[flickr id=”7665973486″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]I have a new weakness.  A new collection brewing.  It’s small for now – just 3 items, but I adore them.

Last year I discovered a section at our local book resale shop (you know the one, I named it up there^^) called “Collectibles”.

Since discovering it I’ve been fortunate to find three items that manage to both bring me joy and inspire me all at once.

Three books with publication dates pre-1900 in pretty amazing condition.

Three books that one of my characters could have, and likely would have, in her lifetime.

[flickr id=”7665943684″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”right”]Jane Doe from Changing Tracks is an avid reader with an eidetic memory.  She loves poetry, but reads just about anything she gets her hands on (she has even been known to read medical texts).

So even when I’m not working on Changing Tracks. I love having these books on hand.  They make me think of her, and then in turn my other characters.  They bring me inspiration, and a chance to focus on my characters and give them a little more depth.

None of them cost me very much (although I would have willingly spent more on each of them) – but they are books that will never leave my home.  While I willingly resell books all the time to keep some space open in our cramped home, I have handfuls of books that never leave the shelves.  These have and will maintain a prominent and permanent place in my home.

To me, they bring Jane to life even more than she already is in my head.

Let her out to breathe.

There’s no better inspiration than that.