Welcome back to the HOP! Did you make your way here from S. C. Mitchell’s blog. If not, be sure to head back. He’s pretty awesome and you won’t want to miss what inspires him.

This week the amazing J.J. Devine  wants to know what inspires each of us. Music? Reading? Movies? People in your life? Situations in life? What gets you motivated to sit down and write?

Good freaking question! I love music and I love reading. Movies are an awesome distraction. I’m sure those things influence me in ways I hardly notice. Still, the question was, what inspires me? Two things make me sit down and write. The story and the reader, but I’m not sure they are inspiration as much as drive. So let’s talk about drive for a minute and come back to inspiration. I have stories to tell. I don’t know why. I suppose a higher force gave me this gift. Call it, God, the universe or whatever dogma you believe in. But I do think of it as a gift and gifts should never be wasted. I write because my stories need to be told and because there are at least a few lovely people out there who find enjoyment in reading them. That gets me in the chair and pushing ahead no matter how hard it is to get the words down. I want to tell a story. It’s purely selfish. 🙂

Inspiration is an entirely different thing. I’m inspired by people. Real people who have done something extraordinary or beaten odds. I love those kinds of stories. I’m married to a man who loves sports. I like sports, but he loves them. He watches ESPN all the time and so, I watch it too. The thing people don’t always realize is many athletes have overcome, sacrificed, given back, and done amazing things before and after they graced your television. Those stories are what inspire me. Human stories of doing the right thing when all you “roll models” are making bad choices. Finding time, while going to college and playing football, to visit with a child who probably won’t live to see adulthood. Starting a foundation that teaches kids that they can accomplish anything though hard work.

I’m just using sports as an example. These stories are all around us. The nightly news gives us the worst of humanity with the rare glimpse at something good. I try to stay away from that kind of negativity and focus on all the good we are capable of. That’s where real inspiration lives.

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When demons threaten London, Lady Belinda answers the call.

Lord Gabriel Thurston returns home from war to find his fiancée is not the sweet young girl he left behind. She’s grown into a mysterious woman who guards her dark secrets well. When he sees her sneaking away from a ball, he’s convinced it’s for a lover’s rendezvous. Following her to London’s slums, Gabriel watches in horror as his fiancée ruthlessly slays a man.

Lady Belinda Carlisle’s only concern was her dress for the next ball—until demons nearly killed her and changed everything. A lady by day, and a demon hunter by night, she knows where her duty lies. Ending her betrothal is the best way to protect Gabriel from death by a demon’s hand.

Gabriel soon realizes, like him, Belinda has been fighting for her country. He joins in the fight, determined to show her that their love can endure, stronger than ever.

Kensington –