Chasing the Muse

So, I’ve been in between projects for a bit. I haven’t felt motivated enough to dive into Fireborn or Survivor yet, so I’ve been noodling about what comes next. Per my muse, it needed to be brand spankin’ new so most of my projects were disqualified. And I have plans of getting back to the waiting ones (**cough** Fireborn and Survivor and maybe Ever Touched **cough**) but I needed a break.

So that’s when I rediscovered The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo. If you’re not familiar with the idea of ghost marriage, it’s where a woman is married to a deceased man for various reasons — to placate a spirit that’s restless (hauntings) or to provide lineage to a child, or even to elevate a concubine to wife. (Here is the Wikipedia link that goes into more detail.) When I first learned of this, months upon months ago, I thought it was really intriguing. How would a woman feel to be married to a ghost? Would the ghost acknowledge the wife in any way? And, lastly, how does it work, exactly (apparently using an effigy dressed in wedding attire as a stand-in for deceased spouse-to-be)?

So…I had a plot bunny idea hit me a few years ago about a ghost marriage and Egyptian mythology. In it, I combined the two: a young girl is ghost-married to Anubis, God of the Egyptian Underworld, and because this is my novel, chaos ensues (and so do ghosts). I called it Covenant, because the one thing I did know was that the girl would come from a generational cult that worships Anubis and breeds girls to be his brides. And then I got stalled on a few important points and then let it simmer. I thought about starting it a lot, but the “entry point” (what’s happening as the book opens) kept eluding me. Why you do this, muse? Just tell me where to start, damn it! 

So it wasn’t until I finished reading The Ghost Bride that the entry point revealed itself. Mind you, I was camping with my husband, with severely limited internet access and two tablets to write with. But no, the muse said she wanted to go back to my roots, and handwrite it. Who was I to deny her? So, I wrote the first scene, watching it play in my head like a movie. I had a direction, finally.

I find it absolutely fascinating that had I not read that book when I did, and had I not been camping (fresh air is always good for the muse), I’m not sure if I would have hit upon the entry point. I remember being so frustrated because it was such a cool idea and I. Couldn’t. Figure. It. Out. For. The. Life. Of. Me. Funnier still is its place on my novel priority list: #4, B priority (which is within the next 5 years or so). Never mind any of the As. Nope. It had to be Covenant, and it had to be handwritten. I’m seriously considering handwriting more of it, just to see what happens. (I can’t do too much or my hand hurts — past injury). So, that’s my story.

I also believe being away from my usual environment (home office) helped jar something loose in the grey matter. The scene was so vivid. I could see everything, every nuance, every wrinkle of fabric, every flare of candlelight. I could feel Annah’s fear and dread before her ceremony. I could understand her mother’s desire to see her please Anubis because she’d failed. It was all there, in one perfect moment of clarity.

I’m running with it. Sometimes, you got to go where the muse takes you. Or chase her down.