Photograph of  ‘Thinking’  by RFID from @boetter

I was sitting in my garden when I began thinking about where I find inspiration for my novels, and I wondered whether there were other avenues i could explore.

When I wrote a psychological thriller, I used my knowledge from my nursing years. I used the hospital I trained in as the model for the one in the book. I remembered the sights, sounds and smells of the place – which sometimes evoked dark memories.

Whilst writing the crime novel, I watched many true crime and police programmes, and I read true crime books and magazines. Sometimes I found the crimes too dark – even for me.

I’m currently writing a commercial women’s novel where the protagonist is a forensic mental health nurse – which was last post in my career. I’m able to use the language, terminology and emotions for the part. I use snippets from each offender I worked with – although none are recognisable. An anecdote that makes me smile is that a serial female offender gave me a nickname which she told a social worker – she called me f**k**g Mary Poppins – if you knew me you’d understand!

I find inspiration in watching nature – I’m a huge fan of the blackbird – watching my teenage daughters, people watching wherever I go – for which I use as a template for my characters. I read writing magazines and blogs such as @jammer0150 (hope I’ve got your number right James Killick) and @dirtywhitecandy for example. You will find many wonderful blogs I follow listed here – go on, treat yourself!

Happy Word Flow One & All