"Where I get my ideas" by Amy Reade

Author Amy Reade

I was giving a presentation several weeks ago when a woman in the audience asked me where I get my ideas for novels. 

The question stopped me cold. I know, I know, I should have expected it. It’s one of the more common questions authors receive when they give talks or participate in book signings and I’ve answered it myself dozens of times. But for some reason there were so many answers swirling around in my head that all I could manage was to stammer, “Um, my imagination, I guess."

Face palm.

I eventually recovered and started talking about all the places authors’ ideas come from. And there are as many places as there are authors—probably many more. We get ideas from news headlines, obituaries, overheard pieces of conversation, dreams, even other books. Sometimes we have no hint as to where an idea came from. Sometimes an idea comes when brainstorming answers to a “What if?” question.

Once there is that little seed of an idea, that’s where the imagination kicks in. I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the places I’ve found ideas lately.

The first is an article I read on Flipboard, a personalized magazine app I have on my phone. Just the other day I read a story from “Rolling Stone” about a man who, after coming under suspicion for killing his second wife, also came under suspicion for the death of his first wife. (https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/black-widower-how-one-man-allegedly-murdered-two-wives-w513791). 

   

The second was nothing more than a headline (I can’t seem to find it now) about a woman whose bag was misplaced by airport handlers and finally returned to her years later. I got thinking: what if the woman had put something in the bag that connected her to a crime? What if that item was missing when she got the bag back? That could make for a very interesting situation.

The third is another headline: “Stabbing disrupts class for anger management.” I could see this happening in a book by M.C. Beaton.
 

Fourth is an obituary you have to read to believe: http://www.portlavacawave.com/obituaries/howard-wayne-neal/article_966733bc-7c30-11e6-ac8c-6b78ed8e909e.html. I love it. How fun would it be to write a book with such a main character?

And finally, an overheard conversation: at a local shop just last week, I listened as a woman and her husband argued over what to buy the woman’s mother for Christmas. I got thinking about what type of arguments they have in private if they’re willing to argue like that in public. And more “What ifs?” popped into my head. What if the woman suddenly turned up dead after the argument, which other people also overheard? What if the mother was found dead? These could make really interesting stories.

The next time you come across an intriguing headline or an over-the-top obituary, I encourage you to ask the follow-up “What if?” questions. You might find—or invent—a great story. And for those of you who, like me, enjoy true crime stories, it’s often the case that the truth really is stranger than fiction.

Thanks for having me here today, Pat. It’s been an honor and a privilege.

My pleasure, Amy. Thank you for being my guest. 

Here are Amy's social media locations:

Websites: www.amymreade.com and www.12slaysofchristmas.com

Blog: www.amreade.wordpress.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/amreadeauthor

Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/AmyMReadesGothicFictionFans

Twitter: www.twitter.com/readeandwrite

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/amreade

Instagram: www.instagram.com/amymreade

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Amy-M.-Reade/e/B00LX6ASF2/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Goodreads Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8189243.Amy_M_Reade

Mystery Author of the Month: Amy Reade

Author, Amy Reade

Patricia: Amy, when did you know you wanted to be a writer? 
Amy: I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer until I had already started writing. Here’s how it started: I had three young children at home and I wanted (needed?) some time to myself, so my in-laws babysat three nights in a row while I, either on a whim or just out of sheer desperation, attended a workshop at a local library given by a sometimes-local author. 
By the end of that first night, I was hooked. I loved the homework, I loved talking with the group about writing, and I loved that the first homework assignment spurred me to think creatively in a way that wasn’t geared toward getting my kids to try salmon for dinner or pick up toys from the living room floor. 
After the workshop ended I continued working on that story for a long time. I would write, then set it aside for months, then write again, and so on. At some point on the way to finishing my story, I decided that I should be doing something with it, not just letting it sit in my desk (and it was literally in my desk- I wrote the entire book longhand). So I bought a book by Phyllis Whitney called Guide to Fiction Writing and I pored over it, made notes, highlighted sections, and made the decision to try to submit the story to publishers.

Patricia: That's an interesting story, Amy. But, what if, for some reason, you couldn’t be a writer, what profession would you choose?

Amy: If I couldn’t be a writer, I would go back (reluctantly) to my job as a lawyer. 

Patricia: Do you have a bucket list, things you still want to do and/or places you want to visit?

Amy: How much time do you have? My bucket list is even longer than my TBR (to-be-read) list, which itself is as long as a city block. My bucket list consists mostly of places, not activities. I’d love to go to Turkey, Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, and Morocco. I have a Pinterest board devoted to my Bucket List. I can dream, right?

Author Bio:
Amy M. Reade grew up in northern New York. After graduating from college and law school, she practiced law in New York City before moving to southern New Jersey, where she lives now with her husband, three children, dog, two cats, and a fish. She writes full time and is the author of Secrets of Hallstead House, The Ghosts of Peppernell Manor, and House of Hanging Jade. She is currently working on the second and third books of The Malice Series, a trilogy set in the United Kingdom (Book 1, The House on Candlewick Lane, has an expected release date in February 2017). She loves cooking, reading, and traveling. 

Amy can be found online at http://www.amymreade.com (website), http://amreade.wordpress.com (blog), http://www.facebook.com/amreadeauthor, http://www.twitter.com/readeandwrite, and http://www.pinterest.com/amreade.

 

Secrets of Hallstead House

Macy Stoddard had hoped to ease the grief of losing her parents in a fiery car crash by accepting a job as a private nurse to the wealthy and widowed Alexandria Hallstead. But her first sight of Summerplace is of a dark and forbidding home. She quickly finds its winding halls and shadowy rooms filled with secrets and suspicions. Alex seems happy to have Macy's help, but others on the island, including Alex's sinister servants and hostile relatives, are far less welcoming. Watching eyes, veiled threats...slowly, surely, the menacing spirit of Hallstead Island closes in around Macy. And she can only wonder if her story will become just one of the many secrets of Hallstead House...

 

The Ghosts of Peppernell Manor

"Do you know what stories Sarah could tell you about the things that happened in these little cabins? They’d curl that pretty red hair of yours." 

Outside of Charleston, South Carolina, beyond hanging curtains of Spanish moss, at the end of a shaded tunnel of overarching oaks, stands the antebellum mansion of Peppernell Manor in all its faded grandeur. At the request of her friend Evie Peppernell, recently divorced Carleigh Warner and her young daughter Lucy have come to the plantation house to refurbish the interior. But the tall white columns and black shutters hide a dark history of slavery, violence, and greed. The ghost of a former slave is said to haunt the home, and Carleigh is told she disapproves of her restoration efforts. And beneath the polite hospitality of the Peppernell family lie simmering resentments and poisonous secrets that culminate in murder—and place Carleigh and her child in grave danger…

House of the Hanging Jade

A dark presence had invaded the Jorgensens' house. On a spectacular bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, something evil is watching and waiting . . .

Tired of the cold winters in Washington, D.C. and disturbed by her increasingly obsessive boyfriend, Kailani Kanaka savors her move back to her native Big Island of Hawaii. She also finds a new job as personal chef for the Jorgensen family. The gentle caress of the Hawaiian trade winds, the soft sigh of the swaying palm trees, and the stunning blue waters of the Pacific lull her into a sense of calm at the House of Hanging Jade--an idyll that quickly fades as it becomes apparent that dark secrets lurk within her new home. Furtive whispers in the night, a terrifying shark attack, and the discovery of a dead body leave Kailani shaken and afraid. But it's the unexpected appearance of her ex-boyfriend, tracking her every move and demanding she return to him, that has her fearing for her life . . .

https://www.amazon.com/Amy-M.-Reade/e/B00LX6ASF2/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/secrets-of-hallstead-house-1

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-ghosts-of-peppernell-manor

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/house-of-the-hanging-jade

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/amy+m+reade?_requestid=227914

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/28628

www.indiebound.org

I'm offering a free e-Book copy of House of the Hanging Jade, my most recent book, to someone who leaves a comment. The winner will be announced on Saturday. 
Pam Wight is the winner! Congratulations!