Paranormal Perceptions ~ Why Write?
The Paranormal Perceptions series was created to gather some of the most interesting authors that are using paranormal elements in their stories. Every author has their own perceptions and provides their own insight on all things paranormal, ranging from urban legends and paranormal research, to myths and inspirations. This week on the guest series is author of Shadow Play, author Christie Palmer.
Besides the fact that if I didn’t write the voices in my head would take over and I’d be drooling in the corner twitching. Okay so that is a bad/good Saturday night but seriously, I have characters running around in my head with an imagination that would make the normal personal see stars. And frankly a normal person wouldn’t sign up for this. Not that I would give it up for anything in the world.
But that isn’t how I got started as a writer, that is my life now.
Why I write?
First of all, I am a hopeless romantic. I love a good love story. But I knew I wanted to be a writer after reading a book where: Heroine rescues hero (book 1), hero then rescues heroine (book 2), they then save the kingdom form certain doom (book 3). But in the end the heroine leaves the hero….WHAT? For a hopeless romantic I was devastated and even after twenty plus years it still upsets me. I’m not even sure how the heroine doesn’t end up with the hero. I go back and read the final book and am still confused. I think everyone deserves a happy ever after.
EVERYONE!
So when this epic tale didn’t end they way my pitter patter teen heart thought it should. I sat down and wrote a fourth book. In which my heroine ends up with my hero. I wrote it out in long hand and with a pencil and lose paper. But I did it and never showed it to a single soul, knowing though that I gave them a happy ending was enough for me. I will tell you this much, however, I still have that story and I look at it and smile. Knowing that in my heart of hearts the heroine and hero ended up together.
After I not only knew I wanted to write, but I wanted to always write love stories and they all HAD to have happy endings.
We are bombarded on a daily basis with horrifying and dark imagines of things that are often out of our capacity to control. If I didn’t have my books and writing to immerse myself in I think I would go stark raving mad, and since it’s my imagination I give everyone a happy ending.
I have to admit that I started my writing with bad poetry and even worse short stories. And received accolades from teachers and peers. These praises pushed me forward to push my abilities and writing skills and become the writer that I always wanted to do. The problem was I hadn’t found my voice, the voice that drives you to finish that novel instead of writing and writing and writing and getting nowhere. And I have to believe that every writer has been there, unsure how their voice sounds. But as I raised my children and worked a day job I wrote and wrote but never finished a novel. I have twenty years of that and close to two dozen unfinished manuscripts in my attempt to find the voice you have to have to actually finish a book. Authors that find that voice or have it to begin with are very lucky.
Then several years ago, I read a book that would change my life forever. I read Jeannine Frosts first Night Huntress Book: Halfway to the Grave. And holy cow, I finished reading it and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I admit I became obsessed. To the point I stayed up at night plotting out different Urban Fantasy locations and ideas. Now don’t get me wrong I had read hundreds of books before that, both historical romances, current romances, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, current fiction, biographies etc. But this book, this one book changed me forever. I finished reading that book and my writer’s voice stepped up and began to scream in my ear, bellowing to be heard. I finished that book in the fall and I finished my first book that Christmas. My second and third books where finished the next year. Shadow Play was one of those.
So why do I write? Because I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I love writing, the characters the building of a story, the arch’s and resolution. And I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Review
A small town in the mountains of Marshall, Montana is being plagued by an unknown entity. It’s mutilating and killing the women of the town. At his wits end the Sheriff of Marshall has nowhere to turn but to a friend. A friend, with the abilities to track and kill any prey. Ryder doesn’t normally do mortal issues. However, he can’t turn his back on a friend. Besides he is the best at what he does. After all he is a Tracker, an ancient race with unparalleled abilities to track down any prey. With one of the three