Wednesday 2 February 2011

Author Spotlight Week - Stephanie Burkhart shares her passions for paranormals


People at work often ask me "What are you writing?" and I usually reply: "My novel." They raise an eyebrow. "How do you come up with ideas for your writing?" I usually tap my temple with my finger and smile. "You'd be surprised by what goes on up here."

I grew up watching Creature Double Feature in the 1970's as a young girl. They had zombies, godzilla, vampires, werewolves, Frankensteins, and all of them gave me a good scare. Those creepy characters resonated with me growing up.

As a young adult, I loved Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches and vampire books. In the 1990's, Gary Oldman's Dracula spooked me out.

I took to writing seriously for publication in 2001 and wrote a sweet military romance and a pair of contemporaries. Then I saw Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabhan in the movie theatre and it rekindled the flame I had for paranormals. I wanted to write my own paranormal stories. The Budapest Moon series is the outgrowth. It's set in an exotic locale and focuses on the man and his humanity despite his condition.

Imagination can drive you wild on occasion, can't it? Wink.

10 comments:

  1. I have to agree Steph. My Muse is constantly bringing new ideas--my "What if's" is what I call them.

    Sometimes I can't keep up with them all and I carry a note pad with me at all times when the mood strikes.

    Loni

    Wonderful blog! Hope to see The Count's Lair soon.

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  2. Loni,
    Yes, sounds like our muses have a lot in common. I have a ton of ideas and not enough time in the day to really expand on them.

    Smiles
    Steph

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  3. If a person sees a ghost or a devil, is that a paranormal experience?

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  4. I mean, I never saw one, but one of my uncles swore his mother saw the ghost of her sister, and another uncle recounted an experience where he saw the devil.

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  5. I do believe, however, that I once contacted 'the other side' through an old seer I met on a street in Saigon in 1965.

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  6. I didn't mean to do it. It somehow happened to me. I wanted to experience a fortune teller, but didn't know what to expect. And going in, wanting nothing, I got everything.

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  7. Great post Steph. It's the 'I'm writing a novel' one that I hear frequently. Whan asked for more detail they tend to hum-and-ha, go beet-red and shuffle off. Such a shame, because having a muse around is such fun - most of the time!

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  8. What fun learning your inspiration for writing paranormals. The Count's Lair is definitely on my buy list. Lucky for us that Harry Potter & and the Prisoner of A rekindled your interest in writing paranormals. I loved The Hungarian!

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  9. John, there might be something to your experience. Do you listen to coast to coast?

    Sherry, Yep, I get that, too. Very few people I talk to are actually interested, but those that are are passionate about it.

    Diane, thanks so much, Sweetie. Did you get a chance to read Moonlight Sonata as well?

    Smiles
    Steph

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  10. Hi, Steph. I like paranormals too. Enjoyed your post. :)

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