The stories that inspired me

It’s a question I get asked a lot: “What inspired you to write your book?”

The answer is a little broad and includes answers that are easy to understand like, “Roald Dahl wrote some amazing stories that really resonated with me” and not so easy answers like, “my childhood”.

In my opinion, inspiration doesn’t just come from things you see or hear or that affect the five senses. It also comes from experiences, memories, dreams, and emotions. Before I lose you with all this, what I’m saying is that inspiration is everything. It’s life.

In my case, I took a few experiences from my childhood, some thoughts and feelings I had when I was young, mixed it together with people and places throughout my life, and used the stories I enjoyed as a backdrop to tell my own tale.

It’s important to have these stories in your life, because we all have our own story to tell but most people don’t know how to tell it. So for my readers, please allow me to share some of the stories that have inspired me.

James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl

I’ll admit it, I saw the movie before I read the book. As a kid, the animations always kind of creeped me out. But the idea of a bunch of insects living in a giant flying peach just captivated me and opened up my imagination. (As such things do) There’s a lot of similarities in the Tower from my book and the giant peach. As in James’ story, the peach is filled with family figures that help him grow, so is the same in Arnold’s story, with the Tower acting as a sort of parental/guardian figure.

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

I read this book while I was writing The Tower of Blue and if you pay close attention, there are a lot of similarities both in the story and in the writing style. Much like Santiago, Arnold is also looking for his own “Personal Legend”. Not in buried treasure but in confidence and courage. The answers Santiago was seeking were right underneath his nose the whole time and for Arnold, he had it in him all along to be brave and stand up for himself. He just needed that extra push, as some of us do. The Alchemist inspired me to connect my story to the struggles of other adolescents as much as I could.

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

I read this book while I was working in NYC, commuting in and out of NJ, so I really felt the post-apocalyptic vibe every time I stepped into Port Authority. The Road took me by surprise as there was no real plot, it was mainly a tale of a father and son surviving in terrible circumstances. That really inspired a lot of the dark aspects of my book. I wanted to really show how bad things could get on a journey alone, which allowed the lighter parts to feel more hopeful and poignant. The Road showed me that sometimes its ok to deviate from the overall plot and just show moments in time that no one else sees.

Thanks for stopping by.