People often ask me where I get my ideas. Honestly, I'm not really sure about many of them, but there are a few I can trace back. Today, I'm sharing with you some of the inspirations behind my Hexborn Chronicles Series.
Some ideas I get from history. For example, the court in Hexborn is loosely based on that of Henry VIII. I went on a Philippa Gregory binge some years ago, and I found the people in and around the Tudor dynasty endlessly fascinating. As you may recall, Henry parted ways with the Pope because he wanted a divorce from his first wife in order to marry Anne Boleyn, partly due to his lack of a male heir. In Hexborn, King Rischar has taken over the church and cast his own wife aside for similar reasons. The Tudor line rose to power at the end of the War of the Roses, another fascinating time period in British history, in which cousins were fighting over the throne. So, I thought, what if you took royal adultery and a religious reformation, added a dash of wizards, and set it following a civil war between a brother and sister rather than between cousins? That's what inspired the political situation in the world of Hexborn.
The political situation in Unclean, book two of the series, is inspired partly by the Inquisition. When Mary became queen of England after the death of her father, Henry VIII, she married the king of Spain, bought back the Catholic Church, and started rounding up enemies and Protestants, Spanish style. In Unclean, Esta takes the throne and restores the Patriarch to power over the faith in Bryn. The church, in turn, helps her round up her own enemies along with Reformers and heretics.
As for main character Shiloh's and her hexborn condition, I think that idea began when I was thinking about Harry Potter and what would have happened if Bellatrix Lestrange had had a child. I mean, obviously, the Death Eater would be a terrible mother. But I wondered if all that dark magic she cast might affect the baby the way Voldemort's evil magic warped his appearance. What if magic could affect a baby the way some medicines can, leaving the child with a permanent disability? That question was the seed for Shiloh's character and her affliction.
As you can see, I'm influenced by history and by other fiction. You never know what will spark an idea. I hope you are interested enough to grab a copy of one of my books. Unclean will be out next week, and it is currently available for pre-order. Hexborn is on sale for two more weeks at the bargain price of $0.99. Happy reading!
The political situation in Unclean, book two of the series, is inspired partly by the Inquisition. When Mary became queen of England after the death of her father, Henry VIII, she married the king of Spain, bought back the Catholic Church, and started rounding up enemies and Protestants, Spanish style. In Unclean, Esta takes the throne and restores the Patriarch to power over the faith in Bryn. The church, in turn, helps her round up her own enemies along with Reformers and heretics.
As for main character Shiloh's and her hexborn condition, I think that idea began when I was thinking about Harry Potter and what would have happened if Bellatrix Lestrange had had a child. I mean, obviously, the Death Eater would be a terrible mother. But I wondered if all that dark magic she cast might affect the baby the way Voldemort's evil magic warped his appearance. What if magic could affect a baby the way some medicines can, leaving the child with a permanent disability? That question was the seed for Shiloh's character and her affliction.
As you can see, I'm influenced by history and by other fiction. You never know what will spark an idea. I hope you are interested enough to grab a copy of one of my books. Unclean will be out next week, and it is currently available for pre-order. Hexborn is on sale for two more weeks at the bargain price of $0.99. Happy reading!
