Are you Inspired?

This is not the suncatcher I had; it's a poorly rendered imitation I made! Sadly, the original cracked and broke.

Inspiration is a strange beast.

When people ask why I write fantasy, I usually say it was because I was tired of reading stereotypical tales of chosen-one heroes and world-ending villains. That is why I write, but that is not why I wrote the World of the Tainted.

The World of the Tainted was inspired by a suncatcher.
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My sister gave me the suncatcher when I was in high school, and she was working in the Pacific Rim National Park. On the thin plastic, a sunset shone over the silhouette of a castle. In the foreground was a house-sized dragon with a tiny long-haired rider perched on its back. This was no D&D dragon but a huge creature with a serpentine neck and enormous wings that dwarfed the woman rider.

​Inspired by the sun catcher, Kasha, the first woman DragonKeeper, was born. Although her story remains unfinished, her ancestor Sair told me the tale found in Dragon's Voice, and her grandson Cairon worked hard in Dragon's Talon and SoulBurner to undo the damage Kasha failed to prevent. The Kingdom of Espar expanded into the World of the Tainted, other races making themselves known. I learned of the fall of the Lionian Sovereignty. I discovered the founding of Espar and the brigand King who lied his way into power (hint; his books are now a six-book series). I followed the last wizard from his end to his return. 
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Dozens of stories and hundreds of characters came into existance all because of a suncatcher. 

Anything can inspire. It follows that everything is inspiring. With the right perspective, we can take the smallest things and make them into great ideas. It's not a passive process, though. It's not about being inspired. It's about seeking inspiration.

It's everywhere. You just need to look.

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