ROCCO'S been a baaad, baaaad, boy.....so Master posts on writing

Hello, Toni here. Rocco will not be posting today, mainly because he was a very BAD BOY over the weekend. There are birds in a nest under the air conditioner in the living room and Rocco decided he wanted to play with them (or maybe eat one for lunch, who knows...he's always hungry). So he took a swipe with his mighty paw and put a hole in the trim around the air conditioner that I had to fix with duct tape so...his blogging priviliges are curtailed for a while. He also did not get any of his brother's birthday cake (Maxx turned 3 last week).

which means y'all are stuck with me :)

So since I'm doing the posting today, I thought I'd talk a bit about what I love to do: writing.

The main question I always get is, where do you get your ideas? the answer is: I can't tell you. Not becasue I want to keep it a deep, dark secret or anything, I jsut can't tell you becasue I really dont' know. They jsut come, and at odd times and in odd places. I can't tell you how many times I've woken from a dream in which I had the best idea or breakthrough ever, and if I dont' get myself up and write it down immediately forget it! (that's exactly what happens - I forget it) I also get a lot of ideas in the tub. Yes, the tub. Water is extremely good for promoting creative energy - a psychic friend of mine told me that once. And i've found it to be true. Some of my best characters were created in the tub - case in point, Autumn Hathaway.

Autumn is the main character in my series that did not sell. the first book was entitled SOAPSUDS, SEX AND SILVER BULLETS and it actually interested an agent who, at the time three years ago, was regarded as somewhat of a powerhouse in the industry. It went out on one round, attracted the attention of an editor at NAL, went all the way up to the editorial board - and was shot down becasue a) its author was unknown, untested and untried, and b) it was too similar to Eileen Davidson's soap opera mystery series. Said agent lost interest and eventually we parted ways - but that's another story.

Anyway, there's just something in me that refuses to give up on Autumn Hathaway and her world. ONe thing I've got to change is make it more of a romance than a mystery - seems they sell better. but aside from that, I truly believe that I created a group of characters just as memorable as any others. For example:

Autumn Hathaway - a mortal girl. Totally mortal, no powers of any kind. what the heck would she be doing in a paranormal romance/mystery, you say? THAT'S THE HOOK. She's mortal! autumn's a gal who's had a spotty, bad love life and as a result she's sworn off men. Moved to New York from LA after a failed love affair and got a job as Headwriter on a daytime soap, STORMY SEAS (I'm thinking of making it a nighttime series in the rewrite, as soaps are getting passe) Stormy Seas was created by a vampire, and stars a werewolf and a vampire (real ones) as the main characters. Autumn has lusty feelings for her werewolf star, but they're merely the manifestations of her sexual repression - her real feelings are for....ta dah.....

Logan Slade - an Inheritor Vampire detective. Inheritor Vampires are a special breed of vamp who, thanks to a mortal strain in thier background, have many human traits while still retaining some of the ones that characterize a vampire. For example, they do have a thirst for blood, but they find it easier to control becasue they can also eat regular foods. They can walk in sunlight, look at crosses, see their reflection, yada yada, but they can also shapeshift into bats, mind meld like most vampires. Autumn meets Logan when he's called in to investigate a murder at the studio, and sexual sparks fly! there's also...

Simon Halliwell - a Luna - he's a half breed, the result of a mortal mother and a werewolf father, but he can do anythig a regular werewolf can do. He's sexy, he's handsome, he's the star of Stormy Seas and he gets accused of a murder he did not commit. Which brings us to....

Henry Bourne - Autumn's boss and another Inheritor Vampire. he's fiercely devoted to his two nephews, simon and Bryce - but would he kill for them? And then there's

Selena Carter - Autumn's best friend, another mortal who's got a giant sized crush on Simon and who has no reservations whatsoever about dating a werewolf.

there are lots and lots of secondary characters, too. I was criticized for having too many of them but you know what? The better for spin offs, my dear.

and I thought of all of them in the tub!

Autumn and company will have another life - I jsut havent' decided how, yet. But they will. Some characters are just too good, too memorable to let rot in your computer :) How did i think of them? Well, I've always loved mystery shows, and I was a huge DARK SHADOWS fan growing up. this idea's been germinating for years. sometimes all you need is just a little shove, a little spark ofj something to get you going...in my case it was a rejection letter on another novel that I'd written thast sparked, once agains, the idea of writing about a gal who's human, and who writes for a show where the entire cast and crew are supernatural....all but her, and yet she's the one who solves the mysteries. Kind of like a combo Buffy/Nancy Drew.

and then there's the superhero, ONYX, who's inspiration was the name on the side of a garbage truck...but that's a post for another day.

We'll have to see if Rocco is back tomorrow....he misses typing, and he's trying to be good. But he's so good at being BAD.


Toni
Mom to Rocco, Max, Trixie and Gata