A few weeks ago, I started a bit of a deep dive into the world, history, and themes of my new novel Imprinted. My last post was a shorter overview of Imprinted along with a brief synopsis for its release! If you’re interested on how I chose to write vampires and other mythical creatures, I’d invite you to explore that topic with me in the pt 1 of this series of posts. That one does get into some details revealed in the plot of the novel itself, but I’ve marked that section so you can get away spoiler-free. This week, I’m writing a little bit more about the quote you see on the front of the book: “When the veil parts, a mythic world is revealed.”
One thing about me, I really love the podcast Blurry Creatures (I highly recommend their suggestion of starting at the beginning and working your way through). One of the many things they talk about on that show is the idea of realms. What is “seen” and what is “unseen?”
As I was revising Imprinted, I was also exploring different ideas and research in that podcast, and I wanted to find a way to incorporate that into my story. I already had the foundations for that - an imprint is like the foundational catalyst to this story. I already had a division between what normal humans could see vs what was really there. All I had to then was figure out how it worked, why, and what implications that had for the creation of this fictional world.
For me, the challenge and the fun was in determining what each society wanted, and how that overlapped with their “hidden” co-existence with humans and all these other sorts of creatures. I chose to use some common types of creatures, like seelie/unseelie fae and vampires, but I tried to use both traditional and nontraditional elements to build up their societies, their goals, motives, and how they choose to interact with others. I also wanted to experiment with the idea of the “mythics,” as I called them, as one overarching group encompassing all creatures. (I didn’t want to go a fantasy kitchen sink route, but this first book is less about discovering all the species of creatures and more about the characters central to the plot).
As you’ll see in the book, I also wanted to play with the idea that maybe everyone doesn’t “see” this world the same either. No one that’s human can, not until they imprint on a mythic. But based on the values those mythics hold, how they choose to see and interact with humans, and their own personal morals, that could influence how much of that veil is parted. Those mythics are what they are, whether or not they appear human to anyone else around them. The level to which a person can see the world around them is almost like a reflection of the mythic they imprint on, then. It’s a physical way to see how they’re choosing to live, through this other person if that makes sense. That type of imprint, or bond, has an impact and consequence for both the mythic and the human.
More of the lore of the creation and foundation of this world I’ll get into more deeply in books 2 and 3 of the Imprinted series, but I wanted to give you all a little more insight into my purpose, goals, and ideas were when exploring the background these characters are interacting within. In my next posts in this series, I’ll be exploring a little more about sibling bonds, and building trust. Just a little more to look forward to.
Thank you for reading, exploring the world of Imprinted with me, and I’m excited to share more about it in the coming weeks. If you pick up a copy of Imprinted, or Stars Above, I’d love to hear what you think!
My newest book, Imprinted, is available now. It’s a gritty, urban fantasy adventure and book 1 in the Imprinted series. You can also check out my YA novella, Stars Above, or visit my website to learn more about me and my work.