Greiman's Insanity Check
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December 7th, 2009 by Lois
Greiman
 Inspiration. It’s a funny thing. As writers we seldom know what will get our creative juices pumping. Toward that end we often try a host of things. My ritual often includes long walks, talks with uber creative friends and People magazine. That’s right, People magazine. Because, even though I’m not a particularly visually minded person it helps to see the faces of the characters I create. For instance, for my last completed manuscript I saw my male protagonist as this burly, macho, not too attractive warrior type. (My agent called him the oaf, but I’m sure that in her tender heart she really loved him.) His name was Rogan McBain and in my mind I saw him as Gerard Butler.
I put Thandie Newton beside him because she was the ideal foil for him, but halfway through the book I realized something was wrong. I was uninspired, and I blamed it on Gerard. I just couldn’t work with the likable but rough-around-the-edges character from the Ugly Truth. Neither was he right in P.S. I Love You, or 300 or RocknRolla. It was while I was half-heartedly trolling for new pics of him that I ran across photos of him from Attila the Hun.
Did you know he played that part back in 2001 cuz I sure as Hades did not. Neither did I know that tacking up these new pictures of him would change the whole book. A couple little photos and it went from boring to bold, from dull to dynamite, at least in my own mind, and it was all because of how I envisioned him in my head.
True, Charming the Devil, the book that Butler built, won’t be out until February, but I’m excited about it. It’s the third installation of my witches of Mayfair series. I hope you enjoy burly Scotsmen as much as I do. www.loisgreiman.com |
Greiman's Insanity Check
I
recently took an online longevity quiz. According to
the results, I’m supposed to live to be 106. 106!!
I’m sure you can understand why I immediately began
searching for a nice bad habit. Nothing too flashy,
something simple. Tobacco was at the top of my list
until I realized I’d actually have to inhale
carcinogens. After that I got more creative. For
instance, last summer I did some mountain climbing
with my family. True, a little altitude shouldn’t be
fatal, but after descending Mt. Elbert in Colorado,
I discovered I’d been toting around a lovely little
kidney stone. Three hours and ten gallons of
morphine later, I decided I wasn’t quite ready to
pull the plug and subsequently climbed a few more
14,000 footers.
Still kicking, I also began doing some gymkhana. For
those of you unfamiliar with games on horseback, I
highly recommend them for reducing your life
expectancy. (This is me on Baby Bint running the
poles.) We’re not very good, but I’m pretty sure
that doesn’t decrease your chances of fatality.
I did, however, survive the summer and am still here
in the s
ub
frigid tundra of the Northland. So, you may ask, why
not just stand out in the below stupid temperatures
and wait for hypothermia to do its job? Cuz I hate
the cold. In fact, in an effort to survive the ten
month winter, I’ve penned a couple of steamy novels
just to help me keep mobile. Consequently, Seduced
By Your Spell, my second
Witches of Mayfair story, will be released on
February 24th, while Chrissy McMullen, not to be
outdone by anyone, will hit the ground running soon
after. Her fifth adventure will not be called
Unnerved as previously expected, however. My little L.A.
nutcase has a new title and a new cover concept.
Look for One Hot Mess on March 24th.
And now, tadah!! It’s almost spring and I only have
two
books to write before August so I’m gearing up for
s
ome more potential fatalities. Until then, I’m
having a fun little ‘Lieutenant Rivera look-alike
contest.’ Pop on over to my website at
www.loisgreiman.com and click on 'win stuff' to place your vote.
We’ll throw your name in the hat for an Amazon gift
card so you can kick off your warm-weather reading.
Happy summer, everyone.
Yours Truly,
Lois Greiman