I have been fortunate enough to meet some incredibly
talented authors in the Paranormal Romance genre.
When I think of Angels, I immediately think
of Amy Bartol and Tiffany King. I hear
fairies and Christie Rich’s series comes to mind. Magical beings? My heart races when I remember reading Rachael
Higginson and Charlotte Abel’s series. I
could go on and on, so the short answer is MOST of the characters I had
considered writing a series about had already been written, (superbly I might add) by authors I love!
When I struck out to write the Touched Series I wanted to start a new series that would be original. I should preface this with,
I read ALL THE TIME, and realized I knew almost nothing about Centaurs. There had always been a kind of mystery about
them for me, so I began scouring the internet and my library. It turns out:
very little had been written
about Centaurs.
I was excited because instead of trying to fit my story into
hundreds of legends, there were relatively few compared to other mythological
characters. It also gave me the freedom
to create some Centaur history, too. I
know what you’re thinking, Centaurs?
Really?
I promise, these are not the Centaurs you’re thinking of
that are half people / half horse, at least, not anymore.
Sagittarius is the constellation shaped like a Centaur that most
of us are familiar with. I started my
research there and quickly found out Sagittarius was said to have been an
immortal Centaur named Chiron. According
to the lore, before he became a constellation, he was one of the few Centaurs who
was civilized, described as: more man
than beast. Chiron was a physician, a
musician, a patron of the arts and a teacher.
According to Greek Mythology, one of his prize pupils was Hercules who
unintentionally shot him with a poison arrow.
That incident is how Chiron was eventually placed in the heavens by Zeus
and is the event where my Touched Series launched from.
Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) explains that after Zeus
placed Chiron in the heavens to watch over his children, Zeus allowed all
Centaurs to take human form to make up for his son, Hercules, careless action. The Centaurs retained their magic and still
trace their bloodlines back to the original pasture, but many of the rules
adopted a millennia ago, seem archaic by today’s human standards.
So why Centaurs? I
feel pretty lucky; Centaurs are one of the few characters in the Paranormal
Romance genre that don’t have many modern stories written about them. I hope one day when people think of Centaurs
they equate my series to the subject, the same way I immediately think of other
fabulous series from friends who have written about characters I adore: Angels,
Vampires, Werewolves, Magical Beings, etc.
Still skeptical? It's okay, I understand. That's why Blood Debt is on me. That's right, it's free from all bookstores (Amazon, B&N, i-Tunes, Sony, Kobo, Smashwords). I know not every book is for every reader - but I hope you'll give it a try!
Happy Reading!
Nancy
Still skeptical? It's okay, I understand. That's why Blood Debt is on me. That's right, it's free from all bookstores (Amazon, B&N, i-Tunes, Sony, Kobo, Smashwords). I know not every book is for every reader - but I hope you'll give it a try!
Happy Reading!
Nancy
Yeah, I'll admit it. I was skeptical about the Centaurs, but after one chapter, I was hooked. Love the series, Nancy! And I'm honored to be listed among so many amazing authors.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
I'm so glad to have you here, Christie!! I know you're in final edits mode on your latest - I CANNOT WAIT!! :D
Delete"I hope one day when people think of Centaurs they equate my series to the subject..."
ReplyDeleteIt's already happened ;-) I love the Touched Series! And you are forever linked with Centaurs in my mind and heart!
Awe - I think my heart just ballooned, Charlotte!! Only a few more weeks til UTopYA! Can't wait to see you again!
Delete