Fountains of Inspiration

Fountains of Inspiration

Hello All!
Today I am here to introduce you to the wonderful Jean Nicole Rivers, author of Black Water Tales. She’s here today to tell you all about her inspirations for her writing. But first, here’s some informatin on her books!

It’s midnight when Regina Dean she receives a harrowing phone call. On the other end of the line a scratchy voice whispers, “They found her, Regina…they found her.” Over the phone Regina learns that the corpse of her best friend, Lola Rusher, has been found and she must return to her, Godforsaken, hometown of Black Water for the funeral of the beloved girl who disappeared when they were both only sixteen years old. Regina returns to Black Water and is reunited with a cast of old friends. Soon Regina realizes that the details revealed with the discovery of Lola’s corpse do not make sense, especially the fact that Lola’s body was dug up on the land of their childhood piano teacher. Determined to lay Lola to rest, Regina launches her own investigation, but someone in Black Water warns Regina to STOP DIGGING. She is thrown into a race to solve the mystery before she loses her mind or meets Lola’s fate. Though Regina’s hometown is a fun house of disturbing characters and distorted images, the truth about what happened to Lola Rusher will be revealed along with a most unexpected and perverse secret that threatens to expose everyone in Black Water. Everyone knows something, but no one knows everything…

Goodreads. Amazon UK.

In the remote, eastern European town of Borslav there is St. Sebastian orphanage, a place where people discard their unwanted children. For the American, Blaire Baker, it’s the perfect place to volunteer her services. Paired with a cheerful volunteer nurse, Blaire is enthusiastic about the possibilities, but is quickly discouraged when she encounters the nefarious nature of the staff and the deplorable conditions of the facility and the children.

Upon arrival, one of the children informs Blaire, “There’s something in the basement.” It isn’t long before strange things begin happening, including Blaire’s flashbacks of the accident that killed her parents. The children soon suffer injuries that Blaire, first, fears may be the deeds of the callous workers but she soon thinks the abuse may originate from a source that is less than human, something unwanted.

The unwanted is coming but in order for Blaire to fight it, she must dig into St. Sebastian and herself in search of truth. Blaire wants nothing more than to help the children, but when discovers the tragedy that happened in the basement and learns that the same evil forces are still at work, it will be Blaire who needs help…There’s something in the basement.

Goodreads. Amazon UK.

Fountains of Inspiration

By Jean Nicole Rivers

As cliché as it might sound, the truth is that much of my inspiration is harvested from my dreams. Ever since I was a young child, I have always been fascinated by them. Most nights my dreams are vivid (sometimes to the point of not feeling rested the next morning), colorful and if I try hard, at times, I can even become lucid within them. My first book, Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers was sparked when I dreamt of four friends standing on the side of the road arguing fiercely under a dark sky. For days after I woke, the girls from my dream stuck with me and I kept wondering why they had been arguing. Finally, I decided that the only way to figure it out was to write their story and I did. Black Water Tales: The Unwanted was inspired by a dream that I had after watching a dark documentary about the stark state of orphanages in Eastern Europe. I woke and a group of the children from those orphanages stood at my bedside, silently pleading, with washed out skin and drooping eyes, for me to tell their terrifying tales and as most storytellers do, I obliged.

Also, I find inspiration in the curious and ever changing life that is unfolding around me constantly. I watch and I listen to people, their body language, and their tone of voice. Sometimes the most subtle actions are motivated by the deepest emotions and I never allow those small things to go unnoticed. When the woman sitting across the coffee shop is talking to a man with animated hand gestures, I wonder if she’s angry with him or if she’s complaining about the job she hates. A couple of weeks ago as I drove to work, just after a deadly rainstorm had drenched Houston, I saw a man cutting a tree that had fallen in his driveway and in my mind, I immediately began composing a tale about the treacherous night that his family spent fighting the storm and how they survived and within minutes I had a great short story.

My inspiration comes from both deep inside and from the surrounding world. The ideas are everywhere, we just have to watch and be open to receive.

About the Author

Jean Nicole Rivers is a great lover of reading and writing. Though she loves reading and writing varied genres, horror/thriller is her favorite.

Jean Nicole has been writing poetry and short stories since she was a child, but has always aspired to compose a novel. The Secret Keepers, the first story in what will be a series of Black Water Tales, is her first novel.

Most recently, Ms. Rivers won 3rd place in the National Black Book Festival’s 2013 Best New Author competition and she enjoys the honor of having written featured articles for popular reader websites, such as Digital Book Today and The Masquerade Crew.

Jean Nicole Rivers graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and lives in Houston, Texas.

Website. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Goodreads.

Where do you find your inspiration?