The inspiration for every story is different, which is why I like to write a Story Inspiration Page for each of my stories (and include it in the back of the book and also here on my blog).
Here’s the page for Griffin Llewellyn and Wren’s story…
A BRIDE FOR GRIFFIN – STORY INSPIRATION PAGE
Characters, how I love them and how they come to life, then change and grow!
The characters in A Bride for Griffin (book 3 in my Songbird Junction trilogy) felt extra entertaining because they’d been with me for years and had become not only their own group of found family, but mine as well.
When I wrote the first scene in Robyn: A Christmas Bride (you can read an excerpt here), which includes Robyn Llewellyn’s three big brothers breaking the news to the man Robyn loves (that she’d left town, and what was Max Peregrine going to do about it?) I knew I had to write a book for each Llewellyn brother. And each would be unique in their own way, starting with how they’d teased and tormented Max (and each other) in that scene.
The youngest brother, Griffin, was grumpy and gruff and very worried about the temper he thought he’d inherited from his father. So his book would be about learning to overcome that concern and open his heart to the woman he loved, Wren (who he was having difficulty communicating with because of his unique self).
How does a person go from being a pre-teen helping his two older brothers raise their baby sister (every day of his life after their parents die) to an adult on his own? What does he do when (within a month), all three of his siblings get married, and he’s now questioning his life’s purpose? Can he build a new life, a new harmony, with the woman he loves?
Wren fights for their love, and so do a pair of wily old-timers, who secretly (and sometimes not so secretly) play matchmaker. Grandpa Gus Peregrine has been with me for five books (starting with The Calling Birds) and Mrs. Fitzgerald for three (starting with A Bride for Brynmor). I love them dearly.
And then there’s Sheriff Quincy Guyette, who has also been with me for the three Songbird Junction books. He surprised me (but also didn’t) when he stepped up and changed big time, going from an exasperating opponent to a true ally.
Adding the Treloar Gang was an intriguing addition of new characters.
And of course super-bad guy Ulysses T. Stone had to be there and finally be dealt with. So did minor-bad guy Mr. Anderson (aka mutton-chop man, named because of his signature whiskers).
Putting everyone together in a close-proximity setting (joining a posse on a wild, remote mountain trail called the Lion’s Tail Ridge because a mountain lion, aka a cougar, has a very long tail) made for a lot of ups and downs, and great chances for shenanigans to ensue. And for Griffin and Wren to join his brothers and her sisters in finding a happily ever after in Songbird Junction, a frontier train stop that has changed and grown along with its characters and become a unique home for everyone.
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I hope you enjoyed reading some of what inspired me to write Wren and Griffin’s story. If you’d like to read A Bride for Griffin’s book blurb and opening scene, click here.
WANT TO SEE MORE OF MY STORY INSPIRATION PAGES?
- A Bride for Brynmor – inspired by languages, the Métis, the Qu’Appelle Valley, Cree syllabics, and more.
- The Calling Birds – inspired by the Fourth Day in The 12 Days of Christmas song, stubborn/determined people, and more.
- Robyn: A Christmas Bride – inspired by O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi, My Fair Lady, and more.
- Rescuing Raven – inspired by South Dakota, the Lakota, the town of Deadwood, its gold rush, and more.
- Between Heaven & Hell – inspired by the Oregon Trail, Native tattoos of guardian spirits, and more.
- Following Faith – inspired by Marguerite Henry’s San Domingo, the Medicine Hat Stallion, Native legends, and more.
- Choosing Bravery – inspired by The Revenant movie, Oregon’s Cascade Volcanic Arc, and more.
- Between Love & Lies – inspired by Dodge City, the Time-Life Old West book collection, the longhorn cattle tick, and more.
- Between Home & Heartbreak – inspired by Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and by the names Eldorado Jane, Eldora, Dorothy, Dory, Dority, and more.
- Adella’s Enemy – inspired by the Hell on Wheels TV series, cutthroat railroad races, and more.
To read all of them together, click here to view my Story Inspiration Pages blog category.
Wishing you happy reading ❤️
