Where Did You Come Up With That Idea?

Writers often get asked, "Where do your ideas come from?" 

 

The answer is anywhere and everywhere.

 

The idea for CAPTIVE, book one in the Survival Race Series came to me while watching the rescue of mistreated horses on an episode of Animal Cops. It was heart wrenching to see those beautiful animals neglected and starved so thin their rib cages showed. How would the owner have felt if he were penned up and abused like that?  

 

This got me thinking. What if humans were pets, and someone--aliens perhaps--bred us and gambled on us for sport like we do in horse racing, dog racing, and cockfights? What if they wanted to be entertained by watching alpha gladiators fight to the death? 

 

Hmm...I have no idea what happened in the rest of the episode, as I was busy cogitating a new story idea. 

 

In creating the technologically advanced aliens, called the Hyboreans, I combined American and Scottish folklore. The Hyboreans are a cross between Sasquatch and Am Fear Liath Mor (The Great Grey Man).

 

The Survival Race is a blood sport where the last gladiator alive wins. My husband and I own a dojo in New Jersey where we teach Isshinryu karate and Ryukonkai (Okinawan weapons). Side note: sparring is great marital therapy . My training in martial arts and knife fighting adds authenticity to the Survival Race fight scenes. In RENEGADE, book 3, the female gladiator, Katana, uses an improvised weapon at one point. The techniques she uses comes directly from one of our weapons kata (a sequence of prearranged techniques).

 

When coming up with the name for my hero, I wanted to make sure it had the connotation of being a dog's name to drive home to the reader that he is a human pet. Rex was too obvious, so I decided on Max. I forget where the idea for Addy's first name came from, but when thinking on her last name, I looked over at a stack of videos by the TV. Titantic was sitting on top. I liked Rose Dawson's last name so Addy became Addy Dawson.

 

Ideas really do come from everywhere. 

 

Authors - Where did you come up with your ideas? Feel free to share in the comments.    

 

She can escape her alien abductors, but she can’t escape her destiny…

or the gladiator prisoner who captured her heart.

 

Rookie cop Addy Dawson must escape her alien captors. Caged with a gladiator prisoner claiming to be her mate, Addy refuses to breed warriors for the Survival Race—a blood sport where the last man alive wins. No one will stop her from getting off this planet, including the sexy alpha male determined to turn her on.

 

Years of killing for entertainment have turned Max into a hardened beast. The only time he feels human is when at stud. But when a fiery female from his home world rejects him, her rebellious spirit awakens a part of his soul he thought long dead.

 

Bound together by a desire for freedom, Max and Addy will risk torture and worse to break out. But the hunted pair will never find refuge unless they can learn to trust each other with their lives…and their hearts.

 

*Alien abduction, Brooding alpha male, Strong heroine, Enemies-to-lovers, Stand alone book in a series, HEA, No cliff hangers.*

 

Find CAPTIVE (and the Survival Race Series) at these stores:

 

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo  |  Apple  |  And other retailers

“Fawcett delivers a suspenseful and captivating science fiction romance. A must read for all, but especially for fans of The Hunger Games.” -Caridad Pineiro, NY Times & USA Today bestselling author with over a million romance novels sold.

 

Stay safe out there!

 

K.M Fawcett

www.kmfawcett.com