'Clueless,' 'Lost,' Jason Bourne and 'Burn Notice' – yes!
Today's featured authors: Leigh T. Moore, author of Mosaic, and Cristin Harber, author of Sweet Girl. They're talking about their writing inspirations.
Leigh T. Moore, author of Mosaic (Dragonfly #4)
Three movies/shows that have inspired my writing:
• Clueless. Cher reminds me so much of my high school bestie, and when I sat down to write my bestseller The Truth About Faking, she was the model for Harley, the main character. Her guileless "rules" and ditzy street-smarts crack me up every time. It helps me not feel so silly that Jane Austen's Emma inspired the screenplay.
• Dallas. My husband told me creators wanted it to be "The Kennedys of the South," and I tried to capture that sweeping, soapy, family-saga vibe in The Dragonfly Series. Plus the new Dallas is really hot. (Readers compare it to The O.C. because of the setting, but I never really watched that show — Haha!)
• Lost. The current book I'm working on is more of an action/adventure romance set in the woods of south Mississippi. It's heavy on the action/adventure, and a lot of the "ideas" came to me while watching reruns of Lost. I used to live for that show, and I had a group of friends who would dissect every episode. Tons of fun!
Here is the blurb for Mosaic, the final book in the Dragonfly Series:
The future never goes as planned.
People are never what they seem.
And time changes everything.
So you want to know what happened to Anna and Julian? Well, listen up, because I've got the whole scoop. I'm Jules, btw, and I am an artist, as you already know if you've read Watercolor. What you might not know is I inherited my mother's cute little newsy nose, thank you very much.
It's high school reunion time, and everyone's coming back to Fairview—everyone who's not already there, mind you. What went wrong, who's fault it was, and why the heck nobody knew about me… it's all coming out.
Long-distance relationships rarely last, and a lot of water has passed under that bridge. Big Secrets will be exposed, and in the end we'll know if that old saying is true: Love is stronger than time.
Find out more at www.leightmoore.com.
Cristin Harber, author of Sweet Girl
What has inspired my writing:
• Burn Notice. What a show! It has the excitement of a burned CIA agent trying to earn back his place in the spy game and amazing tension between this man-on-the-run and his explosives-expert ex-girlfriend. Michael Westin and Fiona Glendale personify sexual tension, while outwitting his enemies with fast thinking and creative stunts.
• The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks. Ethan Kelly kicks off one of my favorite series. It contains fierce family loyalty, a team of Black Ops guys that show no fear, and a love story that's smoking hot. The storytelling is masterful, and the suspense is page turning. I'm in awe of the emotion Ms. Banks can write onto a page.
• The Bourne Identity. Oh, Jason Bourne, how many ways do I love you? Too many to list here. The Bourne series is tops on my list. Matt Damon is made of terrific hero material. He doesn't say much, but he can give a look that will make your heart jump. Throw him into some fast-paced action scenes, and this romantic suspense author has enough fodder to write for days.
My latest release is Sweet Girl, a contemporary romance prequel to bestselling Garrison's Creed:
Sometimes falling in love means going through the worst kind of hell.
Nicola Hart grew up under the heels of her older brother and his sexy best friend, Cash Garrison. Years of ignoring her spark with Cash has transformed their friendship into a slow burning sizzle. One night with him could ruin everything. Or it could be more than she ever dreamed. They play. They flirt. But they haven't crossed the line because too much is at stake. Family. Friendship. And the deepest kind of love that she'd have to be crazy to walk away from.
She's his best friend's little sister. The definition of hands off. Cash has tried to ignore her for years. Those innocent eyes and her smile that screams kiss-me-if-you-dare... Instead, he's looked at every pretty little thing who's crossed his path, all to ignore the girl he seems destined to want. But when his hard partying ways get old and everyone at school is interested in Nicola, it's time to stake a claim. To make Nicola his girl, no matter the risks, and hold the hand of the one he really loves.
Find out more at cristinharber.com.