My daughter, Shannon, suggested that I write a post describing my inspiration for The Portal’s Choice.  Shannon is 17 and is my guide to the teenage world, so I’m following her advice.

The idea for The Portal’s Choice was born on a late afternoon in June when I drove by an older house located next to an even older graveyard. For some reason, this sight caught my imagination and I knew that some kind of interaction happened between the basement of that house and the graveyard next door. At home, I brainstormed the initial idea with my husband and kids until I was fairly certain I had a young adult novel about a portal between the spirit realm and our human world. From there, the book took off. Some days I feel that it wrote itself and I was present only as the typist.

Before I started writing the book, I did some research into words and phrases that I could use to name the places and beings inhabiting the world of the gatekeepers. I discovered many resources in my quest and have provided the words in the glossary in an earlier post. I also took my time to name the characters in the book. I believe that names say a great deal about people and can help to define who we are. I wanted to be sure I had the correct name for each character.

I love crystals and have a growing collection of beautiful stones placed around my study where I write. When I began the book, I wasn’t sure what I was going to use for the keys to open and close the portals. One day I realized that I had the keys to the gates sitting about me and the idea to use different crystals, attuned to the vibration of each gatekeeper, was born. I’ve spent time researching the meanings and uses of crystals, and I’ve discovered that these stones are thought to have been used to open different portals for millennia. The idea was not unique to me at all.

One other aspect of my research included spending time in cemeteries. I wandered around several graveyards near my home and in the Boston area and took many pictures of gravestones. There is no one cemetery that is the actual model for the one next door to Tallis Challinor’s house, but rather, the cemetery I write in the book is a composite of the many that I’ve visited added to my imagination.

My process evolved as I wrote The Portal’s Choice. I have started book two in The Gatekeepers of Em’pyrean series, The Forgotten Gate, and I’m glad that I have a template for my writing. I always start with some quiet time to gather my thoughts. And then I allow my imagination to take over. In the end, I have a feeling that book two will be written through me, just like The Portal’s Choice, with me doing the research necessary to make it all happen. I am very happy with that.

Photo courtesy of http://mymysticgems.deviantart.com