Ideas don’t always come to me at the most opportune of times. It would be great if, say, I was sitting at a table, my laptop or a pad of paper near at hand, when inspiration struck. HA!
I’m not saying that doesn’t happen, but more likely I’ll be in the shower, out for a walk, eating at a restaurant, or—and this seems to be a favorite spot for my muse to slap me upside the head—driving my car.
Case in point, my tween novel HERE COMES MR. TROUBLE.
There I was, minding my own business as I drove home from visiting my parents three Christmases ago, when out of the blue the title HERE COMES MR. TROUBLE flashed in my mind. Immediately on its heels came several possible ideas, then a half dozen other titles (such as the next Mr. Trouble novel, YOU’RE IN BIG, MR. TROUBLE). Did I mention I was driving? On the freeway?
You will seldom ever hear me say this, but thank God for traffic. Suddenly my car was at a stand still. I immediately grabbed something to write on and jotted down the list of titles and a couple of notes.
That was one of those idea moments I will never forget, the ones where you know you’ve stumbled onto something good. I don’t always remember where the germs from my stories start, but I do with Mr. Trouble.
Over the next few months after that inspiring drive, the concept for the story evolved and grew into something even cooler than I expected. And when I finally sat down to write it, the words couldn’t get through my fingers onto the keyboard fast enough. There’s nothing like that feeling!
Now here’s a little present for you: if you have a Kindle, HERE COMES MR. TROUBLE is FREE today through Thursday at midnight (March 13th-15th). That’s right, FREE. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can download the free Kindle ap for your computer or other device. A click here will take you to the MR. TROUBLE book page, then click on the buy button and you’ll be charged zero dollars and zero cents.
For those wanting to know a little more, here’s a description of the book:
ARE YOU LOSING THINGS?
ARE PEOPLE YOU KNOW ACTING STRANGE?
IS SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU MISSING???
DO YOU FEEL LIKE THINGS ARE BEYOND YOUR CONTROL?
ARE YOU IN…TROUBLE?
When Eric Morrison sees the advertisement, he doesn’t know which is more surprising—the ad’s sudden appearance or the fact that his answer to every question is YES!
Not only can’t he find things, but the bullies at school are suddenly picking on him for no reason, and, worse yet, his mother has disappeared but he seems to be the only one who’s noticed. Even his best friend Maggie thinks he’s only run into a little bad luck.
But if Eric thinks his life is upside down now, it’s nothing compared to what’s about to happen when Mr. Trouble and the Trouble family arrive to assist him in solving his problems.
One thing’s for sure—Eric will never see the world in the same way again.
So give it a try! You can’t beat the price.
3 comments:
I laughed when I read that you thanked God for traffic. Only a writer understands this. I could soooooo relate. On those reality TV cop shows, when troopers pull someone over for eradic driving, I'm waiting for the time when it's an author with an IDEA.
Good luck with your Mr Trouble series.
Brett,
I love it when inspiration hits me like that. Out of the blue my Muse comes tapping on my shoulder and it's very often at the most inappropriate times!
Most of the time I try to write them down. I've also used the voice recorder App on my phone. I email myself. Call home and leave a message on the machine (my poor husband just laughs at that one now).
My writer's mind sips in so much information. I'm glad to know I'm not alone.
Great post.
I'll check out your Trouble series.
Paula
I LOVED this book. But then, Brett, I've loved all of your work.
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