Sleeping Dragons

A few years ago, we had a huge snowstorm after Christmas. We’d taken our tree down and put it on the deck until my husband had time to haul it off, and then the snow fell. The next morning when I got up and looked outside, it looked like a dragon sleeping on my deck.

It took several years and a posting of a picture of my dragon on Facebook, for me to get a spark of an idea for a children’s book. Actually, it took my cousin saying, “I see the makings of a children’s book here.” Then my mind took off with visions of dragons coming awake and changing shape at certain times of the year when the moon is shining on the freshly fallen snow…

People often ask me where the ideas come from for my books. Many people have asked if they are based on true stories. They aren’t, but I feel there is some truth to every story. And there are sparks of ideas everywhere. Why does one thing catch our attention and another not?

My niece and I were talking about my work in progress on a car ride last fall. We hit on an idea for the book that gave us both chills. We looked at each other and grinned, knowing that spark of idea would make the book so much better. (Sorry, I can’t tell you what it was. You’ll have to read the book!)

People are always telling me, “I have a great idea for a book. You should write it.” Then they proceed to tell me what it is. Often, it doesn’t strike my imagination, but I am always ready to listen just in case. Here are a few ideas that have stuck over the years:

A friend told me that her aunt and uncle were murdered at their ranch in Texas. The murder was never solved. There wasn’t any reason for someone to kill them. They were good people. Nothing was missing as far as the family could tell. They didn’t have enemies, but someone went to their farm one day and killed them. Why?

A woman I went to school with disappeared. She was never heard from again. She just was gone. It was all over the news. They brought in experts, Psychics, and even put her disappearance on the television show, Unsolved Mysteries. Nothing. What happened to her?

A young woman’s body was found in the trunk of her boyfriend’s car. They thought he killed her, but they could never prove it. They had been at a party. Friends said they’d been fighting. But he was never arrested. Why”

It took many years, many times of looking at the picture of the dragon on my deck for the spark of creativity to catch in my brain. Now I can’t wait to see what becomes of it. Since I’m a mystery writer, I’m sure there will be some mystery involved. In my mind, I see the movie version coming to life. Now I just need to write the book and hope that it catches the imagination of readers. Or a movie producer!

Happy New Year!

Lana