Please welcome a fellow Bookstrand author to my blog. I'm excited to have her as my guest because she writes stories about PIRATES!  Oh baby....my favorite!

Also, Laurie wants to let you know that if you leave a comment, your name will go into a drawing to win her ebook, Pirate's Promise. Just send an email to - laurieryanauthor@gmail.com


Laurie Ryan writes sensual stories of real-life characters thrust into extraordinary situations. 



Inspiration



I’d like to thank Phyllis Campbell for having me here today. It’s release day for Pirate’s Promise, the second of three books in my pirate saga. As I wind down on edits for the third installment, I’m finding myself very nostalgic. It got me to thinking about how this series began mulling around in my brain. Inspiration can come from anywhere. However, my personal belief is that it is triggered by one or more of the five (or six) senses.


Inspiration can be visual. For instance, take this blog. I love the color Phyllis has used here. It’s calming, yet it draws me in. The striations in the background make me feel like I’m traveling to another place. Hmmm. And it makes me think of purple satin sheets. So I make a mental note to use satin sheets in a love scene. Thanks for the idea, Phyllis!

Ideas can be audio-induced. How many times has a song brought you to tears? Or inspired you to write a poem? Or to hug someone? Some songs, like Faith Hill’s This Kiss can remind me to slow down that kiss in a scene. Celine Dion’s I Drove All Night can amp it up and help me remember how far someone will go for love.

The sense of smell is a too-often ignored avenue of inspiration. I can walk through the grocery store, smell the fresh bread baking, and envision some muscle-bound, blond Adonis, elbow deep in dough, kneading away. Of course, then my imagination takes it to the next step and I’m thinking about other things he might knead. About that time, I remember that bakers need to wear hairnets and pop! There goes the illusion. Still, if the idea has merit, it goes into my idea book for a possible future story.


And let’s not forget the sense of taste. There’s a bit in my third book where the hero feeds a bite of deep, dark, sinful chocolate cake to the heroine. Can you envision this?


In real life, touch can invoke a distant memory or a strong desire. When my husband was in the hospital, I couldn’t stop stroking my hand along his back. He said it made him feel taken care of and relaxed. For me, it was reassurance. That memory reminds me of the power of touch and I try to use that in my stories.



For my pirate series, I think the sixth sense, an unconscious thing, kicked in. This series was inspired by a local Tall Ships Festival I attended. Walking amongst those gallant vessels, seeing them raise sail, tasting the tang of the seawater in the air, smelling the oils and polish and canvas, touching the well polished teakwood, and hearing the crews banter back and forth got to me. I knew there was a story here. As it turned out, I found three of them.


I’ve been anxiously waiting for Pirate’s Promise to be released, as it explains why tall, blond, hunky Hawk turned to a life of crime. Sparks fly when his hot tempered attorney, Julia, gets drawn into the mix, her career in jeopardy thanks to his stubborn, single-minded plans.

For more information, feel free to ask a question or visit my website at: http://www.laurieryanauthor.com/