As a writer, one of the questions I'm asked most often is: how do you get your book ideas? For me, I usually see an image or hear a story which gets the creative juices going. For example, my first book, Their Last Chance, is about a couple who end up on a reality television show for divorce. At the time I wrote this story, I was working as a legal mediator in the divorce field. I had heard about couples going to an island to iron our their differences. This concept sparked the idea for my novel. I didn't know who my couple would be or how they would get to the island. I didn't initially plan for it to be a reality show. All these parts came later.
ForThe Santa Games, I saw a picture similar to the one in this post. I became intrigued with the idea of there being a classroom for Santas or a Santa camp. While the Santa camp didn't end up being the primary setting for my book, it is in there! As are a ton of Santas who help the main characters.
For Fun Lessons (newest book coming out in Spring 2023), I thought of the title first. Once I had that title, I started to think: what fun lessons? who is getting them? who is giving them? what crazy things do they do? An idea for a fun lesson came over lunch. One of my friends mentioned her mother was going on a "mystery bus tour" where participants sign up but don't know where they are going. How fun is that? Of course, a mystery bus tour is in the book. It's probably my favorite chapter!
So, this is how it goes for me. Do you have a creative endeavor? How do you get your ideas?
