Working on a recent manuscript, I thought about world building and what inspires me. With Blue Fire, it was a take of the modern world combined with a supernatural one. I knew for a long time I wanted to make such a universe, but with other manuscripts I made a fictional world with my own rules and history. It has its own challenges, but so does one that actually takes place on Earth.
Earth has its own history. Since we live here, how do you mesh the supernatural into history and cultures around the globe?
I knew I wanted Blue Fire's setting to be in the modern world because I did not want the fuss of being historically accurate every step of the way. Even in a fantasy genre, you still need to respect Earth's history, especially for a specific region. What are the clothes of the era, the slang, the weapons, the level of knowledge, etc?
Moving forward it was an easy decision to make the setting modern day.
I also knew what creatures I wanted to present in the story. The first I planned to introduce with a power structure called into question, which would generate the initial conflict in the story. I decided the vampire was the perfect preternatural for this.
Underworld demonstrated a world with vampires and lycans. I liked the world it presented. The story line of the covens and bloodlines was intriguing. But, the supernaturals were unknown to the public (until later sequels). I wanted a world that allowed them to live side-by-side with humans.
There were other movies and books I observed, but I did not find the inspiration I wanted.
Then I stumbled upon Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, vampire hunter and zombie raiser. I found the graphic novel first and was hooked immediately.
It showcases everything I wanted: a world where the preternatural live in the public alongside humans, the social issues, the complexity of enforcing law and order between supernaturals and humans.
I felt inspired that my universe could also be believable. So, I started world building.
Early on I decided that the main character would not be law enforcement. I felt that character already had great representation. I wanted an advocate for the preternatural community, but I felt journalism was not the route. I decided to take a stab at the other end of law and order. Someone had to fight for the supernaturals in court. Why not a defense attorney?
I decided in the beginning Tatiana needed to come from a place of ignorance. Being a rookie lawyer, her heart was set on helping people and spreading awareness. To challenge her I paired her with a character that embodied the dark truths of the supernatural world. Someone she couldn't ignore, despite the ongoing conflict. This character eventually became Vaiden.
In my last blog I discussed transforming Blue Fire from a Sims 2 story to a novel. I learned a lot about my world and characters through the sim versions, but the story became more alive and deeper the more I wrote in prose.
On August 20th, 2020 I published Blue Fire. It felt appropriate to me that I also received the 29th addition to the Anita Blake series, Sucker Punch.
The photo on the right is them side-by-side.