Wednesday, March 2, 2011

My Muse Has Surprised Me

I blame it on the project I just finished for my husband's anniversary gift. I drew a portrait of Ronnie James Dio, one of our heroes and inspirations. Ironically our anniversary is May 30th, which has been declared Ronnie James Dio day.  I can't wait to give it to him. In the meantime, he's not online so I get to show it off.
Man, that guy was hot in his day....and I can't help but notice that he looks a lot like my husband. *grin* Anyway, although the portrait took me a week to draw, I spent about 2 weeks prior to that acquiring the needed materials and finding the best picture of him to do. Also, I've been researching rock stars and the world of heavy metal for the past few months to prepare for the 3rd book in my series in which the heroine is the lead singer of a metal band.

In my research, a story popped up in my head. What if my heroine were to encounter one of her idols? She and her band have a rule of not sleeping with fellow musicians so they can be taken seriously. But when Dani Deity (a sexy amalgamation of every badass metal star ever) invites them to tour with him, the rule gets thrown out the window. It was a fun short story to write, but a little sad since I knew they couldn't stay together.

I put IDOL'S KISS aside and set to work on the drawing. For a little while I was occupied fully with my pencils and tortillians. But then, as I drew the eyes and the sexy hair, (I have a hair fetish) my mind kept straying back to Dani's character. I LIKED him, dammit, and he deserved an HEA of his own. Unbidden, another story formed in my head.

The problem? This one is completely contemporary. No one has fangs, magic, or superpowers of any kind. At least with the last one, I knew the heroine wasn't human though I never pointed it out. I am completely out of my element. And if the story is good enough, what will it do to my "Author Branding" if I market it?

Argh!! My frustration is endless. Has this happened to any of you? What did you do? What should I do?

In the meantime, happy writing, all!!!

6 comments:

  1. Write it and see what happens. Pen names were created for a reason, and hot rock stars are always a selling idea. :o)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks much! I'm about 2K into it and having fun.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow. If you write as great as you draw, then I don't think you'll have a problem at all. =). Just write what you feel and want, and see what happens.

    Katie S. Taylor

    ReplyDelete
  4. LOL, I have no idea if my writing is as good. Likely not, but then again we're all our own worst critics. The good thing about this yarn is that it may have a good chance since vamps are a tough sell these days. Still, I definitely don't want to go contemporary as a career. I don't even read contemporary! I have a feeling I'm going to learn a lot from this project.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Write it! You know my feelings on this character. Dani is a character I would not let die. I've told you that before. I can't seem to find a place for him in the series though, so one of his own would be perfect. As for the "author branding", Pen name. And your drawing is just as talented as you writing. Great picture. Millie

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well...I'm two chapters in and having fun.

    ReplyDelete