My husband recently spent a week in the hospital with an
infection in his right leg. It was an ugly abscess below the skin. The doctors
have no idea where it came from although the nurses suspected a brown recluse
bite. He had cellulitis and the wound was slightly necrotic. It was a stressful
week but I got something good out of it – a story idea.
I've gotten story ideas from many experiences. I stayed in a
haunted bed and breakfast decades ago that influenced my novel "An
Unexpected Guest". It was a lovely little place on Maryland's Eastern
Shore right on the Sassafras River. I stayed on a Friday night which also was ½
off dinner night. I'd heard the stories about the ghost of the proprietress
wandering the halls, checking on the guests to make sure they were comfortable.
The original owner was rumored to be a madam, and the house was a
Revolutionary-War-era brothel. British soldiers came up the river and tossed
torches at the house. The proprietress swept the torches off her porch. When
the soldiers arrived at the house, she made a deal with them. They wouldn't
burn down her house if she let them use it and the services of the women
inside, for a fee of course. This house was one of the only homes remaining standing
in town by the end of the battle. The story influenced my novel.
In a similar fashion, my husband's hospital ordeal influenced
a brand new story I'm about to begin working on. I can only imagine what kinds
of critters could come bursting out of that wound in his leg and wrecking havoc
in the hospital. I remember the sights, the smell of disinfectant, the sight of
that gaping hole in his leg. The nurses were competent and very friendly. I
might even create a character based on one of those nurses – and kill her. LOL
That's one thing that's fun about being a writer – putting real people in your
stories and doing horrible things to them.
Now that my husband is finally home and things are beginning
to wind down around here, I can begin working on my story. I have no idea where
it's going to go, but it's going to be one hell of a ride.
Here's where to find me on the web:
Elizabeth Black - Facebook
Elizabeth Black - Twitter
Elizabeth Black - Amazon Author Page
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