Book Reader asked Lisa Jackson:

This is so exciting! I have read most of your books and they are great! Sometimes I am wide awake at night after reading one of your books because I think I hear noises in my old house lol. Do you ever get spooked while you are writing? Where do you find the inspiration behind your storylines? Are the characters in your books based on real people?

Lisa Jackson If I scare myself while writing, then I figure I’ve done my job. I try to feel the emotions of the characters and the mood of the scene and hopefully convey those elements to my readers. But yes, once while I was alone in the house doing research once and writing a scary scene, the wind banged a door shut. I literally jumped out of my chair. Once my heart rate was back to normal, I figured I’d nailed that scene.

I find inspiration in all facets of life: memories, stories, movies, news pieces and even once a radio advertisement. Usually, if something catches my eye or hooks me, I think, “What if?” and give it a new spin. Sometimes a story line prevails and I get a book out of it but often the inspiration dies a quick death.

Only a couple of my characters are based on real people–and one is an ex copy whose a friend of mine: Officer Larry Sparks of the Oregon State Police appeared in DEEP FREEZE, FATAL BURN and AFTER SHE’S GONE. As for the other characters I’ve written? They’re all completely fictitious or an amalgam of people I’ve met.

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