Inkslingers Ball came into being when my tattoo artist son, Erik, asked me to order some supplies for him. Surfing the web, I found an old tattoo convention titled The Inkslingers Ball. In case you didn’t know (I didn’t), inkslingers are tattoo artists. That was a Tada! moment. I knew that name was a book title waiting for the right story. It took a while to gel, but finally, Insklingers Ball the book came into being.
I always start with a title and build a story around it. In this case, Erik drew a sugar skull tattoo for me. In the story, it’s connected to several deaths that homicide detective Joel Jovanic, is investigating. To bring the connection closer to home, Claudia Rose’s young friend, Annabelle Giordano, secretly gets the tattoo and places herself in grave danger.
During the research phase, Erik took me to the Insklingers Expo in Pomona, California. Talk about sensory overload! I hope I translated my experiences to the page. I really love this book. I know, I wrote it and shouldn’t say that. But I do!
