Inspirations

Yesterday, while driving through city traffic, I fished through my CD case, locating some obscure, unlabeled disk, popped it in, and suddenly the 80's song Never Ending Story (remix version) blared through the speakers. I loved that song! I loved that movie! It got me thinking about stories that have had a huge impact on my writing. They are as follows:

The Neverending Story--just love how this story comes full circle connecting fantasy to reality! For sure has influenced the circular plot in both Shadow of the Moon and Trick of the Light.

Star Wars--I honestly think that the recurring theme of redemption in each of my novels (even the as of yet unpublished Ghost Ride the Whip (working title) and Mind Gap) stem from my fascination with the character of Darth Vader.

The Last Unicorn--the writing is nothing short of brilliant! I'm especially drawn to Mommy Fortuna--I think I have a thing for complex villains. I think they are quite often more interesting then the hero--Snape comes to mind!

The Wizard of Oz--What haunts me most about this one, is the discovery that the Great Wizard of Oz isn't so great after all--that Dorothy and the gang had their own power all along.

Two adult novels that I had pretty much love/hate relationships with but that had profound influences over my writing with their structures are To the Lighthouse (Woolf) and La Modification (Butor).I think I need to re-read those again...off to dig through old books in the basement.