I’ll admit, before becoming a writer myself I had this picture in my head of how authors came up with ideas for new books. It usually started with something mundane, like the aspiring writer taking a leisurely stroll in a park, just minding their own business when Bam! out of nowhere this amazing idea for a story pops into their head. The aspiring writer would rush to find a pencil and paper and furiously scribble down the idea before racing home. A few days later they’d emerge from their writing, looking the worse for wear in baggy sweats with their hair mussed, but they’d have a gleaming manuscript in their hands ready to send off to the publisher.
Sienna Aylen
This is not what happened to me with Exposed Memories. Not even close.
It all started with a daydream really. I’m an avid reader myself and had read numerous books with female leads who were great, but I felt they were lacking in a way because I found a lot of them to be hard to relate to. So I started daydreaming about what kind of characters I’d put in a story. At this point I had no plans to write or be an author, I was simply using my imagination in those random moments of the day like standing in the check-out at the grocery store, or in the waiting room for a doctor’s appointment. As the months went on I added more and more to the characters until they started taking on a life of their own. At this point I started writing down notes about each of the nine Council women. Bits about their backstories, what kinds of food they liked, their pet-peeves, etc.
It started off as a simple exercise of my imagination, but before I knew what hit me, I was obsessed. The characters started demanding that their stories be written down, and if you’ve read Exposed Memories already, you know how tenacious these women can be when they want something! They dogged my every waking thought with their sarcastic comments and witty humor, and soon enough I was dreaming about them too. I knew I wasn’t going to get any peace until I gave in, so I opened up my laptop and started writing.
It wasn’t an overnight excursion, or even a few days, it took a few months to get the first draft done. Even while I was writing, the characters themselves would reveal new information to me, changing the direction I thought the story was going. It’s been an adventure, to say the least.
I didn’t start off hoping to be a writer or an author, but the story and these fictional women have chosen me to tell their stories, and tell their stories I will.
Now that Emma’s tale is complete, she isn’t hounding me anymore…but I still have eight more women waiting for their stories to be told. I hear them calling me now, so I have to go write… but stick around, there’s a lot more sass and spunk coming in this series and I’m sure you’ll love it.
Xo, Sienna Aylen
https://www.totallybound.com/book/exposed-memories
Author Bio:
Romance author, lover of all things paranormal, photography buff, painter, cat owner (or should I say cat-owned ha!), and zero-waster. Sienna spends her days deep in mystical worlds, arguing and sparring with characters and listening to them tell their stories.
Website: www.siennaaylen.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/siennaaylen
Twitter: @siennaaylen