Scott.
Because this was a totally new experiment for me, my musical
material varied widely...everything from
Tim McGraw (who's an Okie, BTW)
to
Smashing Pumpkins.
Because my brain is feeble and old *g*, I couldn't possibly
dredge up the actual songs that made me tap my toes, but those
were two major players... |
|
|
|
 |
Baptism, and
the whole RuneQuest series, wasn't supposed to be erotica.
Instead, I'd envisioned it for my TL Schaefer stuff. But I
had so much fun writing Blink of an Eye, I decided to give it a
shot. I wrote the opening paragraphs at my
OKRWA
writer's retreat, and it just kept picking at me until I bowed
in submission. Aidan was in my head first, and Leanan
followed soon after. When it came to music, I listened to
Enya,
Amy Lee (from
Evanescence),
some
Talking Heads (a fireman book
MUST have Burning Down the House...it's an imperative) and the
Red Hot Chili Peppers
(specifically,
Blood Sugar Sex Magik). I
know, VERY eclectic mix, but what can I say, I like a bit of
everything! |
|
|
|
 |
This one was pure
girl power! I was writing this simultaneously with final
revisions on
Saints (cover coming soon,
promise!), and it was all about the girls in both books.
Ms. MacLachlan (Mirrorball),
Ms. Lennox (Diva)
and Ms. Keys (Diary
of Alicia Keys),
please step forward and take a bow!
Chloe came about from you! That's not to say that Logan
doesn't have his own inspiration, but that was more tribal, and
since I live in Oklahoma, it's much easier to come by on a local
level. |
|
|
|
 |
Wow, how do you
deconstruct something you wrote in 1999? I can barely
recall what I did on my LAST book, let alone my first *g*. I DO
remember being terrified, and wondering if I totally sucked.
There's a loooong, drawn out story as to how I came by this idea
in the
interviews section, if you're
remotely interested. All I can really remember was putting
my fingers on the keyboard and praying, which may seem muy weird
since it's a book about witchcraft!! Because I was still
developing my craft (and trying to figure out what in the hell
I'd inflicted upon myself), music wasn't an option...I needed
all my attention to go to the book...and only the book.
Needless to say, my husband, while tremendously supporting, did
throw a few of those "are you coming out in this century?"
questions in. |
|
|
|
 |
I LOOOVED writing
this book! Maybe because I already "knew" some of the
characters from The Summerland, or maybe because I love writing
about my hometown of Mariposa so darned much. By now I'd
KIND OF figured out what I was doing (hey, it only took my book
of shame, that will sit, forever unpubbed on my computer, to get
that far), I indulged in music. And I knew *exactly* what
kind of music I needed, even if Doug didn't listen to them *VBG*...George
Strait's Oceanfront Property,
Alan Jackson's Greatest Hits,
Dwight Yoakam's ORIGINAL Guitars,
Cadillacs, etc,
Clint Black's The Greatest Hits
(even tho I already owned all of his albums), and the
irreplaceable
Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits. |
|
|
|
 |
I’ve
always listened to music while I’m writing, but especially so in
this book, to take me back to 1989. Depeche Mode’s
Personal Jesus, The Cure’s
Lovesong, The Smithereens
A Girl Like You, the Red
Hot Chili Peppers’ Higher Ground,
Living Colour’s Cult of Personality,
Jane’s Addiction’s Mountain Song
and Jane Says, The
Violent Femmes’ Nightmares,
the Psychedelic Furs’ House,
R.E.M.’s Stand, and
Concrete Blonde’s God is a Bullet
transported me back. And although Metallica’s
Enter Sandman wasn’t
released until 1991, it was such a perfect song for this book, I
took the liberty of incorporating it in. |
|
|
|
 |
This one was all about the girls!
Alicia Key's Songs in A Minor,
Annie Lennox's Diva, Sarah
McLachlan's Afterglow and
Mirrorball, Sade's
Lover's Rock and ANYTHING by Bonnie Raitt!
I wrote this book long
before I started in on my erotic stuff, and I can definitely
credit the listening preferences I got here to helping me out
with Ends of the Earth! |
|
|
|
|
|
What I'm
working on now... |
 |
I'm working on this
one semi-diligently right now (because my critique partner Pat
has threatened me with bodily harm if I don't write Mikey's
story). As I work through it, I'm listening to harder
stuff...and it's all because of Fiona, the heroine. While
I absolutely adore groups like Seether (Karma
and Effect) and Disturbed (10,000
Fists), sometimes a girl needs a blues break, y'know?
No such luck. Fiona has taken over my listening
preferences...that bitch! Now hopefully she's worth it! |
All content © TL Schaefer/Keira Ramsay 2007
Web design by Graphicfantastic.com
|
