And now I'd like to introduce a special guest who is standing in for me today. Most of you undoubtedly know author Stephen Tremp. He's been a long time blog friend of mine as well as having written one of my favorite book series which includes Breakthrough, Opening, and Escalation. Talk to us, Stephen.
"Narrative Identity is a person's internalized and evolving life story, integrating the reconstructed past and imagined future to provide life with some degree of unity and purpose." (sagepub) Often I hear writers integrating their family history and memories into their story.
Plot, setting, characters, events, dialogue, and imagery are weaved in part or in whole into a story as a way to honor parents or grandparents, capturing a time gone by they do not want to disappear. "Narrative Identity is the focus of interdisciplinary research, with deep roots in psychology." (Wiki)
The inspiration for Salem’s Daughters came from three sources.
First the nocturnal cats at my parents’ house who learned to stand and use their paws to open doors. Sleeping in my old bedroom while visiting on vacation, all I saw and heard was the old glass style door knobs rattling, then the door opening. I didn’t see the cats because they immediately dropped to the carpeted floor. And it was night. Spooky!
Second came as my parents drove us through the two-lane roads of southern Michigan. The scenery along the north branch of the Kalamazoo River is absolutely beautiful. With vivid imagery they told us of their childhood and their life and times as kids growing up. I wanted to capture everything and took a lot of notes and pictures.
Third we happened onto a very old broken down dilapidated farmhouse and barn. I wondered what it would take to buy the land and rebuild. But the place looked so spooky I thought the property might very well be haunted.
During that twenty-four period the cats, the incredible imagery along the Kalamazoo River, and the spooky old ramshackle house and barn was all it took and Salem’s Daughters was born.
I wanted to describe much of the incredible countryside and events when my parents and grandparents were raised, and wrote much of what I recorded here and there throughout Salem’s Daughters. Narrative Identity; a great tool for writing a novel.
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| Spooky Fun for Halloween |
Question: Have you incorporated any Narrative Identity into your books? Moving forward, are there family memories you might want to include in a future work?
Short Blurb: A four hundred year old evil is unleashed when the daughters of those killed during the Salem Witch Trials find a new generation of people to murder at a popular modern-day bed and breakfast.
Stephen Tremp writes Speculative Fiction and embraces science and the supernatural to help explain the universe, our place in it, and write one of a kind thrillers.
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| Meeting Author Dean Koontz |
You can read a full synopsis and download Salem’s Daughters by Clicking Here.
Stephen Tremp posts weekly blogs at his website Breakthrough Blogs.
Next Stop: Friday October 30th Chrys Fey at Writing With Fey.
Thanks for stopping by, Stephen!
Now please visit my post for The Listing Hop.
