From Diamonds to Book Ideas: How Simple Things Lead to Bigger Stories

Ever wonder where an author gets their ideas, or starts a story? Here's how I took a news article about a diamond, and turned it into my upcoming book, Royal Fiancée Required!

(This blog might have a few teensy hints at things some people might see as spoilers. If you want to wait till you've read Royal Fiancée Required, then hang onto the blog till you've done that, but I'm not really giving too much away!)

It all started with Murder Swans...

Actually, no. Before we even get to the Murder Swans (and from diamonds, to ideas), let's take a rapid fast forward to a week ago when I was out with a group of non-writing friends (yes, I have lots!) and one asked,

Murder Swans...

"How do you even start a book?"

I thought, great question. I can answer that! Of course, after explaining the process to my friends they kind of looked glassy eyed, said they needed a drink and also said they'd never try writing. So I think I scared them off, but undeterred, I've decided I will not try to frighten any of you book-reading souls (pinky promise with my fingers also tightly crossed behind my back).

Ideas for my stories come from all sorts of places. A sentence spoken in a coffee shop (did you ever think you'd need to watch out for errant authors whilst chatting away?) Reading about a bad relationship break-up. Songs. An evocative picture. Non-romance stories (yeah, that one surprises even me). I remember reading a sentence from a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child and immediately, a whole romance bloomed in my head when I applied the line not to the villains of the piece (where it was properly directed) but an alpha hero (that's a tale for another day).

I’ve carried stories with me since I was 14 years old which I came up with when I was too young to understand the true complexity of adult emotion and relationships, and which had evolved over forty-three years to something that I'd love to write one day, when the characters get a bit shoutier...

So all of this is leading to an explanation of how I came up with the idea for my latest royal romance duo, and by extension, Royal Fiancée Required. The genesis was what I thought to be a strange kind of request a few years ago, from an author I know. Would I like to contribute to a sweet, closed door, non-spicy anthology of royal romance novellas?

"Er, I kind of write steamy contemporary," I replied.

"I know," came the response, "But I want a Harlequin Presents author because you do all the big emotion stuff. Just keep the door shut."

Big emotion stuff... MISSION ACCEPTED. Priscilla and Caspar, and the royal novella His Cinderella Princess, were born.*

This was a fabulous story to write, and I adored the couple. Whilst it is 100% me and my "voice", the characters were a little different to my normal —a tiny bit nerdy which was such fun to write because I identified with them (raises nerdy hand and waves). Oh, Caspar was strong. He knew what he wanted (Cilla) and set out to get her, but is probably a tiny bit softer than my typical alpha heroes, especially because there was no spice in the story. All I was allowed was a kiss.

That little novella was meant to be a one-off. But then Priscilla’s sister, Anastacia, popped up as an interesting character, as did her brother, Gabriel. Members of the Montroy Royal family of Halrovia. Those tiny snippets made me want to know a lot more about both of them.

Anastacia, the Perfect Princess. Gabriel, the Proper Prince.

What if Ana suddenly wasn't so perfect?

What if Gabe decided not to be proper for once?

BOOM! I had The Royal House of Halrovia duo.

For Royal Fiancée Required, there was a throwaway line in His Cinderella Princess about Anastacia dancing with someone at the country's Spring Ball (a really important night for the Halrovian Royal family). I began to think—what if she had a secret hankering for someone other than the prince she was really meant to marry?

Ana was called the "Perfect Princess" by the press. Never stepping out of line. Reported to be one of the most beautiful and stylish women in Europe. The question for her became, what would happen to a woman who was only ever valued by the press and her family for her beauty, if her beauty was suddenly tarnished in some way and she became flawed in everyone's eyes but her own? How would it change her view of herself, and what she wanted for her future? Interesting things to think about...

It was fascinating to write and to explore those parts of the story. A young woman finding herself when everything she thought she knew, had changed. But as for the rest—Anastacia deserved something big and something more.

She needed a hero. And did the hero for her just burst into my imagination! With a French mother and and Australian father. An adventurer and heir to a champagne fortune. Aston was a free spirit, and the perfect foil for Ana, who seemed trapped and permanently changed by other people's views of her.

Which is where the article about a diamond came in.

I LOVE jewels and all things sparkly, so I also love reading about them. In my fossicking about for ideas I came across a story about a rare and perfect diamond that had gone to auction. It caught my eye because I saw the picture first—a magnificent, huge blue gemstone that gleamed like the ocean in sunlight and which had been auctioned for a world-record price per carat. I couldn’t stop staring at videos of the ring, the way it sparkled. It was my idea of the perfect stone if I'd had a cool twenty million or so to buy it (yes, really, that much). This one gem took me down the rabbit hole of high-end jewellery and art auctions at places like Christie's, and let me tell you, they're a thrill. I couldn't stop watching. And those auctioneers? Amazing. Dry, funny. Superb in the way they wring out the best price for whatever they're selling. Take a look, you'll be lost for hours watching what some people have the money to buy. It's quite breathtaking.

Plus, auctions are huge fun. I've been to a few and bought some stuff (no diamonds!) and it's so exciting, especially when you win! But back to the story.

I thought, what might a hero do to encourage a reluctant heroine who doesn't want what her parents had arranged? Might he try to impress her with a grand gesture?

Yes, he might. And you might guess what came next. Have you yet? Ssssh. I won't tell.

Then we get to the Murder Swans...

I have a strange obsession with climbing Everest and other mountains over 8,000 metres, collectively called "The Eight-Thousanders" (don’t ask why—I’m not in the slightest bit sporty and have dodgy knees, so I don’t know why I had this idea as a child that I’d like to climb Everest—it will NEVER happen), and Aston Lane popped out—not just your average billionaire but a mountaineer and a daredevil. I immersed myself in the psychology of why a person would want to climb the most dangerous mountains in the world—where the death rate can be up to 30%—and let that part of my hero's psyche weave its way into the story.

The idea of Aston as a mountaineer also got me revisiting Nepal (through pictures at least). I'd travelled there as an 18-year-old with my family and fell in love with the beautiful country, the people and the mountains surrounding it. We even manged to snatch a glimpse of the tip of Everest through the clouds, gleaming in the sunshine. Ethereal. Magical. Life changing. A moment I've never forgotten.

But the thing about being a writer is, no matter how much fun the story sounds in your own head, you sometimes lose confidence in your own ideas. Which is why I found myself sitting in a cafe with three author friends in the driving rain (so heavy the way home was flooded for one friend!), talking books and trying to write. And I started to ask them, "Does my hero actually work? Is the premise of the story right?" We had a chat, wrangling Aston into shape and bouncing my ideas for the story and why I wanted to write what I did, in what locations, when my friend started chatting about her latest story, as part of an anthology.

"It has Murder Swans..."

Say what?

"It's a magical, witchy Christmas book, with Murder Swans."*

Well, if Louisa could have Murder Swans, then my story could have what I it wanted to. Her confidence, gave me confidence that I was on the right track.

So, Royal Fiancée Required is dedicated to Fiona, Ally and Louisa and a rainy day where they helped me back myself, my hero and my ideas. In many ways, these characters are the ones I’ve felt closest to—people who’ve suffered love and loss and, in the process, have been reborn and found each other.

And drats, in all of this I forgot to even get to the matter of cranky wombats... Maybe next time!

All of that is designed to say that ideas can come from strange places, and they take you on magical journeys. I loved Priscilla and Caspar for how quirky they were. I adored Ana and Aston because both of them were broken in their own way and desperately needed each other to heal. And then came Gabriel and Lena, who you’ll get to see far more of as we get closer to their release in August. (If you’re a newsletter subscriber, watch out for the cover reveal next month!)

I hope you love Ana and Aston as much as I do, whilst I wait for another idea to strike me and take me on the journey into my next story. I also hope I haven't scared you too much with my weird and wonderful process. Because if you want to write for yourself, it really is a magical mystery tour.

Have you ever had any interesting ideas you'd like to share? If you have, where did they come from? I'd love to hear from you here or on social media.

Well, that's it for me. For now, stay safe and sparkle! Love, Kali.

*If you want to read Cilla and Caspar's story, which is now a steamy novella rather than sweet, you can get a copy by subscribing to my newsletter.

*Louisa writes her witchy books as Sabrina Duval.

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