Monday, 20 July 2015

Guest post - Kate Kisset



Hey guys! So today I have a guest post! So Kate Kisset is going to tell you about where her inspiration for Just a Kiss came from! If you want to know more about Just a Kiss, click HERE 





Where The Wild Ideas Are
By Kate Kisset
Author of Just a Kiss

Maybe I'm just one of those people who have an overactive imagination.
Perhaps I just expect ideas will come to me and they do. Or, maybe, I'm just comfortable with having several story ideas running through my brain at any given time.  I am. :-)
For me, ideas, or the inspiration for them, can come from anywhere, at any time, from anything:
An idea can suddenly come to me when I'm watching a movie and the title somehow
changes.

Or, a when family comes to visit, and I take them to some of my favorite local tourist destinations.









Sometimes, someone else's story, from a long time ago, inspires me. In Just a Kiss, Lulu Castelli is the great granddaughter of a renowned winemaker very similar to Agoston Haraszthy.  Mr. Haraszthy, the self-proclaimed “Count of Buena Vista,” created California’s first premium winery in Sonoma Valley in 1857. 
I’m within walking distance to many wineries. Sometimes I take it for granted, but as in the case of Just a Kiss, sometimes I take the time to appreciate my surroundings and the stories they provide. Do you know the history of your city? Can you gather any information from those stories that might help one of your characters?
 Find more photos of the people and places that inspired my wine country romance Just a Kiss here.





The three women in The Single Girls Wine Club live in the “real life” historic villa at what is now the Bartholomew Winery in Sonoma.  Bartholomew Winery is known for its hiking trails.  The idea for my story came to me on trail behind the Bartholomew winery villa.






Maybe a sound will trigger a story or scene idea: Dogs barking, a party in the distance, children laughing and splashing in a nearby pool. Perhaps a lyric gets stuck in your brain. What does the song mean to you?  

“Just a shot in the dark that you just might
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life
So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight”

“Just a Kiss”—Lady Antebellum
Writers: Davidson, Dallas / Scott, Hillary / Haywood, Dave / Kelley, Charles.
Source: Metrolyrics.com

The complete playlist for Just a Kiss is on my Spotify here.

Does nature inspire you? Is there anything growing in your yard, or at a nursery that might nudge an idea? There’s a scene in Just a Kiss in Lulu’s garden at Bella Villa. Lulu instructs the story’s main character, Sarah, how to prune “Johnny-jump-ups.” She goes on to use a rose to describe how Sarah is feeling. I took this photo right outside my kitchen door.



Maybe all my years in radio taught me that there is no "bad" way to find an idea, just as there are no "bad" ideas.  Open your eyes listen with your soul and see what happens.
Until next time, Kate xo
Join my private readers group on KateKisset.com here.
© Kate Kisset
   

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