Today we’re thrilled to welcome Brit author Charlotte Howard, on tour for The Black Door.
Thanks for hosting! One of the most common questions I get asked is “Where do you find your inspiration?” and I’d like to answer that, more in depth than I often get the time for.
Inspiration can be found from a variety of places. Before my first book, Seven Dirty Words, I hadn’t thought about writing a romance novel. I loved (and still do) reading murder mysteries and crime novels. I’d read most of Agatha Christie’s novels thanks to my mum’s massive collection, and I own most of Tami Hoag’s books. Then somebody suggested I read this taboo-breaking trilogy about a man called Christian Grey – oh you’ve heard of it? I was dubious. I’ve never been one to follow trends – I’ve seen the Harry Potter films, but I haven’t read the books, and I haven’t read or seen the Twilight series. Okay, so I’ve watched the first one, but I didn’t get into it enough to be bothered with the second. It’s just not my thing!
Even when I was a teenager I wasn’t a follower. Take That, East 17, Backstreet Boys – no thanks. (Is that showing my age??) So when it came to the FSOG trilogy, I was a bit, well… Meh. Then I picked it up and read all three books in the space of a week. Honestly, I wouldn’t read them again, and although I’m intrigued by the film, I won’t be going to line up with the hoards to see it in the cinema. They weren’t awful – I’ve read a hell of a lot worse, and like I said, I was addicted enough to read one book after the other in seven days.
I told my friends about them, and they asked if I’d tried writing an erotic romance novel. Now I’ll be honest – I hadn’t heard of the genre before. I knew there was romance, and knew that some of them were hotter than the rest, but apart from Jilly Cooper, I hadn’t really, ever, picked up a romance novel before.
My previous attempts at writing, even though based in the crime genre, all had sex in them. Not as explicit as erotica, but sex all the same, so my friends simply suggested I wrote a novel and removed the crime element and I did. 20-ish days later, I had the first draft of Seven Dirty Words.
What surprised me was how easy it was to write – the first draft anyway. It took me 3 months to edit it, and being my own worst critic, I’ll never be completely happy with what I’ve written. But it flowed out like nothing before.
Once I’d got a contract for it, I knew I had to write a sequel, and did. But it wasn’t due to be released for a few months. By then I had the bug for writing contemporary / erotic romance. I started writing another novel, but it didn’t materialise into anything in particular.
Then a reader contacted me and said how they would like to read about a heroine who wasn’t rich, beautiful and young. Where was I going to get inspiration for that? I looked in the mirror. I’m 29 plus several years experience, have 2 children, everything is heading south, and I have more stretch marks and scars than I can count. I work, I slave, and I’m left feeling unappreciated. How much more inspiration did I need? Imogen Pearce was created. But I knew from the start that she was going to be a single mum, and that is something that I’m not.
Here’s where I lose some friends – sorry guys, but every single mum in the playground was inspiration when it comes to the hardships of parenting. Whether they are single parents or not, I listened to what the other mums in the playground were saying, I read Facebook statuses and Tweets. I listened to their worries, their concerns, their wishes and dreams, and it all mushed together in my brain and helped to develop Imogen’s life.
Inspiration is all around us. Playgrounds, supermarkets, coffee shops… Although I would suggest that if you’re going to use the playground as somewhere to gain inspiration that you actually have a child. It might look a bit weird if you’re just standing in a playground for no reason.
Even conversations with friends sparks my imagination. In fact after they’d read Seven Dirty Words and Four Letter Words, my two life-long friends could pick out every single night out that had been used and abused.
Excerpt:
Men. All the bloody same.
My mind traced back to the day I had given up on one-sided monogamous relationships.
The children were at school or work, and the sun was beating down. It was a glorious day, and I had decided to go home for lunch, rather than spend it in a stuffy office.
I pulled up outside the house and a fleeting thought passed through my mind when I saw Connor’s car sitting in the driveway. My husband of eighteen years had had the same idea.
I crept into the house, hoping to surprise him. But, it turned out that his idea had involved a slutty bottle-blonde.
I wanted to blame the events that followed on a red mist descending over me. The truth is that in the time it took for my mind to register that some tart was riding my husband in what I later found out was known as reverse cowgirl, my mind had calculated the necessary response.
The skank lost a good handful of bleached hair, roots and all. I allowed her to gather her clothes and watched as she tugged her pants on whilst running out of the house. If nothing else, the neighbours got a good show.
Connor yelled at me. But his words were drowned out by the blood pumping in my ears. I marched back up the stairs and into his little study. Opening the window, I saw Miss Slut stood in the middle of the road, screeching obscenities at me. I looked at the Ferrari in our driveway and smiled.
I think his Xbox enjoyed its first and final flying lesson as it sailed out of the window. The fact that it landed in the bonnet of his prized mid-life crisis proved that Karma does exist.
Connor. Holly.
I made a mental note of the two names at the top of my imaginary hit list.
I blinked and I was back in the boardroom.
BLURB
Imogen Pearce is a single mum of four children and fast approaching 40, she works at Ryedale Incorporated where she has to battle a younger and smarter generation to get to where she wants to go. If that means taking on the account of Cherry and Sean Rubin’s adult shop, then she will. But what happens when Imogen discovers the private club that they run at the back? And what happens when she realizes she knows quite a few members?
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Author bio and links
British author Charlotte Howard was born in Oman and spent much of the first part of her life flitting between Oman, Scotland, and England. Now settled in Somerset, Charlotte lives with her husband, two children, and growing menagerie of pets.
Her career as a writer began at an early age, with a poem being featured in an anthology for the East Midlands. Since then Charlotte has written many short stories and poems, and finally wrote her first full-length piece of fiction in 2010.
During what little spare time she has, Charlotte enjoys reading and writing (of course), spending time with her family, and watching action movies whilst eating curry and drinking tea.
Charlotte is an active member of Yeovil Creative Writers.
www.charlottehowardauthor.co.uk
http://choward2614.wordpress.com
http://facebook.com/charlottehowardauthor
