Jessica Andersen's Blog - Posts Tagged "nightkeeper"
A couple of FAQs
Hey GoodReaders! I thought I'd post the answers to a couple of frequently asked questions today. Enjoy!
FAQ #1-- What made you decide to write a series about Mayan legend?
Well, I guess my best answer is that I’m a huge fan of books and movies that have lots of action and romance in them, but are spiced up with interesting factoids that I didn’t already know (National Treasure, DaVinci Code, etc.).
So when I came across a reference to the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012, I immediately saw the potential for a high-action, high-intensity series based on a mythology that hasn’t been done to death in the paranormal romance and urban fantasy markets.
Part of my fascination comes from having spent time down in the Yucatan as a kid. My parents would pull me out of school for a few weeks every spring (much to my teachers’ relief, I suspect) and we would go investigate the ruins, which were in the process of being restored at the time.
They’re far more regulated and tourist-ified now, but back then, ruin ratting was a total Indiana Jones, creep-through-the-collapsing-tunnel experience. I try to bring that excitement and wonder to the books.
FAQ #2-- Which is easier to do, writing a story-line based on a known legend or writing straight from the imagination, where the only rules you have to follow are your own?
I think it probably would have been easier in a sense to make up everything from scratch, because then you can let your imagination run wild. Personally, though, I love having the framework of an existing mythology to work with.
I think it gives the stories a real-world authenticity that is important to me. The Nightkeepers are real people living in the real world, but their reality has been shifted by the fact that they’re now being asked to believe in—and learn how to use—the magic of an ancient culture.
Not to mention that I'm a big, drooling geek when it comes to similar stories that show up in different cultures, so I love playing with the ideas of crossovers between the Egyptians, Maya, Hopi, and others!
FAQ #1-- What made you decide to write a series about Mayan legend?
Well, I guess my best answer is that I’m a huge fan of books and movies that have lots of action and romance in them, but are spiced up with interesting factoids that I didn’t already know (National Treasure, DaVinci Code, etc.).
So when I came across a reference to the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012, I immediately saw the potential for a high-action, high-intensity series based on a mythology that hasn’t been done to death in the paranormal romance and urban fantasy markets.
Part of my fascination comes from having spent time down in the Yucatan as a kid. My parents would pull me out of school for a few weeks every spring (much to my teachers’ relief, I suspect) and we would go investigate the ruins, which were in the process of being restored at the time.
They’re far more regulated and tourist-ified now, but back then, ruin ratting was a total Indiana Jones, creep-through-the-collapsing-tunnel experience. I try to bring that excitement and wonder to the books.
FAQ #2-- Which is easier to do, writing a story-line based on a known legend or writing straight from the imagination, where the only rules you have to follow are your own?
I think it probably would have been easier in a sense to make up everything from scratch, because then you can let your imagination run wild. Personally, though, I love having the framework of an existing mythology to work with.
I think it gives the stories a real-world authenticity that is important to me. The Nightkeepers are real people living in the real world, but their reality has been shifted by the fact that they’re now being asked to believe in—and learn how to use—the magic of an ancient culture.
Not to mention that I'm a big, drooling geek when it comes to similar stories that show up in different cultures, so I love playing with the ideas of crossovers between the Egyptians, Maya, Hopi, and others!
