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Love of History Creates Story Idea That Chills the Bones
I’ve been fretting over what to post about for a few days now, and then Sunday morning this idea came to me. I have to warn you, though, I’m going to be talking a little bit about my Beyond the Eyes trilogy, so this post will have some spoilers in it.
I think I’m fortunate to have a love of history. My dad is the same way, and I love talking to him about it. We get into some interesting conversations like historical mysteries and occultism. He knows a lot of shit. What’s even cooler is, I get ideas for my stories from these conversations, not to mention the things I’ve learned and experienced in my childhood.
Any writers out there or future writers who are sitting on the fence on what type of story to write, there are only two things you need to do to get you started . . .
1.) Don’t write what’s trending right now because by the time you finish your story there might be a different trend.
2.) Write what interest you–that fuels your passion. If you don’t, you won’t stick with it. You got to have that fire in your belly to where you’re thinking about your story off and on throughout your day and can’t wait to get back to it.
Wah-cah-cha-pah!
Easy peasy.
Of course, writing a book doesn’t end there, but that’s how you get started. I can always do a post on the rest some other time.
Anyway, after I came up with my story idea for my YA paranormal trilogy, it soon took on a life of its own. My love of history and mysticism began to pour into my story, bringing depth, color, and plausibility.
How?
I’ll tell ya how, but here’s where I say, “Spoiler alert!” Now there’s a lot going on in my, Beyond the Eyes trilogy, so I’ll just point out a couple historical parts where I interlaced it with fiction, thus creating a tapestry for the mind.
1.) King Solomon’s ring. There’s a legend he had a ring that can control demons. One night I was watching a show on The History Channel about it.
Bingo!
I already had a rough idea for a story: dark spirits walking among us in soulless humans. Now I have a motive. The “old one” who is an ancient dark spirit has been looking for this ring for thousands of years. Imagine what he can do if he gets a hold of it. He can control all the dark spirits and become God. He wants the ring and only Paige (my main character) can find it.
If it wasn’t for my love of history, I would have never known that. Of course, I added my own spin to it. I made the power of the ring impotent without Solomon’s incantations. But my characters can’t find the spells without the ring.
I personally think when you’re writing a story you should put your own twists in it. An author by the name of Regina Morris did just that in her book called Eternal Service. It has vampires; however, these vampires can adjust their age by the amount of blood they ingest. It’s a fresh idea and a good way to explain how these bloodsuckers are able to live with humans for thousands of years without raising eyebrows.
2.) Nazi week on The History Channel. Hitler and the whole Nazi regime fascinate me. I think it’s because I can’t fathom how one man can entrance others to do horrific and unspeakable things to another. And did you know the Nazi’s were heavily into the occult? They had a special organization under the control of Henrich Himmler who was the chief of the SS and head of the Gestapo. A very evil man–BTW. The organization was called Ahnenerbe. It was a Nazi think tank. They would send teams of archaeologists on top secret expeditions. Himmer was a Holy Grail enthusiast, and he once funded and promoted an expedition to find it. This is just the tip of the iceberg on how deep they were into the supernatural.
Anyway, check out these pictures. Doesn’t it chill you to the bone knowing the atrocities these men had committed?
Henrich Himmler.
Rudolf Hess. He was Hitler's deputy, the third most powerful man in the Third Reich. He was known to be a big occult supporter.
Hitler.
There are people who believe Hitler was possessed by Satan. I didn’t know this until recently and had already written in my third book in my YA paranormal trilogy (The Devil’s Third) that the “old one” done just that. He had possessed Hitler and the other dark spirits were the Nazi party. In Dark Spirits, Carrie tells Paige and Nathan about Aosoth (a wicked dark spirit) dwelling inside a Nazi. She then goes on and tells them what happens. To me, that’s some dark, scary shit. But again, I used my love of history and intertwined it into my story, making it my own and hopefully giving the YA paranormal genre something fresh and new to read about.
Here's what one reader said in her five star review on Dark Spirits:
I find her twist on a regular paranormal genre refreshing. She makes her own rules and forms a world all her own.
Here's what some other readers had said about my trilogy in their reviews:
A fresh look at the spiritual world.
Beyond the Eyes is a unique read.
The paranormal element of this story is really interesting.
They're saying it's fresh, unique, interesting, and I make my own rules.
That's what I'm talking about.
Make your story your own and readers will appreciate it. :)
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