One of the things people often ask me is how did I come up with the ideas for my books? My first answer is my imagination. While this is true, it doesn’t explain everything. We don’t exist in a void. We’re constantly influenced by our environment. People we know play a role, but so do our experiences and our day-to-day activities. We read, travel, watch movies and generally live. Everything that touches us leaves its mark.
So my true answer is that life fuels my imagination and anything that sparks a new idea gets written down on whatever I have handy—a napkin, envelope, even my hand. They’re then added to my notebook of book ideas which I rely on when I’m plotting.
As I was going through it the other day, I was surprised by the trend. Many of my writing triggers come from songs. Music has always been a pleasure of mine. While I can’t sing or play an instrument, I love to listen to all types of music from country to heavy metal and everything in between. Subconsciously it’s been influencing me. I can’t complain when it keeps the words flowing and my idea list full of HEAs that need to be written.
My newest release, Favorite Obsession, was inspired by a few pieces. One of them is Metallica’s Enter Sandman. It’s even mentioned in the story. The lyrics hint at Josh’s struggle and he can’t help asking—is it reality or fantasy?
“…Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight
Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
Off to never never land…”
Metallica’s Enter Sandman video: http://youtu.be/CD-E-LDc384
Excerpt
Josh was dreaming. It had to be a dream. If it wasn’t, he’d slipped into some fucked-up alternate dimension. Because he was a cat.
He padded across the hardwood floor and peered at his image in the mirrored wall above his bar. A lion’s tawny face stared back at him, complete with a big, shaggy, black mane. The scar on his cheek even showed on the animal’s face. He turned slightly to examine his flank. The jagged white line of another old wound showed too. Hell, he could even see his tattoos through the fur. On his shoulder, his inked tiger bared its fans and the cross with his nephew’s name, John, stood out as a permanent memorial on his front leg.
Everything looked different through his eyes. The darkened room appeared brighter. All the variations of gray stood out sharper while the vibrant colors in the posters and beer signs he knew should be there, weren’t. They looked washed out as if somebody had thrown a bottle of bleach on them.
He squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head. When he opened them, a lion’s reflection still gazed back at him and the world around him still held an eerie quality no pair of night vision goggles could touch.
After a moment, the mirror fogged. Black mist spread over the surface. A woman’s hand extended from the shimmering wall, exactly as it had in the last dream he’d had. He locked his muscles instead of moving closer.
What the hell was wrong with him? He’d never had reoccurring dreams before.
A sense of desperation settled in his heart along with frustration. Neither emotion belonged to him. Anxiety tightened his chest. He took several steps back. The woman curled her hand, piercing her own palm with her talons.
Golden blood dripped.
The sight triggered a memory of apple pie and—
Favorite Obsession
Nancy Corrigan
Book 3, Royal Pride
Centuries after what should have been a blessing from a goddess, Mira has gone from the chosen daughter to a woman shamed. She’s found a tentative peace among her family and the females they’ve chosen to mate. And despite the potentially fatal consequences, Mira has found the one thing she never thought she’d have—love. Josh is the only male she’s ever wanted, desired and burned for, and he’s the only man she can never hope to keep.
One glance into Mira’s exotic feline eyes and Josh is lost. She’s everything he never knew he wanted and loving her becomes a passion he can’t deny. The obstacles keeping them apart seem insurmountable, but Josh knows he’s the man Mira needs. With every passionate encounter, every stolen touch, his certainty that he and Mira belong together grows. He’ll defy every shifter decree and fight to his dying breath to convince those around them of the truth—Mira belongs to him, mind, body and soul.
A Romantica® Paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Forbidden love…Undeniable passion.
Purchase Links
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Kobo
Publisher
ARe
B&N
Author Bio
Nancy Corrigan believes in unending love and epic tales with a paranormal flare. She enjoys transcending the boundaries of reality to take her readers on an erotic, emotional and romantic journey.
She resides in Pennsylvania with her husband and three children. When she’s not weaving sizzling fantasies, she works as a chemist in a pharmaceutical lab.
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Youtube trailer
Thanks for having me over to visit!
🙂
~Nancy
Sounds like a wonderful book. I loved the excerpt. I can only imagine a dream come to life. Music is a big part of my own life and I can’t live without it. It inspires me not only to write but also to live.