Guest Blog with Adrienne deWolf: Real Magic

I'm very excited to welcome back Adrienne deWolfe! She shared some valuable information on writing wildly popular romances when she visited us last month, and has returned with some truly magical insight on the writing process. Thank you Adrienne, your words have inspired me to keep writing through the block!

Real Magic:  Intuition Helps Authors Write Books

By Adrienne deWolfe

Writing fiction has always felt like magic to me -- especially when I'm in the creative flow, and ideas are pouring through my brain faster than I can type. I've heard other writers describe this flood of imagination  as the whispering of their “Writing Muse.”

But what exactly is a Writing Muse?

When I learned that Jess loves to read Paranormal, Fantasy and Romance novels, I thought it might be fun to give her (and you!) a peek into “real” magic -- in other words, how I developed my Intuition and used it in my writing career. 

Back in the Dark Ages (before the Internet was invented,) I used to develop mental health seminars for a hospital.  One day, while I was eating lunch with a guest speaker, we got into a lively discussion about Imagination – which eventually led to a juicy conversation about psychic phenomena and Intuition.

"There’s nothing in the least bit strange about a Writing Muse,” my lunch companion announced.  “Imagination is closely connected to Intuition. Intuition results from the body-mind connection.  Everybody is psychic."

I choked on my mouthful of tuna salad.  I mean, I grew up in a family of die-hard Science Fiction and Fantasy readers – but we were “too rational” to think that Psychic Phenomena could be real! 

But there I was, dining with a prominent psychotherapist, who was telling me to disregard all my linear, small-minded thinking.  I figured the man had to know what he was talking about:  he was a licensed professional counselor in the state of Texas! 

So I admitted, "I’ve always wanted to tap my Intuition – you know, whenever I want to.  Is that possible?"

He shrugged. "Go to a bookstore.  Buy an audiotape with exercises."

And I thought,  The book store!  Of course!

Needless to say, I practically flew to Barnes & Noble. 

That decision to develop my Intuition saved my life.  I’d only been practicing the exercises on my tape for seven days when my Intuition triggered.  It warned me not to accompany an overly friendly man into a restaurant parking lot.  That man was later arrested for abducting women from shopping malls.

“The Intuitive Mind is a sacred gift, and the Rational Mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

~ Albert Einstein

Since that fateful day, I’ve had all kinds of interesting adventures with my Intuition. 

For instance, while writing my fourth award-winning historical Romance novel, Scoundrel for Hire (eRelease:  Autumn 2012), I realized that I needed to purchase a book of Shakespearean quotes for research purposes.  

As I was driving along the freeway, my Intuition urged me to delay my trip to the mall and turn my car into a shopping center.  After I parked, I discovered that a used book store had opened there one week earlier.  (I swear, I had no conscious knowledge of this opening!)  I introduced myself to the owner and told her my mission.

The owner said I was out of luck.  “It's finals week at the University of Texas,” she explained.  “I sold my last book of Shakespearean quotes earlier this week." 

Even as she was apologizing, her hand reached behind her back and pulled a book off the shelf.  (She DID NOT turn to face the stacks.)  Suddenly, she was frowning and staring down at the volume, as if she had no conscious memory of reaching for it.

"That’s odd," she said. "I could've sworn I sold this book of Shakespearean quotes yesterday." 

(Picture Adrienne humming the theme from the Twilight Zone.)

Another fun moment with my Intuition came as I was promoting my fifth award-winning historical Romance novel, Always Her Hero (Release:  Autumn 2012 under new title, His Wicked Dream.)   Intuition whispered in my head, "This one’s going to be a hardback!"  And I scoffed.   “Yeah, right.  There’s no way that Avon Books is going to print Always Her Hero in hardback.” 

As it turned out, I was right.  But so was my Intuition!  Within three weeks, my editor called me with the good news:  Doubleday’s Book of the Month Club wanted to buy the rights to print  Always Her Hero as a hardback!

Whether you’re a paranormal reader or writer, you’ve probably wondered – like me – if there might be some small truth behind the supernatural phenomena in your favorite novels.  For some people, exploring this interest is frightening.  For others, it’s a lark. 

For me, it’s a fascinating hobby that earns me an income.  The editor of a local newspaper called me one day and said, “I hear you’re a freelancer who writes about freaky things.”  (At least he didn’t call me a “freaky writer who freelances!”) 

Mustering my dignity, I asked, “What’s the assignment?”

“Some ghost hunters are coming to town. They’re investigating spook sightings at a pizza restaurant.  You available?”

(Picture Adrienne muting her telephone and snickering at her UNBELIEVABLE GOOD FORTUNE!)  “That all depends,” I drawled.  “How much do you pay?”

For those of you who like haunted pizza stories, you’ll find the three articles that resulted from that assignment on my blog at WritingNovelsThatSell.com.

I developed that website because my passion is to help other writers live their publishing dream.  Since I’m on my book tour, stop by and enter my raffle!

In the meantime, I continue to develop my Intuition.  If you’re as fascinated by the supernatural as I am, visit the writing resources pages that I’ve created for Magic and the Paranormal, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Creativity and Writers Block on my website, WritingNovelsThatSell.com.

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About Adrienne deWolfe

Originally published by Bantam and Avon Books, Adrienne deWolfe’s five novels have won 9 awards, including the Best Historical Romance of the Year.  She has 2 Historical Romance (ebook) trilogies planned for release this Summer/Autumn:  Wild Texas Nights and Naughty and Nice.  Adrienne loves to mentor aspiring authors, which is why she offers professional story critiques, as well as online writing workshops and courses.  Visit her online home, WritingNovelsThatSell.com  to download her free report, 20 Questions Editors Ask Before Buying a Book.  You can also follow Adrienne on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.