"Thoughtful Thursday"

Today is a day for reflection. As I near the end of the editing process for my book, Taming the Heart, I think about where it all began. Like a lot of inspiration for writers, I had a dream. In the dream I was in the mountains taking pictures when I was attacked by two men and injured. I was also on the phone with my friend Kris when this happened. In my dream, she came to my rescue and saved me. You'd have to read my book to find out more of the details, but the first 3 chapters are my dream. Of course I had to change some of it around so the story made sense, (because most dreams don't) but I stayed as close to it as I could.

When I told the dream to Kris, she said it would be a good book. At first I thought she was crazy, but after much encouragement, I wrote down what I could remember just so we would have it to share between the two of us. The next thing I knew my imagination went wild and the story grew into a 3 book saga.


Taming the Heart is told in first person, through Kira's point of view. Kris is Kira. I based as much of her personality on my friend as I could. Kris was in the archery club in high school and won many competitions--so did Kira. She's a master on the computer. Anything goes wrong with mine and she can fix it. Even the part in my book about Kira being a mouse came from her. Most of the time she is shy and withdrawn, and would do anything to avoid conflict, but if you make her mad, look out. She's got spunk.

Every step of the way, Kris has been there. She's read everything I've written, even the really bad stuff in the beginning and supported me through it all. When I was depressed and thinking I wasn't good enough, she would give me a swift kick and tell me to keep writing. When I was stuck on a scene or couldn't get into a character's head, she would talk me through it until the creative juices started flowing again. Never once has she complained about the sleepless nights she forced herself to read the entire book AGAIN, because it was the only time she could have the computer without kids running around disturbing her.

So, today I want to thank Kris for being my friend. Without her, this book would still just be a dream. And I also want to tell her to get some sleep. I'll be starting the editing process on book two in a couple weeks. Hope you're ready girlfriend.