What if?

Have you ever played the 'What if?' game? I have and do everytime I'm brainstorming a new book, which is where I'm at now...

My debut book, HER ONE DESIRE, which came out in July from Kensington/Zebra books, is the story of a Scottish spy and his quest to protect the executioner’s daughter.

Those last two words were the only words I needed to sell that book: executioner’s daughter. Where did I get the idea, you ask?...

While in the midst of brainstorming ideas for my next book, I found myself searching for inspiration. I looked in the mirror and thought if I keep staring I would be able to find something in my brain to trigger an idea. Unfortunately, my reflection hollered, “What the hell are you looking at?”

I didn’t find what I was looking for there so I went outside and looked at the fields of corn, the gravel driveway, a blade of grass. Nothin’. So I looked up and said, “Give me an idea, pleeeeease.”

Yes, I was asking for the supreme being of all creation to take time out of His busy day and give me an idea for my next book. That was selfish when you think about it. I mean, He has more important things to do, right? So, I thought long and hard and what did I come up with? Lunch. Yep. Lunch. So I fixed myself a little southern fired something and flipped on the TV. A documentary was on about the lives and families of the executioner. It was really quite fascinating. So then I started playing that game…you know the one…the ‘What if?’ game.

What if I wrote a story about the executioner? Oh, he started out as my villain, then I mixed it up a little and he became the hero. It still wasn’t right, so I said the word’s that practically wrote HER ONE DESIRE for itself…What if the heroine was the executioner’s daughter. And there is was. An idea was born.

You know how long it takes the Road Runner to sneak up on Wile E. Coyote? Well, that’s how long it took me to google a few keywords: executioner, occupation, medieval, torture … This went on and on, and before I knew it I had educated myself on every form of torture between hung, drawn, and quartered to peine forte et dure (Pressing to death)

Curiosity leads me to ask, ‘What if?’ So, as I sit here trying to develop my next story idea, I’m also curious to know how other writers develop ideas. Do you play the ‘What if?’ game? Do you get on your knees and pray for inspiration? Does whiskey help? Please, do tell…