I've been asked where the inspiration came from for my books. Generally, inspiration comes from my kids and the questions they ask. For their lack of world experience, they ask the best questions. I usually have a hard time coming up with a response to the question of inspiration, so I thought why not write it down.
Survival Guide for the Working World started after I had written a long series of rants about things that were bugging me at the time—some in society, some at work, just a low period in general. Then once I went back and read what I wrote, I thought, "Wow, I'm mean. But there might be something to this". So I cleaned up my nasty language and started thinking about all my work experiences (and there are a lot, having been in the workforce since I was 14) and what I would have changed. Then I thought about what I wish I had known as I entered the workforce. As I looked at my kids, my thoughts turned to ensuring they understood the rights and wrongs of being an adult in a professional environment. After all the contemplation and starts and stops, I realized I might have something worth sharing. Thus Survival Guide for the Working World was born.
Survival Guide for the Working World offers tips and tricks for new employees.
My children's questions genuinely inspired THE HUNT as they started to look for their first jobs. I grew up in a small town, you asked someone for a job, and they gave it to you. Even though I had my struggles finding employment as I got older, I had never given the things they asked about much thought. Because I was thinking, "Shouldn't you just know this stuff?". But apparently, they didn't. They asked stuff they should have been asking, like what to include on their resume or how to have references for a first job when I have never had a job.
Then as they got older, the questions got a little more complicated, such as interviews and what to expect. Then as they were working, some interactions they had were challenging. Or the expectations of their boss were not well defined. We had such good conversations.
So anyway, as I was driving home from work one day, I was thinking about everything I had spoken to my kids about. I wrote the outline for THE HUNT in my head during my 10-minute drive home. I was so excited to have another book in the works. It took much longer to write, but it was worth it.
The Hunt: the job of finding employment is a short story about hunting for a job.