One of the most often asked questions writers get during interviews is: What is the inspiration for your story?
Okay, so maybe I’m an anomaly. Maybe other authors don’t get asked that question. But I ALWAYS do!
To be honest, it’s not an easy question to answer. Truly, most of my stories come from somewhere deep inside my brain, and they don’t have a whole lot of outside inspiration that I can pinpoint. Usually, it’s a lifetime hodgepodge of thoughts, images, experiences that all converge and somehow come out onto the page.
So, for my upcoming release Come Back to Me, as I’ve been delving into marketing and publicity opportunities presented by my publisher, you can probably guess what the number one question is: What is your inspiration for writing a time-crossing novel?
Of course I can’t say: My crazy and very wild imagination.
Instead I have to go deeper and sound much more put together! So here’s the answer I’ve come up with:
When we think of time traveling, usually we think of going back in time machines (like in the recent show Timeless). Or we think of fast cars (like in the old movies Back to the Future). Often we imagine stone-hedges (like in Outlander). Such methods take the body entirely out of the present and plop it down into the past.
But what about a time-crossing that isn’t quite so obvious? Where bodies aren’t disappearing?
In crafting my new release, Come Back to Me, I wanted to create a story where time crossing could sound at least partly believable.
In doing research, I read accounts of people waking up from their comas and describing having very realistic dreams while in their comatose states, dreams that almost felt as if they were living an alternate life.
I also did quite a bit of research into ancient holy water, once believed to cure diseases and give realistic visions. The holy water was sold in medieval times to pilgrims in a small flask known as an ampulla. There are many recorded healings and visions from such holy water. Some are even written in the stained glass Miracle Windows in Canterbury Cathedral.
After all that research, I decided to merge the concepts of a coma and holy water as my “vehicle” for transporting people into the past. The characters in my story drink a small amount of holy water which then puts them in a coma. While in the coma, they cross over to the Middle Ages in a quest to find more of the holy water.
Of course, having a body in two eras created some hurdles to work through during the writing and editing. But overall, when readers put the book down at the end, my hope is that they’ll come away wondering, like the characters, if crossing into the past was just a realistic dream or if it truly happened.
There you have it, my inspiration in a nutshell! Comas and holy water. And a whole lot of imagination!
And in case you missed this great deal, snatch up a preorder while copies last! I’ve already been hearing from readers who have received their preorder copies EARLY! https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/260801
How about YOU? Are you ever interested in the inspiration behind an author’s story? What story has most sparked your curiosity lately?
Jody Hedlund
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I am asked that question a lot, too, Jodi!