Goodreads asked Eldonna Edwards:

How do you get inspired to write?

Eldonna Edwards The obvious answer is that I get my ideas from life, from my experiences, and from the what-ifs that hit me in the shower or the grocery store or while driving. (All places, by the way, where you are least able to write them down.) But beyond the spark of ideas there needs to be an inner voice nudging me to tell a story. Not just the story I want to write, the one I MUST write.

The idea for my debut novel THIS I KNOW was gifted on a platter, nay, a silver-plated communion plate. As the daughter of a rural evangelical minister, I teethed on the back of church pews. I think I always knew I'd someday write this book.

From the Author Notes in THIS I KNOW:

Every story begins with "What if...?" and here's where truth and fiction part ways. What if my dad had been a bit of a tyrant rather than the loving, compassionate, imperfect man that he was? What if instead of a rebellious teen with a wild imagination, one of his children was born with something that challenged his deeply-held convictions?

And from there, a story about a clairvoyant preacher's daughter who comes of age in the 1960's Midwest took hold. My next book (tentative release in 2019) was inspired by a lifelong fascination with the cultural revolution. Having grown up just a beat behind the peaceniks and flower children, I missed out on Woodstock, Haight-Ashbury, and the idealist generation of hippies who turned on, tuned in and dropped out. I used to fantasize about living in a commune, learning from enlightened masters, and living off the land. In writing my next book, I turned those imaginings into the story of a young boy who grapples with invisible loyalties as he comes of age among a ragtag group of offbeat characters who live at the Saffron Freedom Community in Northern California.

Unlike my first two novels, book number three hasn't burst forth from my consciousness, screaming for attention. I have a few ideas germinating but they're just tiny seeds. I guess you could say it's the winter of my creative cycle. But the thing about seasons is that they change, and I have to trust that those riotous roots are conjuring up a hell of a good story. In the meantime, I'm pretty excited about the one that's about ready to be born.

Now I'd like to turn it around and ask "What inspires you?"

Note: This respnse contains partial excerpts from my blog post titled The Writing Season. http://eldonnaedwards.blogspot.com/20...

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