Blogspiration #6: Guilty Pleasures

Blogspiration is a Brand Spankin' New weekly meme hosted by both GrowingUp YA and Saz101. The meme was created to help spark inspiration among bloggers, readers and writers alike. An inspirational quote/picture/video is posted weekly, on the day of the author's choosing, so that it may inspire creativity, conversation and just a little SOMETHING.

This week's Blogspiration comes with a question: What book inspires you?

This question's a hard one because I have a lot of books that inspire me in different ways. So I have to narrow it down to the one that inspired me to become a writer.

About two years ago I read Guilty Pleasures, the first book of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. And once I was half way through, I was already changed forever. I don't know if I can say exactly what inspired me so much but all I knew was that after turning the last page, I inspired to create my own story. My novel is set in a somewhat similar world that Hamilton has created in her novels. Though our stories are completely different, it was Guilty Pleasures that helped me open my eyes and envision limitless possibilities.

First of all, the book was written beautifully. It had great pacing, one-of-a-kind characters, and a strong female protagonist who knows how to use a gun. I loved that Guilty Pleasures discreetly promoted female empowerment. I didn't read a lot of Urban Fantasy back then, so this was one of the first times that I saw a woman save the day. Anita Blake has been trained to kill the bad guys, and she's damn good at it. I also couldn't get over how well the plot was interwoven throughout the whole novel. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and was genuinely surprised by many of the twists and turns. I walked away from this book knowing I wanted to write a story about a kick-ass heroine who could take care of herself.

Hamilton did such a flawless job of mixing the paranormal with reality that I read this whole book without ever questioning the existence of supernatural creatures. I was sorely disappointed when I finished it and realized I still lived in the real world. Stupid reality, always ruining things.

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Book 1) by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Summary:
“My name is Anita Blake. Vampires call me “The Executioner”. What I call them isn’t repeatable.

Ever since the Supreme Court granted the undead equal rights, most people think vampires are just ordinary folks with fangs. I know better. I’ve seen their victims. I carry the scars…

But now a serial killer is murdering vampires—and the most powerful bloodsucker in town wants me to find the killer… “

“In a world where vampires, zombies and werewolves have been declared legal citizens of the United States, Anita Blake is an “animator” – a profession that involves raising the dead for mourning relatives. But Anita is also known as a fearsome hunter of criminal vampires, and she’s often employed to investigate cases that are far too much for conventional police. But as Anita gains the attention of the vampire masters of her hometown of St Louis, she also risks revealing an intriguing secret about herself – the source of her unusual strength and power.”

Here are some awesome quotes from Guilty Pleasures for your enjoyment:

“I spend most of my waking hours confronting and destroying things that I fear. A thousand-year-old master vampire was a tall order, but a girl's got to have a goal.”

“Pity is an emotion that can get you killed. The only thing more dangerous is blind hate, and maybe love.”  

“Violence has to become a part of your thinking. It makes you cautious, suspicious as hell, and lengthens your life expectancy.”    
“That kiss was really nice you know before you...bit me, but it was still nice.”   

“You smell of other people's blood, ma petite."
I smiled sweetly at him. "It was no one you knew.”