An Ode to my Muse

Following Saturday's post by Betsy, I have been thinking about that little voice of inspiration, the legendary muse, which gifts us writers with the creative vision we need to fill our pages.

Mine is called Phil, and phones me regularly.

Seriously, I am rubbish at coming up with stories, but once I have an idea I can write it pretty well (I like to think). Meanwhile my best friend's husband, Phil, has an active and eclectic imagination and often thinks of great storylines and plot ideas, but doesn't have the time, patience and maybe the expertise to write them. So he phones me instead.  The idea might be anything from a "zombies on the daily commute" concept to a full-blown and complex novel wherein the various beta readers, proofreaders, agents and editors find themselves sucked into the book they are working on and interacting with the characters.

Here is a picture of my muse:

Phil always wears funny t-shirts, and I buy him a t-shirt every year for his birthday. Best one so far has been "I am not Bill Bailey" because you'll have noticed that he looks a lot like Bill Bailey and was getting a little tired of signing autographs.

Bill Bailey, comedian

About half the stories in my upcoming short-story collection, Random Ramblings, came from Phil. (The other half are from my book clubs.) Much of the plot of my magnum opus, Emon and the Emperor is from Phil, although the basic premise is from another friend.

Ironically my youngest daughter, Ceridwen, is named after the Welsh muse of poetry. And Muse are my favourite band.

What's your muse called?