This Wednesday, guest blogger Elizabeth Finn will share her Stack-O’-Muses. Let’s see what all is in her stack.

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Pondering the muse and determining inspiration is truly one of the most difficult challenges for me, so while I was thrilled for the opportunity to write up a blog on this very topic, I was also quite intimidated.

I haven’t always read romance literature, and it’s hard to remember exactly what book got me “hooked.” What I can say in terms of reading in the romance genre, I’m a relative newbie – never mind how new I am at actually writing it! I grew up reading suspense, horror, and mystery genres. If it was written by Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell, or John Sanford, I was all over it! I wanted dead bodies, to be scared witless, thrilled to tears, disgusted to nausea, and intrigued beyond belief.

Now on occasion, more with John Sanford than the others, I would get a taste of romance … or perhaps just sex in literature. Loved it! But still, I really didn’t get into the romance genre. Truthfully, I wouldn’t have known where to begin!

About eight or so years ago, a dear friend of mine was cleaning her bookshelf. She handed me a stack of historical romances and said “have fun!” And I did. I was hooked. I can tell you that within in this stack of books I had Nicole Jordan, Iris Johansen, Karen Marie Moning and more. All historical, all hot – uber hot!

I was in love. With Kell from Jordan’s Ecstasy, with Galen from Johansen’s The Golden Barbarian, with Jared from Johansen’s Dark Rider, then there was Hawk from Beyond the Highland Mist, and let’s not forget Gage from Johansen’s Midnight Warrior. Dear goodness… Is it hot in here..?

So is there a book that started it all? An inspiration per se? No, there’s a small stack, that, yes, I’m staring at right now. These books are now old, worn, and they smell deliciously of eucalyptus mint oil that I somehow managed to spill on them when I packed them up in a box to move a few years back, but they’re there and will remain there as my muse and inspiration. So, I suppose you could say my muse is more like a Stack-O’-Muse. And I owe it all to one of my oldest friends who simply wanted to dust her bookshelf.

What do the men in this Stack-O’-Muse have in common? They all have a strong alpha presence with impeccable morals – though they may take some time to figure this out… and who would do anything to protect the women they love – once they are finally willing to accept they are in love. Isn’t that what we’re all looking for? So, in typical Elizabeth Finn fashion, I’ve failed to really answer the question, aside from being able to point to a stack of books that are now sitting on my coffee table, begging to be read just one more time – for inspiration’s sake of course…

Bio:

Elizabeth Finn is an Iowa native, where she lives with her husband and son. By day, Elizabeth is a Human Resources Specialist, but by night, she checks her professionalism at the door and immerses herself in the world of writing erotic romance. Look for more to come from Elizabeth Finn. Visit her at ElizabethFinnFiction.com to find out more about her current and upcoming releases or email her at ElizabethFinn77@gmail.com – she’d love to hear from you!

Elizabeth’s most recent release: