What inspires your writing?

Lots of things. In terms of inspiring my writing, I’m gonna answer this as both what informs my ideas and what gets me excited.

I tend to turn to a mixture of things for inspiration regarding ideas. History (especially ancient history), folklore, other media (like film and music), and real-life crimes and social issues tend to cause sparks to fly.

Some examples:

• Sweet Sixteen Killer was born out of listening to “sweet sixteen” songs of the 1950s as an adult and realizing how gross they were,

• my current work is a gothic horror piece set in Victorian era England that germinated as an homage to Universal monster and Hammer Horror films,

• I have an upcoming Mercedes novel that’s inspired by an FBI report published during the Bush administration about white nationalists infiltrating the police to recruit members,

• Jonah of Olympic has a subplot about an old dying Hollywood actress who has remained a closeted lesbian her whole life (for this I researched a number of Hollywood actresses from classic Hollywood who were closeted lesbian or bisexual — Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Katherine Hepburn, etc.),

• and many of my works have hints to ancient or obscure folklore — two upcoming Mercedes Masterson stories, Aibell and The Book of Jude, delve into Irish folklore.

But also, movies and music. Movies inspire me a lot when it comes to writing. Some of you may not know, but I did a lot of indie film work in my early 20s. I love movies — especially horror (all kinds), action, noir, and some sci-fi. I think what I love most about films is how you can get sucked into a world for a very short amount of time and just be absorbed by its aesthetic and mood. Often times I’ll watch a collection of movies that have the vibe I want right before starting the first draft of writing. I’m a very visual person, so being able to absorb a lot of visuals before the writing process begins is important. I do this with Pinterest as well. I use Pinterest to create a mood board before I start writing. And then, there’s music. I can’t overstate its influence in my writing. I build playlists for my novels. My longest one to date is for Jonah of Olympic, which is over 10 hours long. I explore music I know, but also discover a lot of new music. I can often sit with a song on repeat while my mind creates a scene or character. It’s a very meditative process.

You write a lot of female MCs, what compels you to tell their stories?

This is a question that is kinda complex and goes way back for me. When I first started writing, I wrote all male main characters. By default, I assumed I could relate more with male protagonists and write them better. This was when I was a teen. But eventually what I discovered about myself is that I didn’t relate well with my male peers. I had more friends who were girls and our relationships tended to be much deeper.

I’m not saying anything new here, but generally speaking women are more in tune with emotions and have far more emotional complexity than men. As I continued to write, I realized men were not nearly as interesting or complex.

And so I started to write women main characters more. And it was much more rewarding. And I could relate way more. I can look back now and see I leaned feminist from a fairly early age, and I suspect that had something to do with my turn to writing more female main characters.

It’s also deeper for me now than that. Women’s stories absolutely need to be told, especially now with the world trying to turn back the clock on feminist gains for women’s rights.

Screw the patriarchy. We’ve tried that, and it sucked. Let’s let the women rule the world for a while. Especially women of color.

Would you rather fight a kraken or a dragon?

A dragon. No question. I’m gonna die either way, but I can’t swim, so fighting the kraken is a big no from me.

When is your next book coming out?

First question of the day: “When is your next book coming out?”

It goes “Jonah of Olympic” paperback (soon). I’m in the early stages of working on a gothic horror novel and the next Mercedes short story which is called “The Book of Jude” which will probably be published before the gothic horror one in 2026. Also in 2026, I have a middle grade horror short story in an anthology being released from Graveside Press. After the gothic horror one will be the next Mercedes novel called “Winter Wanderland.”

Based on past experiences, the gothic horror one will probably take 2-3 years to write/publish — so my next novel will probably drop around 2028. Unless I can speed up my process.

Boxers or briefs?

Someone is channeling questions for Bill Clinton, I see. All I'll say is why limit yourself to two options? 🤣

How do you handle political divisiveness within your friend/family group?

This is the first anonymous question for Weaver’s Deep Thoughts and of course it’s a heavy one, an extremely difficult question to answer. An arguably impossible question to answer. There just is no cookie-cutter solution to this dilemma. I will do my best to explain my thoughts on this difficult scenario we all seem to run into these days and provide some decent tips, but there really is no simple answer.

First, I’m working under the assumption the person who asked this doesn’t mean they want to know what I do personally in my personal relationships when they say “you” but rather generally how does one handle a situation like this. To that end, here is my response.

I personally believe political views absolutely should not cause division in a family or friendship, and if it does one or both parties need to reevaluate their political views, because if their political views demand such loyalty that they have to disrupt and possibly cut off family, there is something wrong with someone’s political beliefs in this relationship that is pushing someone away. The same is true of religion and in religion we would call this a cult. That said, this is an ideal, and we don’t live in this ideal. Current politics is very divided and for good reason as some political views and decisions are causing real-world harm to people. For example, a recent study has found that anti-transgender laws have caused an uptick in suicide attempts by 72% among transgender and non-binary youth. Anti-transgender political views are not a political issue that is passive or easily overlooked as lives are at stake. That’s just one issue that can be a deal-breaker for family members and friends, when people’s very existence is politicized to extreme levels.

All of that said, how does one handle it when this is happening in their family or friend circle? My first suggestion would be to talk. In the past, there have been times when I thought trying to keep the peace by avoiding political discussion was helpful, and in some cases it could be, but oft times it sends a silent message that the family or friend is doing fine and that you even agree with them. So, talk. Could be a simple conversation, could be a full-on trying to discuss it out with each other. Gauge it and choose your battles. I hate the word debate. If you are “debating” your friends and family, you’re already in a bad place with that relationship. If someone uses that term, remind them it isn’t a debate, it’s two friends or siblings or relatives or whatever talking. There’s no reason why it should have to be an official thing with a name.

The other tip I would give is to consider your boundaries. If you don’t know much about setting boundaries, and maintaining them, look into that. You may find some handy suggestions and techniques. I’ll put it this way, if being with a person and their political beliefs is toxic, harmful, and even abusive, than you should probably set some boundaries. Maybe it’s a time-based one where you all take a break from one another. It could be that you put some distance between each other or cut back on communication. As someone who is bipolar, I’m a big fan of self-care. Take care of yourself, and possibly even your other loved ones, if the person or persons takes their political beliefs too far.

Sometimes, of course, someone can take things too far and a relationship has to end. Back to my point about my ideal scenario with politics, I really don’t think it should have to be this way. We should absolutely be able to hold different political views and get along fine. But when those political views are violent, harmful, racist, sexist, phobic, or exist to tear down other groups and strip them of their rights, it’s different.

This is a way longer answer than I wanted to give, and I assume future ones will be more concise. It’s just that this is such a complex question with no singular answer.

I hope whoever submitted this question finds this helpful. I think almost all of us are struggling with this question these days.

Please provide your thoughts or tips to this difficult question in the comments below.

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