Guest Post: What Inspires Authors

Hello readers! Today I'm guesting Raine Thomas, the author of Daughters of Saraqael Trilogy! She was nice enough to write a post about inspiration when writing.
So, here it is!

What Inspires Authors?

A Guest Blog by Raine Thomas

                I’m quite excited to be guest blogging for Tamara’s Book Ramblings. I confess that I wasn’t sure what to write about when I agreed to do this. At first I thought, well, it’s a book blog. Why not write about books?

                I know, I know…

                So I started thinking about the books that I enjoy. I’m a huge fan of fiction. YA, fantasy, romance, paranormal, thrillers…essentially, anything that serves as a form of entertainment and escape works for me. When I started thinking about all of the books I love, though, it became even harder to narrow down a blog topic. Yikes!

                It then occurred to me that readers of book blogs might be interested to know what inspires authors of the books they enjoy. Readers of my Daughters of Saraqael trilogy often ask me how I came up with the concept behind the books. I imagine most authors get asked this question by their fans. Aha! Topic decided.

 

                I reached out to a few of my author friends to find out what inspires them. Interestingly, many of the same things they mentioned are on my “inspiration list.” Here are a few that we came up with:

                - Music! Finding the right tenor and beat to match the tone of a scene can be a wonderful source of inspiration. In fact, I sometimes find myself changing a scene entirely if the music I’m listening to differs from what I started writing. Other authors told me the same thing.

                - Current Events. As they say, life is stranger than fiction. When Hurricane Katrina hit, publishers saw a massive influx of natural-disaster related stories. Don’t be surprised if the recent riots in London make their way into an upcoming fiction novel. Whether we’re conscious of it or not, we’re influenced by the world around us.

                - Life. The biggest source of inspiration for any writer is, quite simply, life. We write what we know, even when we’re writing fiction. As an example, my books focus on fictional beings called Estilorians. But the heroine of Becoming is eighteen-year-old Amber Hopkins, a character who grew up in Atlanta’s foster care system. I was inspired to write her character because I worked with youth just like her for over seven years…and they are all sources of inspiration!

                There were also the “inspirational” suggestions of cookies, cake and pictures of gorgeous guys, but those go without saying, don’t they? Anyway, I know that if I want to inspire my readers, my writing must also be inspired. It was a lot of fun finding out what other writers use to light their creative fires. I’d love to know what inspires you!

Now, I join Raine in wanting to know what inspires YOU! Leave a comment telling us :)

Now, I have my answer too and it is music. Definitely music. I cannot write or read without it! Though I don't have a playlist, it inspires me so much.

About Raine Thomas: Raine Thomas is the author of a series of young adult fantasy/romance novels about the Estilorians. She has a varied background including such professions as wedding planning and mental health…two fields that intersect more often than one would think. Residing in Orlando, Florida with her husband and daughter, Raine is hard at work on her next series of books about the Estilorians: the Firstborn Trilogy.


Find more about Raine Thomas and her books on her site: http://rainethomas.com/
Add her as a friend on GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5053436.Raine_Thomas
Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Raine_Thomas
Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rainethomas


Hope you liked the post as much as I did! 
Read on :)