Friday, July 29, 2011

I see dead people...

I am often asked where I get my inspiration for my stories, and I must confess that many of my ideas come from dreams. You see, my mind must be quite twisted. At least you'd think so if you could see what I dream about some nights.

I see dead people. I've always been haunted--by horrifying images, mind-numbing sounds and things that go creak in the night. These dreams are creations, no matter how scary or horrible they may be. My creations.

Perhaps my dreams stem from all those horror movies I watched as a teen. Or perhaps it's all Stephen King's fault. Yeah, let's blame the King. After all, he got me in trouble plenty of times when my parents would yell at me to put down my book and turn off my light. Thank God for flashlights and Duracell!

Some people ask me if my books are written from true experiences. Yes, I once was a young girl living on an island and being bullied while dreaming of killer whales and wolves. Yes, I once traveled down the Nahanni River in search of my father who had been presumed dead but was actually alive and in danger. Yes, I'm actually "Jasi McLellan", a psychic government agent who hunts down serial killers and is haunted by a dead girl in my closet. Yes, I once saw ghost children outside a cabin near Cadomin Cave, Alberta. Yes, I once fell madly in love with a handsome recluse who lives on a private island in the Bahamas.

I see dead people. It's not my fault. They're in my dreams. They're in my head.

And they want out.

That's why I write. Well, one of the reasons. After all, every fictional character is "dead" until a writer brings them to life. That's my goal with every book. To bring you characters that you'll love, hate, feel something for.

I see dead people. I hear them too. Right now they're saying, "Go to bed. You've got some dreaming to do."

Cheryl Kaye Tardif
http://www.cherylktardif.com

6 comments:

Maryannwrites said...

Enjoyed finding out how the people talk to you. The dead people in my stories don't talk to me, only the live ones. LOL

Cheryl Tardif said...

Thanks, Maryann. :-)

You see live people.

lol

Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredith said...

Loved your post, thank goodness I don't see dead people, but we do live in a haunted house.

Cheryl Tardif said...

So glad you enjoyed this, Marilyn. Ooo, a haunted house. I lived in one once, when I was quite young. Not only did my aunt see a 'man' in her room when she was visiting, I had my own encounter. He actually touched my shoulder when I was in bed.

Eileen Schuh: said...

You guys are scaring me!

Nettle (2005)http://mindsandmodels.blogspot.com/2011/04/link-between-creativity-and.html found that "artistic creatives and psychiatric patients share a tendency to unusual ideas and experiences...
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/sci_update.php?DocID=415
"...creative brains look like schizophrenic brains in this respect (a weak D2 system to filter information that comes into the brain through all of our senses.) With a weak filter...we may be more prone to make strange and unusual associations between seemingly unrelated things—which could result in great art, or...

Cheryl Tardif said...

LOL! So what are you saying exactly? That we're just plain crazy? ;-)

Hmmm...well I DO talk to my characters sometimes...