How did I come to write about a drummer and a deaf girl?

My stories usually start with a “What if…?” question and a few prompts from real life. So several things came together for “Fascinating Rhythm.” It’s a weird process but on this, "Fascinating Rhythm"’s release day, I thought I’d give you an idea of my creative process.

An old “Law and Order: SVU” program about a murder at a school for the deaf

Reading about the new operation Swedish scientists are working on to restore the hearing of some people

Reading about the deaf separatist movement around the world.

Evelyn Glennie, the world renowned classical percussionist, who is profoundly deaf.

A conflict – how does a man whose world is centred in music cope with a deaf mother? And how does being brought up in a deaf household affect him?

The C factor – that creative spark that brings everything together and creates characters from concepts and conflicts from disparate elements.

Plan C is the bit that makes me a writer. So what if a man whose whole life is music falls in love with a deaf woman?

My first reaction was, why not? But what would that mean to her? She loves this man, and part of his world is closed to her. Of course, since he’s a percussionist, she can share in some of it, with her residual hearing and her sense of touch. She can feel the vibrations, and follow the rhythm. But she can’t hear the band he belongs to, and she can’t understand why the music seduces him as much as she does.

Then she gets the opportunity to restore her hearing.

The game-changer is vital in a romance, and the posing of questions and choices. But in this, I had to do a lot of research. It helps to be married to someone who is involved in the special needs field, but that doesn’t give me all the answers. I adore putting myself into other people’s heads, and the only way I can do that without being creepy is to make them up and follow their fates.

It was a delight getting to know Hunter and Sabina, and like all my characters, they’ll remain with me forever. 

 

You can buy "Fascinating Rhythm" here at a special reduced price, and it will be at Amazon, the Ibookstore and other outlets very soon! 

There's an excerpt from the book here.