Good day to everyone and thank you to Romance That’s ‘Out Of This World’ for having me.I’m here to share a bit about my world building process for Return of the Legacy and the Portals of Destiny series. A brief background on the story should help kick off the process.
Centuries ago, magical beings on Earth opened portals in time and space to flee persecution. One magical bloodline sealed the portals to protect the new worlds and shield Earth from magic returning. That bloodline, now almost extinguished, consists of the portal sentinel descendents, the Makir. Targeted for assignation by an evil mage in the world of Tir Thar, the current Makir are unaware of the gift they carry. Two magical families are key to ensuring the mage won’t break through the portals, claim all powers as his own, and enslave those who survive.
The concept for one of the families came from a pack of tarot cards that I own. The images on the cards don’t directly relate to magic but four cards struck my interest and wouldn’t let go. Those four cards created an image in my mind for the main character, Briallen, her three brothers, and the beginning of their existence in one of the magical worlds, Tir Thar.
Having the series premise and an image of Briallen, I considered her skills, her personality, and how she views herself. Then I developed a counterpart who would be strong enough to partner with her but not overpower her as she grew beyond her preconceived views. Enter, Logan Mackenzie, a man now the head of his small family and driven to find a murder who is targeting his lineage on present day Earth.
While this is only book one, but I spent a great deal of time working out details for the series: the magical beings, their social structure, the magical rules that govern both Logan and his three cousins as well as Briallen’s family, a list of the kingdoms in Tir Thar as well as those in the world of Loci. Lists and charts file my Portals file. I also outlined a brief history of what happened after the world of Tir Thar was established, and more details on Brennagmore, the kingdom from which Briallen’s family originated. Then I expanded the scenario for why the mage pursues them. What evolved was a grimoire of sorts detailing lineage, kingdoms, powers, and people. Even small vignettes evolved for bits of the backstory to highlight the de-evolution of magic in Brennagmore.
And because magical beings fled Earth to create new worlds, I drew maps so I could keep track of how I wanted to represent the different kingdoms. My original maps didn’t make it into Return of the Legacy. However two maps will appear in a spin-off tale of the portals due out in April, Dragon Rider’s Gift. The dragon riders make a brief appearance in Return of the Legacy and they have their own battle against Brennagmore’s mage. I plan a map for the second book in the portals series, as it will continue in the same world of Loci as book one.
Because magic fled from Earth, the new worlds bear a loose similarity to the geography and history left behind. In some worlds this is radically different. In others, the twists of time parallel Earth’s history at points. Names and titles may or may not conform to real life. The Scottish Isle of Mull in Return of the Legacy exists, though not quite as depicted in the story. The Laird MacKinnon as well as Margaret, the Maid of Norway, are also part of Scottish history with some liberties taken for their existence in the dimension of Loci. Duart Castle, Glengorm Castle (unlike Glengoram in the story), Staffa and Fingal’s Cave, and the Balliscate standing stones are available for view at their own sites on the Internet or on my website. They inspire a magic all their own.
This sounds like a lot of work and it was but, for me, it was worthwhile. Once completed, these scenarios, the people, their lives, and the worlds all have substance and texture to add to the stories. Then the real work began. If only all those lists and documents could just fold themselves into a story. In spite of all that work, only small segments were woven into Return of the Legacy. Granted, the details make the world very clear in my mind and since the series arc is already fixed in a five book series, many of the details and research will be added in later books. So very little is wasted.
At this point in my career, I write only fantasy and paranormal stories. For me, the key is to make scenes and actions vivid. To make magic stand apart from the reader’s expectation it needs sensory details of sight, smell, touch, and emotional response that are unique and diverge from the magic rules readers might expect. Those factors are added to world building files as well.
For each book I write I create a Details Sheet. This is basically a one-page list of all the characters by name, significant items like age, hair and eye color, powers, setting names and key items. This is a subset of the large research file I have on the worlds behind the portals. Drafting the story typically adds even more details as the flow of text stimulates additional creativity. The Details Sheet allows me to keep track of everything. I also have this cheat sheet to pull out when I start subsequent books.
The thing that is missing here is the building of the romance, which I handle in a different process of scene mapping for the book. The Portals of Destiny series adventure has a beginning and conclusion, but Briallen and Logan were chosen specifically for Return of the Legacy because of their unique composition of personality, history, and potential. No other in this cast of the series would do for book one. Fortunately, for all the planning in the world, there is one factor neither the evil mage of Brennagmore nor I can control…and that is the power of love. A different form of magic!
~Kate KH LeMoyne
Thank you so much Kate, that was fascinating. and what a great observation about the power of love being a different form of magic! Now let's find out a bit more about your book.
Return of
the Legacy
by KH
LeMoyne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Three
magical dimensions…Two mystical bloodlines…One undeniable destiny.
Born a
magical empath, Logan MacKenzie has spent his life protecting his family from
discovery. Evil has found them anyway. What begins as Logan’s search for
answers on Earth becomes a race for survival in the magical dimension of Loci.
The battle
to save those he cares about will reveal his true lineage—the bloodline of the
Makir, one half of a pair of sentinels chosen to guard the mystical portals
between dimensions. The price of his acceptance: a love he never imagined
possible and a heartbreaking choice.
Her family
attacked, her home destroyed, and now stranded on Loci, Briallen of Tir Thar,
descendant of a magical race, has only to summon the power within her to return
to her own dimension—or so she had hoped. Unfortunately, her powers aren’t
cooperating, and the sorcerer bent on her family’s destruction will stop at
nothing to possess her.
Raised
without knowledge of the portals, the Makir guardians, or her own destiny, Bri
takes a leap of faith in an alliance with Logan. Embracing an uncertain power
and accepting his goals as hers offers her the only way home. If they fail, the
consequences of allowing the portals to fall to evil are unthinkable—the
destruction of every magical dimension throughout space.
Warning:
This is a fantasy romance, containing magic, love, and courage. The omission of
vampires and shapeshifters is intentional.
“Something’s coming.”
Logan’s arm halted Bri. One hand gripped her wrist as he reached over his
shoulder for the pommel of his sword. “Ever felt the drop in air pressure right
before the lash of a huge storm?”
The stillness extended
beyond the deadness of the air. The birds were silent. No rustling issued from
the underbrush.
She glanced forward and
back.
“In front.” His sword
slid free without a sound. The blade reflected the moonlight’s silver.
For a second, she
thought the edge of his weapon wavered, a blue rim of light from tip to guard.
He shifted and it disappeared.
A loud thunderclap
reverberated around them. She expected a burnt tree or roiling clouds. Instead,
three figures, cloaked head to toe in black, erupted from a fiery hole of red—a
heinous fissure in the night air.
The minions spread out
and circled them, pinning them to a small stretch of the clearing.
“We can’t outrun them.”
Bri twisted and removed her knife, eying the minion at their back. “Stay clear
of their hands. Their bones and claws are infectious.”
“The weapons look
deadly.”
“They are.”
The minion before her
withdrew a moon-shaped sickle. The one she could see from the corner of her eye
brandished a thin glowing rapier. The rapier moved closer to Logan. A brief
slash stirred chills of cold past her face.
Back to back with Logan
she turned, gauging which minion would strike the first blow.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A former technology specialist, KH LeMoyne now writes
romance fulltime with series in urban fantasy, high fantasy, and
scifi/futuristic. She lives in Maryland with her wonderful husband and corgi.
Much to her dismay, she rarely encounters supernatural beings other than on
paper. Visit her website: http://www.khlemoyne.com/
or blog: http://fantasypoweredbylove.com/
Links:
Website – www.khlemoyne.com
Purchase locations - Available in ebook & paperback from: Black Opals
Books, Amazon, B&N, All Romance/OmniLit, Smashwords
facebook -
http://www.facebook.com/kh.lemoyne
twitter –
https://twitter.com/#!/khlemoyne
or @khlemoyne
GIVEAWAY
The author will be
giving away a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble GC to one randomly drawn
commenter during the tour as well as to the host with the most comments
(excluding the author's and the host's). Additionally, she'll choose two
randomly drawn winners of the Dragon Rider’s Gift
eBook (A Portal Tale), due for release May 1, 2012.
Click Banner for other stops on this tour.
'STARQUEST' 'CHILDREN OF THE MIST' (The sequel to Starquest) Dancing With Fate 'Freeread':'A BARGAIN WITH DEATH
Also available on Kindle
Thank you for hosting today.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pleasure, this looks like such an amazing book!
ReplyDeleteLove the book cover. I really am happy this is going to be a series. I really love reading more than one book if it is a great story and this one sounds great.
ReplyDeleteHi MomJane
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, I agree, series are so enjoyable - I agree about the cover too - it's gorgeous!
Thank you, Hywela for hosting me on your blog today and welcome to Monday everyone!
ReplyDeleteJane, the next in the series will be out early next year. However, a spinoff with the dragon riders in this story will be out next month.
~Kate
Hi Kate
ReplyDeleteIt's a real pleasure to have you as my guest today - I'm looking forward to your spinoff - that sounds like it'll be another great read!
Sounds like an incredible amount of work, detail and planning before you begin to write your stories. After you spend the time to develop your characters and start to write their stories, have they ever surprised you and taken a path you didn't expect, which changed your plot line either somewhat or totally? If so, how did you handle it? Do you let them go where they will or try to force them back into the box?
ReplyDeleteHi Karen
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by - what a great question! I can't answer for Kate but I have to say I've had to argue with my characters on several occasions - they always win in the end and I've learnt to listen to them! :)
Wow, you really have a hand at world building. I never realized it could be that much work~ I have a healthy respect for all the hard work and effort you put into your stories. Wonderful and a great excerpt. This series sounds great! Looking forward to it!
ReplyDeleteKH...How do you come up with your names--for people, places, worlds, etc.? As a reader, I must admit, I don't like overly challenging names. I want them to be ones that I can pronounce & remember. If there are too many names that are too different, I admit to getting confused and/or losing interest.
ReplyDeleteKaren,
ReplyDeleteI do occasionally let the characters run off, though that's usually in a separate file for a scene/snippet that is inherent to their story. If it brings more depth to the character in some other way, I'll try to add some of the bit in. If not, I may just post it as a vignette or supplemental material! But, in the long run, my characters have goals they must achieve. The story needs to get them to their goal (without too much deviation). :-)
Catherine,
You mentioned this topic about character names before and I really wanted to address this. I read a story and if the names are too much, I sort of read 'x' and 'y' as their names and keep going. And while that sounds odd, for people who read quickly (ie scan for phrases and sentence because that's what they used to teach you to do), it makes sense. As a writer, I try to first, not have multiple names that start with the same letter. At least for the main characters (sound crazy?). But the x and y reader skims and names too close to each other halt the process and destroys the movement. Second, I try to fit names to the story. Since the portal world mimic parts of earth, I looked first here for Scottish names and surnames for the secondary characters. Where I could, I selected from actually history. Logan and his family are current day, so their names are less taxing. Briallen, Rhaimon, Coel hail back to fairy tales. Nicholai and Christoph, are twins. Their names are actually synonymous in some languages. They are ying and yang so I wanted their names to reflect that. Daniel is chosen for his own special reason, which will have to wait for his book (#5).
Mary, thank you for the kind words!
Hi Mary and Catherine, thanks so much for stopping by and for your great comments.
ReplyDeleteHello again Katy,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your replies to Karen and Catherine's questions. I have to say I wondered about some of your names - Briallen and Rhiamon and Coel in particular. They sound very Welsh, Rhiannon, (slight variation) is a very popular Welsh name even these days, and of course Welsh is a Celtic language, so many Welsh, Scottish and Irish names sound similar.
Thanks for your fascinating explanations and it's been a real pleasure having you as my guest today. I wish you many, many sales with your book!
I love maps in books & I absolutely love magic.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Hi Marybelle
ReplyDeleteI love maps too - and for a writer, I think they're an integral part of world building - and who doesn't love magic?
Thanks so much for stopping by today on Katy's tour.
Mary and Hywela,
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think maps are key to helping visual. I understand the 'show don't tell' philosophy and agree, but for a land, a fantasy world, the maps are helpful.
I didn't include on in Return of the Legacy but I'm putting two in Dragon Rider's Gift - one for the land of the dragon riders and the second for the world of Tir Thar. I've struggled a bit on these at first hand drawing and then tackling Photoshop, but I've found a cartography software that seems to reduce the steps to generate a fair likeness. Hopefully readers will enjoy that.
~Kate
Hi Kate - I used a cartography programme for 'Children Of The Mist' but for the life of me I can't remember which one it was (I think I had it on a month's free trial) For this particular book I found it very useful, both with the world building and for helping me keep track of where my characters were at any given time.
ReplyDeleteYour maps for your two worlds in 'Dragon Riders' sounds really interesting, and I'm sure having the maps makes a fantasy story that much more vivid and real for the reader too.