The dreaded question: From where do you get your inspiration?

Ugh. I actually cringe when people ask me this. Why? Well, because I don’t know. I really don’t. I just kind of get ideas out of nowhere, or everywhere, and I use them as stories. There are times when I feel tempted to lean across the table to the person who has asked me this and whisper, “From the voices in my head.”

Yet there are moments when an object does inspire me. Maps are my big sources of inspiration (because it makes my fictional places seem real), as are pictures I find that resemble the locations in my books. And, yes, there is my fascination with swords.

So I was in one of my favourite places a few months back, namely a store called “Millennium.” For those of you who haven’t visited it, the one I go to is in Metrotown (a mall in Burnaby) and has an entrance the shape of a dragon’s head. The first time I walked in, the clerks glanced at me a little suspiciously. You see, this store is for the Goth extreme and there I was all dressed in blue jeans and a t-shirt. Nothing pierced, nothing tattooed, and nothing black. Clearly, I was in the wrong place.

The first time I ventured in I found the sword that has been the inspiration for my character KANE. He will be the protagonist in the third installment after Rancour and Pyre. Now the staff knows me well, and they know that I like a good sword. And these swords are actual practical pieces, and not cheap decorative knock offs.

Anyway, a couple months back I ventured back to Millennium after having lunch with some buds across the street. When the staff saw me, they immediately showed me a Claymore that had just arrived (because I had been looking for one). I enjoy writing about Claymores, and have always wanted to own one. As an author, this is what inspires me. (Kind of like the way Hiro gets his powers from the samurai sword.)

I don’t know what character will get to use the Claymore, but here it is: