I’ll be sleeping and all of a sudden, my eyes pop open and I begin to see the book. It happens not only at night as well at any time of the day. Whether you believe in a deity, higher power, or cosmic forces, that’s how it works for me. The characters, their unique features, and how they interact with each other. The entire plot is laid out. I know how it starts, everything in-between, and how it ends. It’s like a movie playing inside my head. It’s like I’m tapping into a higher power or the akashic record, which is defined as a compendium of pictorial records, or “memories,” of all events, actions, thoughts, and feelings that have occurred since the beginning of time (Britannica. com). It’s like I’ve already written them. Whatever your belief system may or may not be, it’s my gift.

Growing up, I loved reading. As I noted in a previous blog post, I was named ‘Bookworm’ in high school because I always had my nose in a book. I loved reading. I actually majored in Library Science. I would read books like Arthur C. Clark’s ‘The City Under the Stars’ and ‘2001 a Space Odyssey’, books by Ray Bradbury; ‘The Martian Chronicles’ and ‘Fahrenheit 451.’ Among my favorites was Robert A. Heinlein; ‘Have Space Suit Will Travel’ and ‘Citizen of the Galaxy.’ So, it was only natural that I wanted to write science fiction and fantasy. In 2012, I decided it was time to finally do it; I began writing my first book, ‘Secret of the Crystal.’ It took me fifteen months to write it, but once I started, I caught the writing bug. After two years, I had my first five books written.

One example of these stories came to me back in 2014. I was recently laid off. That was a godsend as I was managing over a hundred direct reports. The stress was so great that it was slowly killing me. All that stress left me on the fourth of that month. It was like a ton of bricks fell from my shoulders. Instead of wallowing in self-pity and worry, I turned it around and told my boss, “Well, that just means I’m now a full-time author.”

I was putting the finishing touches on my fifth book when the final piece of the puzzle came to me. The book would be titled; ‘Salvage-5′ and the main character was a no-nonsense, whiskey-drinking, cigar smoking hero named, Colonel Tucker Petersen. The mission was to discover what happened to the CSMO (Complete Self-contained Mining Operation) at asteroid 15-Enomia (which is a real asteroid, by the way,) But what they find will change their lives forever. That was the premise of the book. I saw what the crew had to go through and what the aliens they encountered were like, all the way to how it ended by returning to Earth.

Salvage-5 was written in one month. Then, another came to me which sparked an entire spinoff series titled, ‘AMP – Amplified Mental Projection; Phase 1: The Gamma Project. Doctor Rhodes, one of the Salvage-5 crew, joins the Gamma Project Team and develops technology that was brought back from the Salvage-5 crew. Everything seems harmless at first. Then things begin to change, as it appears that there is something behind the technology—something sinister that the Gamma Project team must discover.

These two book ideas that came to me now span thirteen books across three different spin-off series, with two more books planned.

When the book comes to me, I begin taking notes and writing all the details down. Every writer should have the ability to take down some notes when ideas hit you. If you get an idea, small though it may be, you better write it down,  as memories can be short-lived. But it is different when I tap into that cosmic energy and I’m given a book. I don’t forget it. It’s always right there. However, some of the cool details or things I put my characters through, I may not. It’s all part of that creative phase. I know, I just said I get the entire book, but when you’re writing, it forms into its own beast that needs to be tamed and leached. It’s more like the idea is there, but I still have to put it down in words.

At one point, I was putting out five books a year. The ideas keep flowing. Today, I’ve written and published thirty-one books, including a cookbook. I’m working on number thirty-two, which is book 6 in my Warlords series. I also have outlines for books 5 & 6 in my TIME series, outlines for book 2 & 3 which follows in one of the ‘Salvage-5: Awakenings’ spin-offs that will be titled, ‘Revelations’ and ‘Discoveries’. Yet another book that came to me a few weeks ago will be titled, ‘Recon’ where Aliens from a distant world are fighting a war. Using Human hosts, they collect intel in search of their enemies that are living among us. When that host is killed or dies, they wake up back on their home world where they’re again dispatched back to a new host using their recon tech. The ideas never stop flowing.

Be it a gift, or tapping the Akashic record that’s already been written, I continue to get ideas. I do know one thing; it’s my gift to you that supports my catchphrase, that I’m sparking imaginations, one book at a time. My passion for writing along with the support of my wife, Diana, as well as the reemergence of the great podcast and writing site EatSleepWrite.org I keep on writing and loving it.

Until next time, this is Author Brian K. Larson, Sparking Imaginations, One book at a time.