Entice (Hearts of Stone #2) (32 page)

I like to include a section in my acknowledgments where I mention any conscious influences the novel might have derived. As with Entangle (Hearts of Stone, book 1), this book drew inspiration from
 
Brene Brown 's TedTalks. This time, her insight on what she refers to as 'scarcity' was what unlocked what I identified as the root of Emily's issues. I should also mention that the entire time I was writing Entice, I listened to
 
Taylor Swift 's album '1989' on repeat. I believe the tone of her album shaped the tone of Emily's story. The songs that come to mind at the moment are
Wildest Dreams
,
This Love
and
Clean
. Along with the bonus tracks:
You Are In Love
and
New Romantics
.
 

Last but not least, when Owen scribbles a single word onto a piece of paper, it seemed natural for the word to be
always
. But as soon as I typed it, I was reminded of Snape and Lilly, from the Harry Potter series by
 
JK Rowling . I almost deleted the word to think of something else, because I knew other fans of the series might draw the same parallels. In the end, I decided to keep it in, as a homage. Because Snape was my favorite character in that series. And I really wish his story would've ended differently. I wish he would've gotten the girl.