Guest Post: India Drummond Author Of Ordinary Angels

“Making Connections”

Making connections is by far the most rewarding part of being an author. I don’t mean social networking either (although I am a tart for Twitter), but the real world connections I never would have made if I hadn’t been writing a book.

My debut novel, Ordinary Angels, takes place in San Francisco, a city I love to visit. I lived in southern California for a time, and it really is such a beautiful place. New York has a hard edge to it, a bustle that I find slightly disconcerting. But California has an ease I find comfortable, like a favourite pair of bluejean cutoffs. So although I was living half a world away in the Scottish highlands when I wrote

Ordinary Angels, I had a wealth of memories to draw on. That, and a dear friend who lived in the area. She worked at the front desk of a business, and the postman used to come in and flirt with her. If you’ve read Ordinary Angels, that probably sounds familiar! Of course, she isn’t a medium, and her postman isn’t an angel, but that connection worked its way into the book, and because of that, she’ll always be a part of the story for me. It was through her I met a man who lives in San Francisco who is a fanatic for salsa dancing. I asked him to describe a place where a person could go dancing on a Tuesday night, and he came through! If you live in the area and like a good twirl around a dancefloor to a Latin beat, you might even recognise the club (although I took a few liberties with the description and changed the name, of course.)

My next book, Blood Faerie, is quite different. It’s focused on a serial killing faerie and the human cop that tries to stop him. Although there’s a sweet romance in it, it’s not primarily a romance novel. But I had the same experience with connections. My has a good friend whose father is a cop. Not just a cop, but an Inspector. We exchanged many emails, and he even came over and chatted with me after reading the manuscript, helping me get the details right. So, like my San Francisco friends, he will forever be a part of Blood Faerie for me. (Not to mention that I feel so grateful for his help — I never would have attempted to describe the details of police work without help from an insider. I was too afraid of insulting every law enforcement officer on the island!)

I’m already mentally preparing a list of questions for a Dutch friend for when I work through the manuscript of Familiar Demons. Although I love Amsterdam and it’s a favourite weekend getaway spot, there’s nothing like having a local to fill in some of the blanks.


This is why I always feel a little shy when people praise Ordinary Angels or my other work. Sure, I wrote the book. Fair enough. But if it weren’t for these wonderful connections, it never would have happened. It’s what I look forward to most as an author… seeing what new people future books will bring into my life, and onto my pages.

Author Info:
Author website and blog: http://www.indiadrummond.com/

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/india.drummond.author

Twitter: http://twitter.com/IndiaDrummond