Guest - Wynter Daniels: Distraction or Inspiration?


Today we have as our special guest Dara Edmondson/ Wynter Daniels. Welcome!


Dara Edmondson began making up stories as soon as she could speak. She started working on her first novel in college - a mystery. But she soon realized the collegiate life involved way more than books, so she spent the rest of her time there partying.

When the writing bug bit her again years later, she tried her hand at many different fiction genres from Young Adult to comedy to erotic romance. She has authored books for several publishers, most recently under the pen name Wynter Daniels. She currently writes erotic romance for Ellora’s Cave (Tropic of Trouble), Loose Id (Playing with Barbie) and Red Sage (Can’t Stand the Heat). Older books are under her own name for such publishers as Red Sage (Captured) and The Wild Rose Press (The Kitten Club, Compromising Positions and Falling Star).
Now married with two nearly grown children and two spoiled cats, she writes full time. You can find her on the web at: www.WynterDaniels.com, and at www.NaughtyAuthorChicks.Blogspot.com and on Facebook as WynterDaniels.

Thanks to Nicole North for inviting me here today. If you’d like a chance to win a copy of my brand new story, Tropical Exposure, please leave a comment.

One question that friends and readers alike love to ask me is, “How do you come up with all those story ideas?” I have a pat answer to this question—from reading the newspaper and magazines. You see, I often get the kernel of an idea from a story about a woman in peril or a dignitary visiting the United States from some exotic land.

But when I thought about my latest release (my first from Ellora’s Cave), I realized there was no way I got the idea of a woman ending up on a tropical beach with two handsome bodyguards, the premise for the story. So I started thinking about where the spark for the idea came from. I couldn’t come up with a single clue. Regardless of how creative someone is, all story ideas originate somewhere. Anywhere.

Even from distractions. My two biggest distractions are my secret guilty pleasures—playing Scrabble on my computer and watching an occasional mindless reality show. Far as I know, I’ve never plucked a story premise from Scrabble. But one of my earlier books, Falling Star is about a grown up child star who is forced to accept a gig as star of her own reality show. So yeah, I might have gotten that idea from television.

The more I thought about my viewing habits, it hit me. The inspiration for Tropical Exposure was one of those movie star/socialites you see on the entertainment channels with a million flashes greeting them every time they leave a restaurant or go to the gym. I wondered how annoying that would be.

Hence the distraction yields inspiration. Check out the blurb for Tropical Exposure:

Megastar Marin Shay disappears from the radar a few weeks a year for a vacation from the pressures of Hollywood. This time, though, instead of the usual bodyguards she gets stuck with—beefy middle-aged men with bad breath and even worse comb-overs—she lucks into some scorching-hot eye candy.

Tony and Josh share the same objective—taking care if Marin in every way possible. And when she proposes they indulge her fantasy of a ménage a trois, both men are definitely eager to please.

There’s only one problem—one of them is really a tabloid reporter who could ruin everything.

Are you reminded of a certain pop princess? Okay, so honestly, only the character’s phenomenal celebrity is reminiscent of said princess. But that’s all it takes. This author takes the inspiring spark and runs with it. Did I mention when I was growing up all my dolls had back-stories? Even the stuffed animals had sordid lives. Perhaps my head has just always been filled with stories. Might explain why I daydreamed my way through school!

Okay—maybe I’m just weird. So what are your biggest distractions from work? Please leave a comment. I would love to send you a copy of Tropical Exposure!

8 comments:

Carly Carson said...

Welcome to Fierce Romance. I think my biggest distraction is my family. I guess that's a good distraction. My biggest inspiration is seeing other writers succeed. It makes me feel good, which puts me in the mood to write.

Wynter said...

Thanks, Carly. yeah, family is also a biggie for me. Most distracting is 16 year old daughter;-)
I agree about other writers.

Nicole North said...

Welcome to FR! Great post! I also like watching some of the mindless reality shows. Like you, I find them distracting but also inspiring at times. Some of those people inspire characters or character traits in my stories.

Wynter said...

Thanks for having me, Nicole. Sometimes the characters on reality are too strange for fiction!

Sherry said...

My biggest distractions are my family and worry about bills. Some days all I think about is how I'm going to pay my bills and I'll be at work and try to figure out what bills have to be paid and when they have to be paid or if I'm going to have enough money.

sstrode@scrtc.com

Wynter said...

I hear you, Sherry. Money is always there, distracting.

Wynter said...

Winner of a copy of Tropic of Trouble is Sherry!

Nicole North said...

Congratulations, Sherry!