Frequently Asked Question: When you are working on a story, what inspires you?

Today’s question comes from the Insecure Writer’s Support Group.

My inspiration comes from all over the place, to be honest. It might be a news item, a piece of music, my travels … anything is fodder for a tale.

The Seen Through the Phantom’s Eyes series was inspired by Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. The Rock Star in the Mirror (Or, How David Bowie Ruined My Life) was an ode to my favorite performer. Rose in Bloom was inspired by me thinking about who might have lived in a cottage I designed for a game.

What about you? Where do you get your ideas?

Frequently Asked Question: Feels Like The First Time

Hi, everyone. It’s the first Wednesday of the month, which means it’s time for a question from the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Here we go!

Do you remember writing your first book? What were your thoughts about a career path on writing? Where are you now and how is it working out for you? If you’re at the start of the journey, what are your goals?

Yep, I remember it well. I was a professional journalist at the time. The book was called Born of War … Dedicated to Peace; it was a history of Sixth US Army, written to give as a souvenir during the June, 1995, inactivation ceremony. A lot of people are probably surprised when they learn that my first book was a work of military history.

I’m no longer a professional journalist, but I have written numerous books on my own and participated in several anthologies, so there are 37 books out there with my name on them.

A few years ago, I found a copy of Born of War … in my belongings and scanned it into Scribd. You can read it here.

Born of War … Dedicated t… by Sharon Cathcart

Frequently Asked Question: Green With Envy?

Hello, friends. It’s the first Wednesday of the month, so it must be time for a question from the Insecure Writers Support Group:

Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?

Only once, that I can recall. The opening paragraphs of Danny Gardner’s brilliant noir fiction, A Negro and an Ofay, put me right in the middle of the action like nothing I’d read before. Two chapters in, I told my husband that I wanted to write like Gardner when I grew up. I was only partially tongue-in-cheek; I don’t do noir. However, Gardner’s gift is undeniable. You’ll find my review here.

Frequently Asked Question: Can You Cover Me?

Hi, everyone. It’s the first Wednesday of the month, which means it’s time for a question from the Insecure Writers Support Group.

If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them? If you publish trad, how much input do you have about what goes on your cover?

I do both. I have a wonderful long-time friend whom I’ve worked with on a number of projects, pin-up artist James Courtney. Among other things, Jim did the cover for In The Eye of The Storm. However, I’ve spent a number of years now improving my own skills and now design some of my own covers. In fact, I’m working on a new one for Les Pensées Dangereuses right now. I hope to reveal it sooon.

Frequently Asked Question: What’s the Good Word?

Hi, everyone. It’s the first Wednesday of the month, which means it’s time for a question from the Insecure Writers Support Group.

Do you have a word of the year? Is there one word that sums up what you need to work on or change in the coming year?

You know, I have friends who do this, but I don’t. I just keep trying to be a decent person, knowing that sometimes I’ll fall short of the mark. I guess the closest I come to having a word is summed up in this Beatles tune. Enjoy!