Behind the Holidays
All the holidays in my stories are inspired from holidays in the real world, although some are no longer holidays most of us celebrate. Below are the inspirations behind the main holidays in Calatini. Most…
Behind the Words, Part 2
Last time, I described some reasons behind some of my more exotic invented words. Well, here are some more… Mentha Nightmara Venuses (singular: venus) Werebeasts
Behind the Words, Part 1
As I wrote in an earlier post, I like using some invented words, and I prefer using either homophonous spellings or words describing the item. Here are the reasons behind some of the more exotic…
Tales and Themes Behind the Stories
Ever since I was little, I adored fairy tales—I still do. 🙂 So I love including bits and pieces of fairy tales (or other iconic tales) in my stories. Here are the tales and themes…
Behind the Scents
Although I never bother with makeup or chic clothes, I love perfume. It’s easy and fun, but I have to be careful of the perfumes I wear—some scents give me migraines or irritate me after…
The Story of Summer
In honor of the first day of summer, I wanted to share some summertime events and customs of Calatini. For worshippers of the Goddess or the Twins, summer starts with a holy festival on the…
What’s in a Name: The Nightmara Affair
As I wrote in an earlier post, I like to make my characters names have hidden meaning. Here’s the meanings behind the names of the main characters from The Nightmara Affair: The heroine is Kiera….
Behind the Costumes
In The Enchanted Bird, The Nightmara Affair, and The Secret Soulbond, the king’s summer masquerade is a turning point for the characters, and this masquerade inspires a second masquerade a few months later. With these…
What’s in a Name: The Enchanted Bird
Names are important. They define who we are and how we think of ourselves. When my brother and I were growing up, our parents decided to call us by our proper names and let us…
Handling the Black Witch
Aragon’s meeting of the magic marshal who helps handle the black witch. Told from Master Marshal Thurston’s point of view. After receiving an unexpected note from Lord Islaye the Minister of Magic, Sam strode into…