Claire's Inspiration (continued)
By Claire Delacroix (who also writes as Claire Cross)
© 2005 Claire Delacroix Inc. All Rights reserved
Then there are the characters for whom I wrote proposals, but those proposals didn't sell. They're still here, lurking in the corners of my office. Invariably, they sulk. These characters are even more annoyed with me than those who haven't had their shot - there's an undercurrent of suspicion coming from them. It's as if I didn't do a good enough job of pitching their stories, as if I let them down. Look - there's Baudouin, the father of the hero in my first book, THE ROMANCE OF THE ROSE, and has he ever perfected his glare over the last twelve years! There are the sons of the last Bride Quest company, leaning on their swords while they mutter about me and quaff ale. There are the Ariadnes, a funky group of women from my last contemporary romance, DOUBLE TROUBLE. They make all of the chocolate that crosses the threshold disappear before I even get a chance at it. Do you think they're trying to get even?
On the other hand, a lot of my stories have gotten told over the years. Twenty-nine books and three novellas means my office is a lot less crowded than it could be! And this current bunch - the Lammergeier family - are so noisy that it's easy to ignore many of the others. Imagine eight siblings - many with significant others - plus villagers, alemakers, maids, ostlers and castellans, all clustered around my desk and talking at the same time. Then there are the spriggans, which are small fairies (and not necessarily nice ones). You'll have to believe me when I say that it's better to have happy spriggans overhead than grumpy ones underfoot. They like to swing on the cobwebs too, which gives me an excuse to not get around to the dusting. You'll meet the first spriggan in THE BEAUTY BRIDE - I've since learned that not only are there more where Darg came from, but, if anything, they make more trouble than she ever did.
Now, that's saying something. One thing is for sure - it won't be getting quiet in my office anytime soon!