Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. 

Today’s guest for the WHAT is L.M. Bracklow, author of The Islands of Iros which releases January 24

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

I did! The idea for The Islands of Iros came to me while I was watching three different animes at the same time. One Piece, Attack on Titan, and Jujutsu Kaisen. You could say my book is a combination of those shows, except I made it kid-friendly! One Piece inspired me to write about all these dangerous and mysterious islands you’ll get to read about in my book. The soldiers/military aspect of The Islands of Iros came from Attack on Titan. And the sorcerer’s finger was inspired by Jujutsu Kaisen. I had a lot of fun playing around with these ideas and creating something that was completely my own. 

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

My story is character-driven, so before I even had a plot, I created my three main characters: Luke, Kaori and Damien. I first thought about how they would fit in this new world I was writing them into. I crafted their personality traits, their goals and ambitions. Once that was done, the plot basically wrote itself. I’ve always known how The Islands of Iros will end, so it was only a matter of figuring out what exactly leads the characters to this ending. The things they go through, the choices they make, the people they meet. It all came together quite nicely! 

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

To be honest, I was prepared for that to happen before I started writing. It didn’t! I think my vision concerning the plot and the direction it will move towards has been perfectly clear to me since day one. Of course, there have been some minor changes regarding characters and places, but the plot remains the same! 

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

Story ideas come to me so often that it’s hard to keep up! I always write them down in a notebook in case I might want to use one in the future. Thankfully, I can manage to focus on one story at a time and not let all these other ideas distract me from my current work! 

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

Story ideas might come to me often, but I don’t believe all of them are worth pursuing. I must feel it in my heart! That’s what happened to me with The Islands of Iros. I simply had to get this story written or I felt like I would go crazy. 

I have 6 cats and a Dalmatian (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

My writing buddy is a three-year-old Blue Staffy named Aquiles! He’s actually snuggling with me as I write this. I do sometimes get distracted by his snores when he falls asleep, but I don’t really mind! I just love having him around all the time. He’s the cutest boy. 

L.M. Bracklow is a Peruvian author who loves dogs, traveling, and reading as many books as she can get her hands on. She has a degree in sports journalism, but her true passion is writing books for children. Enthralled by fantasy since she was a little girl, Bracklow has now written a fantastical story of her own. The Islands of Iros is the book of her heart, and she hopes kids everywhere will enjoy reading it as much as she enjoyed writing it! Bracklow is eager to continue unfolding Luke, Kaori, and Damien’s stories in what may ultimately be a five or six book series. Connect with Bracklow at lmbracklow.com, and on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok