They certainly do for me. In fact, my first ‘long’ non-fiction piece, ‘Disasters in Florida’, was based on a family trip to Florida when I was nine (the disaster being the key of our rental car breaking off in the trunk, not to mention our return flight being delayed – guess I had a flare for story-telling even back then!). As I grew up, my horizons broadened beyond Disney World, and I found myself living in Eastern Europe and then the UK. As a Canadian in a foreign land, even the most mundane task – like going to the post office – brought with it a whole host of challenges and struggles. The constant ‘fish out of water’ feeling was both exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.
That feeling inspired me to create Serenity, the main character in my most recent novel, Build A Man. An American transplant to London, she experiences many of the same feelings I did when I first moved to England. She marvels at the obsession with tea; the sexy cut-glass accents; the almost fairy-tale architecture of Marylebone, her neighbourhood. Everything is so different and strange, yet exciting -- a whole new world of potential opening up.
For me, travelling doesn’t just open my eyes to different people and places, but it also provides the inspiration to build new characters and new worlds. It’s truly a win-win scenario!
Learn more about Talli here:
Build A Man is her latest release.
Nice guest post! "Build A Man" is such a cute title. Makes me think of those build-a-bear stores in the mall. (Watch out -- the accessories are expensive!)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting me, Marita!
ReplyDeleteAnd Dalyamoon, thank you. I had the same concept in mind as Build A Bear!