Guest Post: A Writer's Imagination by Paranormal Romance Author C.D. Hersh...
People frequently ask howand where we got our ideas to write one story let alone a series. Honestly,sometimes it's not easy, almost like ramming your head into a huge cementabutment. Yet thankfully storylines and scenes magically appear in our minds.Sometimes more than we want.Every book demands who,what, where, and why. The plotline. From time to time that necessity confusesthose images into a gnarled mess. But we work through it.
So how do we find ideasthat allow our imaginations to run rampant? Magazines and old telephone booksare marvelous for coming up with character names. Be sure to follow the mix andmatch theory. That means do not use the full name of any one person or youmight find you have a lawsuit in the making.
We love to travel andoften our imaginations are sparked by a billboard or other people on the road,even pit stops offer fodder for a new story. Those diners and rest stops are awealth of fodder too an author.
The grocery store isanother great place to gain ideas. For example – the next time you’re in thestore take a good look at the lady scanning your purchases or maybe it’s thebagger who draws your attention. Maybe on this trip you notice somethingdifferent about one or the other. Maybe something different in her dark browneyes as if they’re hiding a secret. Of course, you can’t ask, so you allow yourimagination to take over. What if she’s a crime stopper by night? After a hardday on her feet, she shrugs out of her sweat filled uniform then into blackjeans, a black turtleneck, and low-heeled boots. She shakes out her chocolatebrown hair from its topknot and it cascades to her shoulders…You get the idea.
As writing partners, webounce ideas off each other with the C in C.D. Hersh writing explicit notes. Aftera few days or we revisit C's list and start the occasionally wonderful, butmore often heart wrenching, practice of elimination. After all, what writerdoesn’t love his/her words? We do our best not to judge or tick off each othertoo much since we're married. Besides, I love my wife. Seeing her happy makesme happy.
Here is a little about our shapeshifter series on Amazon. We hope you enjoy reading about them as much as we did writing them.TITLE: The Turning Stone Chronicles
GENRE: Urban fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
HEAT LEVEL: Sensual
Three ancient Celtic families. A magical Bloodstone that enables the wearers to shape shift. A charge to use the stone’s power to benefit mankind, and a battle, that is going on even today, to control the world. Can the Secret Society of shape shifters called the Turning Stone Society heal itself and bring peace to our world?
Find out in The Series The Turning Stone Chronicles
Book one of the chronicles titled “The Promised One” available on Amazon
In the wrong hands, the Turning Stone ring is a powerful weapon for evil. So, when homicide detective Alexi Jordan discovers her secret society mentor has been murdered and his magic ring stolen, she is forced to use her shape-shifting powers to catch the killer. By doing so, she risks the two most important things in her life—her badge and the man she loves.
Rhys Temple always knew his fiery cop partner and would-be-girlfriend, Alexi Jordan, had a few secrets. He considers that part of her charm. But when she changes into a man, he doesn’t find that as charming. He’ll keep her secret to keep her safe, but he’s not certain he can keep up a relationship—professional or personal.
Danny Shaw needs cash for the elaborate wedding his fiancée has planned, so he goes on a mugging spree. But when he kills a member of the secret society of Turning Stones and steals a magic ring that gives him the power to shape shift, Shaw gets more than he bargained for.
Book two of The Turning Stone Chronicles titled “Blood Brothers” available on Amazon.
When Delaney Ramsey is enlisted to help train two of the most powerful shape shifters the Turning Stone Society has seen in thousands of years, she suspects one of them is responsible for the disappearance of her daughter. To complicate matters, the man has a secret that could destroy them all. Bound by honor to protect the suspect, Delaney must prove his guilt without losing her life to his terrible powers or revealing to the police captain she’s falling for that she’s a shape shifter with more than one agenda.
The minute Captain Williams lays eyes on Delaney Ramsey, he knows she’s trouble. Uncooperative, secretive, and sexy, he can’t get her out of his mind. When he discovers she has a personal agenda for sifting through all the criminal records in his precinct, and secretly investigating his best detective, he can’t let her out of his sight. He must find out what she’s looking for before she does something illegal. If she steps over the line, he’s not certain he can look the other way for the sake of love.
Book three of The Turning Stone Chronicles titled “Son of the Moonless Night” currently available on Amazon.
Owen Todd Jordan Riley has a secret. He’s a shape shifter who has been hunting and killing his own kind. To him the only good shifter is a dead shifter. Revenge for the death of a friend motivates him, and nothing stands in his way . . . except Katrina Romanovski, the woman he is falling in love with.
Deputy coroner Katrina Romanovski has a secret, too. She hunts and kills paranormal beings like Owen. At least she did. When she rescues Owen from an attack by a werebear she is thrust back into the world she thought she’d left. Determined to find out what Owen knows about the bear, she begins a relationship meant to collect information. What she gets is something quite different love with a man she suspects of murder. Can she reconcile his deception and murderous revenge spree and find a way to redeem him? Or will she condemn him for the same things she has done and walk away from love?
Book four of The Turning Stone Chronicles titled “The Mercenary & the Shifters” available on Amazon.
A desperate call from an ex-military buddy lands a mercenary soldier in the middle of a double kidnapping, caught in an ancient shape shifter war, and ensnared between two female shape shifters after the same thing ... him.
The first four books of their paranormal romance series entitled The Turning Stone Chronicles Series page are available on Amazon. Their standalone novella, Can’t Stop The Music, is in the Soul Mate Tree collection with twelve other authors from various genres.
Putting words and stories on paper is second nature to the husband and wife co-authors whose pen name is C.D. Hersh. They’ve written separately since they were teenagers and discovered their unique, collaborative abilities in the mid-90s while co-authoring a number of dramas, six which have been produced in Ohio, where they live. Their interactive Christmas production had five seasonal runs in their hometown and has been sold in Virginia, California, and Ohio. As high school sweethearts, Catherine and Donald believe in true love and happily ever after. Which is why they write it!When they aren’t collaborating on a book, they enjoy reading; singing; theatre and drama; traveling; remodeling houses (Donald has remodeled something in every home they’ve owned); and antiquing. Catherine, who loves gardening, has recently drawn Donald into her world as a day laborer. Catherine is an award-winning gardener — you can see some of her garden on their website.
They are looking forward to many years of co-authoring and book sales, and a lifetime of happily-ever-after endings on the page and in real life.
You can see excerpts of their books, connect with, and follow C.D. Hersh at:
