Where Do Story Ideas Come From? Timespell’s Origins
One of the first questions people often ask me when they see I’ve written a book is, “Where did you get the idea for the story?” For me the answer is complicated. The first gleam of an idea came in the form of a pair of teenaged time-crossed lovers, and I can honestly say the idea came out of nowhere. I wrote down the scene in my mind as I saw it, and that scene became the epilogue to the book.
Yes. I wrote the epilogue first. Oops!
But Timespell is about more than just what happens between the main love interests in the story. It’s about best friends Angie and Julia, who begin the story excited about unlocking the power of the Fates. They will be able to time travel once they find the final Daughter of Fate and seal themselves to her forever. The bulk of the story took shape in my mind while thinking about how different the girls were from each other. Julia is silly and sarcastic, Angie is responsible and sweet, but what about the third Daughter of Fate?
I toyed with a lot of ideas, but one that kept coming back to me was the one I thought the least likely would work. Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn was certainly fun to write, as well as a challenge. She isn’t a conventional choice for a book’s main character… fearless and power-hungry, she has a mean streak a mile wide. For some reason, the idea of forcing Julia and Angie to work together with someone so unlike anyone they would choose for themselves really appealed to me. I wanted to find out if they could manage to work together for the sake of the world, or at least, for the sake of keeping their powers. Would Kaitlyn change after being connected to the other two girls? Would the experiences they shared traveling through time bring them together somehow, or only highlight their differences and tear them apart?
The origins of Timespell began with the characters and my curiosity about what might change them. As the girls came to life on the page, and as one adventure led to the next, the story took on shape and before I knew it, I had written all the way up to the epilogue that started it all. Finding out what happened between the three girls was as exciting as finding out what happened to the fate of the world.
In TIMESPELL, the brash and impulsive Julia must team up with her sweet and straight-laced best friend, Angie, and the malicious and power-hungry Kaitlyn in order to keep the witch-like powers of her inheritance. But these powers come at a cost. The girls are bound to serve the Fates, and their first mission sends them back in time to Marie Antoinette’s Paris and eventually, into the chaos and war of the French Revolution.
Timespell: Meet the Daughters of Fate
As I wrote Timespell, I hadn’t expected to hear three girls telling me their stories at once, but that’s exactly what ended up happening.
Angie, Daughter of Past:
Sweet, responsible, and well-mannered. Angie always has a smile for a friend, and she still likes doing things that are supposed to be for little kids, like building sand castles, swinging on the swings, and jumping rope. She has known about her destiny as a Daughter of Fate her whole life, and takes her duties very seriously; she tries very hard never to use the magic for selfish reasons. Her room is always neat and tidy, her favorite treats are fresh-baked vanilla cookies, and her favorite things to do are read, go to the beach, and cheerlead.
Julia, Daughter of Present:
Absent-minded, sarcastic, and a bit of a goofball. Julia is a loyal friend who will stand up and fight for someone she loves. She only discovered the magic of the Fates recently, and she uses the magic whenever she can to make life easier. Her room is always a cluttered mess and she never makes her bed, but she hopes to learn a spell that will change that, too. Her favorite treats are gummy candies, sometimes sweet and sometimes sour, depending on her mood. Her favorite things to do are listen to music, watch TV, chat online with her friends, and play on the internet.
Kaitlyn, Daughter of Future:
Hard, fierce, and every bit a bad girl. Kaitlyn appears cold and fearless, but beneath her harsh exterior she is a lot more frightened and alone than anyone sees. When she learns about the magic, she wants to use it to make herself stronger, and it doesn’t matter how she might make that happen. Her room is clean, but only because the maid keeps it that way. Her favorite treats are dark chocolate kisses, and her favorite things to do depend on who is around. Shopping, going to clubs, and partying are what she seems to like best, but her real favorite things are video games, watching anime, and reading manga.
Sometimes people ask if I have a favorite between them, and the truth is, I can’t pick just one because even though they’re all so different, I can relate to a little of each of them.
In TIMESPELL, the brash and impulsive Julia must team up with her sweet and straight-laced best friend, Angie, and the malicious and power-hungry Kaitlyn in order to keep the witch-like powers of her inheritance. But these powers come at a cost. The girls are bound to serve the Fates, and their first mission sends them back in time to Marie Antoinette’s Paris and eventually, into the chaos and war of the French Revolution.
