Introduction
I can’t speak for most authors. So, I’ll refrain from saying things like “all authors need this.” What I can say is that listening to music on my ear buds isn’t always enough to get me into the writing mode. What I require is my music and a comfortable surface, like a plush chair or my soft mattress. I write with a device called a braille note, which is a note taker used by blind individuals. So lucky for me, I can lie down while typing. For some strange reason, the frigid winter always entices me to crank up the heat and curl up under my comforter with my phone and my note taker. It was on a frigid December day that the next burst of inspiration hit.
Blurb
Enly Saint Claire is fortunate. She attends an elite academy, is the heir to a billion-dollar fortune, and is betrothed to the future Lord Regent of the Great Plains. But what she desires most is her half-brother Jonah’s freedom. Jonah has been enslaved because of his mother’s mistakes. Enly plans to free Jonah when she becomes a lady regent. That plan backfires when her betrothed decides to marry someone else. Now Enly will do anything to free her half-brother, even if it means rejecting the love of her life.
“Never Grow Up” by Taylor Swift
I abhor the cold, and will do anything to avoid it. It was nearing Christmas, and I was relieved that all of my shopping had been done online. The house was empty, and I thought, “Why not?” I had just released “Confide” which is book 3 of the Philips Family Saga. I desperately needed a break from that world. So I thought “I want to visit Stanti again.” I flopped down in bed, plopped in my ear buds, and thought about Enly, the strong character I had wanted to revisit. I put my play list on shuffle and a couple of songs in, “Never Grow Up” by Taylor swift began playing. I closed my eyes and two children appeared, one older than the other. I saw them playing in a mansion. By the second listen of the song, I envisioned an evil step mother, and be older sister being a care taker. Since she wasn’t that much older than the boy, the scene was cute but amusing all at the same time. I’m not sure how many times I played the song, but then a basic idea came to mind. I completely ditched the idea of a caste system. I was not invested in it, and my mind couldn’t conjure up original ways to separate one citizen from another. So then, I thought of ways that the justice system could separate families. I restarted the song again, grabbed my device, then began writing. The words came to me. I pictured Enly at an academy, longing for the half-brother that she was separated from. His step mother had committed a crime, and because Jonah was her direct descendant, he was also punished. I actually wrote a lot of the draft before I realized that this book was missing something, “A Prince Charming!” It would take some time for me to figure out how Enly would meet and fall in love with such a person.
Want to begin Enly’s story for free?
https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-glorious-installment/id1544853727
https://www.amazon.com/Glorious-Installment-Milestone-AmazonTrilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B07CRSW66B/ref=nodl_