What Inspires You? by Michele Hauf

Silhouette Nocturne and Nocturne Bites author Michele Hauf is celebrating the release of her first HQN title, Her Vampire Husband this month! Read on for more information about Michele’s books and what inspires her in this guest-post from Michele…

by Michele Hauf, author of Her Vampire Husband (HQN, April 2010)

I’m often asked what inspires the stories I write.  I know you won’t believe this, but I think about 50% of the inspiration is innate.  It just sort of…happens.  I start writing, and the story comes out on the page.  Yes, I start with an idea of the story and have characters in mind, but there are times when those characters will start acting on their own and speaking their own mind.  That’s the cool part of inspiration.

The other 50% is the part where I actually have to think.    I get ideas in many ways.  I’m a media freak.  I read a lot, watch a lot of TV and movies, and if I’m parked before the TV I’ll always have a magazine on my lap, too.  Reading fiction and non-fiction can spark an idea with a mere sentence or idea or even a part of speech from a character.  I love to page through magazines like Discovery and National Geographic, and yes, even Entertainment Weekly will sometimes spark an idea.  I may read about new nightclub that opened in a major city.  Great foundation to design my own nightclub for a story.  I may see an ad for furniture.  That leather couch may show up in my hero’s home.  A certain breed of cat that is friendly with dogs?  Perfect for a familiar (cat-shifter) I need to be friends with a werewolf.

Music is another inspiration.  It never fails, when I’m sitting before the computer and just don’t ‘feel it’, I develop the urge to hop in the car and drive.  I have a Trader Joes about 30 minutes away from me.  Perfect!  I crank the tunes and belt out the songs, and usually while saying those words and thinking the stories the songs present, one of my characters will pop up and nudge me with a reminder about what he needs to do in the story.  I can’t have music on when I write, though; too much of a distraction.

Gardening is another way to grasp inspiration.  It’s a sort of mindless chore that allows my brain to stir (could be the fresh air, too).  I just have to ruminate on a specific part of the story and can work things out before that last weed is pulled.

Pictures help me to get a character into my head and onto the page.  I always try to find a picture of the hero and heroine.  It is usually a celebrity, or can be a model torn out from a magazine.  Sometimes one single picture doesn’t really capture the look that I have in my head, so a couple pictures of different people (I like his hair, his eyes, his build, etc.) will create the perfect hero.  I currently have a picture of Jensen Ackles on my desktop, staring at me.  Sigh…  If that doesn’t inspire, I don’t know what will!

About Her Vampire Husband:

She may resist his bite, but she can’t resist his charms…

Werewolf princess Blu Masterson won’t allow her seductive vampire husband to consummate their marriage with his bite, marking her forever. Alone in a secluded estate with her sworn enemy, Blu curses the marriage arranged to bring their rival nations together, especially since Creed Saint-Pierre calls out to her most feral desires.

When Blu uncovers her pack’s secret plot to destroy the vampire nation—and Creed—she is forced to confront her growing feelings for her sexy undead husband. Will she choose the only life she’s ever known or accept his vampire bite?

Plus, don’t forgot the connected story from Silhouette Nocturne Bites, Vampire’s Tango. Read Michele’s guest-blog about it here.

For a limited time get the audio version of Vampire’s Tango FREE at Audible.com. It you purchase Her Vampire Husband at Audible.com you receive Vampire’s Tango included free.

To read an excerpt of Vampire’s Tango, click here. Use the widget below to read the first chapter of Her Vampire Husband.

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