Writing is something that has always interested me, it began at an early age, perhaps nine or 10. Looking back through my old writing journals it is evident that I took my inspiration from the television and what went on around me. One of my first stories was about Prince Charles and Princess Diana and their failing relationship. I’m not entirely sure how I came up with the quirky plots, but Prince Charles had left the palace to go and purchase a tube of toothpaste. Not just any toothpaste mind you, he needed the kind that Princess Diana did not like. His plan was to make her leave by not letting her have the toothpaste she liked best.

From this short three-page story it tells me two things; first, the divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana must have been heavily spoken of in the news and second, my mother must have taken us to the grocery store and allowed my sister to choose the toothpaste. I was obviously so traumatized by her poor choice that I wrote a story about it.

From there on my stories took on more of a creative turn as I wrote of damsels in distress being rescued by none other than knights in shining armor. Of course all teenage girls dream of these stories and most of them were created not only by me, but most likely by a group of giggling girls at the lunchroom table in junior high.

As high school and college progressed I enjoyed writing poetry using the names of all of my friends. I also wrote short stories involving science experiments gone awry, hey I never liked that professor anyways, and dramatized each and every bad date that I had using nothing more than my blue ink pen. Lucky for the boys I dated, I never shared the stories.

That was then though, and this is now, and what better way to gain inspiration for a story than by personal experience.

Years ago I read a book entitled Beyond Perfection by Juli Caldwell and Erin McBride and upon researching the book and its authors a bit more, I discovered that all of the follies that the book portrayed had indeed happened to one or the other of them or their friends.  At the time I was not pursuing my writing career, and did not think much about how the authors gained their inspiration for the lighthearted book. Now, as I am constantly watching and analyzing each and every event in life for a potential plot line I see it as a strike of genius to have so much fodder for my novels.  So watch out boys, real life is fair game, an out come all of the bad dates, botched kisses and most of all bad lines for being dumped for another woman that I cannot see how she was any cuter than me or my roommate.

Oh how those college years were the woe of my existence, but now the food of my writing. As I have been penning my two most recent novels I can definitely see how the events that have a basis in real life make for a better story.  The dramatization and enhancements flow so easily when I remember that look upon my roommates face as we all ate ice cream after her first kiss. Or how quickly six of us would run through a box of tissues as we cried with her after being dumped and then ridiculed the sorry specimen of a man who would dare to hurt her feelings.

My current book, that I am working on, is entitled “Third Life’s a Charm”. It’s funny how the heroine bears an uncanny resemblance, in appearance, to myself, but has a mixture of personalities.  She has elements of many people I have encountered in life. My hero on the other hand, is most definitely my husband, in looks but also a mixture of personalities.

The main story revolves around a woman named Paige Wells, she’s an only child who feels that life dealt her a bad hand, and instead of facing it and trying to increase her situation she instead runs away. That is until she meets Bray Reeves. Bray comes from a large and well-connected family and to her it seems he has been given everything on a silver platter, and she hates him for it.  Little does she know, life hasn’t always been peaches and cream for him, he had to work to get there. Somehow he has taken a fancy with her and would like to get to know her, but her insecurities and poor self-esteem inhibit him from being able to do so.

Paige must learn to love herself before she can learn to accept Bray’s love and it may just take her running away for a fourth life, but returning to her third. Perhaps the saying is correct, “Third Time’s a Charm” and it applies to life also.

So, dear reader, I must ask you this, what do you think about authors using real-life experiences as the fodder for their masterful tales?