Originally posted during my Jade: First and Last book tour.
Jade: First and Last is the latest entry in The Stones of Power, and the structure became a quest story, much the same as the first book in the series. I kept making it worse for my guys as they searched for the jade stone of power. And I had a bit too much fun doing so. I only have four books left before I wrap things up for Lord Morgorth and Aishe, and I am both excited and saddened. They’ve been with me for a decade, and it will be an end of an era when I let them go. If you like magic, surly, anti-hero mages (wizards), their loyal, long-suffering mates, and a fun setting with quirky supporting characters, this series might be for you!
I wanted to share a few fun facts about the series that was either information I couldn’t put in organically, or simply behind-the-scenes setup of characters and places. Writing a fantasy series like this will always mean there are “director’s notes/scenes” that won’t see the light of day. But this is information that I, as the author, need to know so I can remain consistent with details and plot arcs.
So... ready for some fun facts? Here we go:
1. Morgorth’s appearance was accidently modeled after Neo from the Matrix and Morpheus/Dream from The Sandman graphic novels. I am not even joking about this. The funniest thing is that my first book, Ruby: Lost and Found was published in 2012, and I think I might have seen the first Matrix movie once by then? And I never heard of The Sandman until years later, and I only read the graphic novels last year. So I couldn’t explain why Morgorth is a strange cross between Neo and Morpheus. When I was designing his outfit, I wanted it to have the illusion of “wizard’s robes,” but because he’s a rebel, he modified his clothes. At least his personality is all my own invention... though I think he might lean a bit more toward Morpheus in that score, regardless.
2. Aishe’s appearance is absolutely modeled after Legolas. The “dialen” are my own invention, and my own take on “elves.” Look, I’m a huge fan of everything Tolkien, and the first book of the series was only my third book ever published so... I was still finding my own voice... by “borrowing” from others.
3. ...and following that, Morgorth’s name is also inspired by Tolkien’s Satan-figure, Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. He appears in The Silmarillion, and Sauron was his lieutenant.
4. The name for Morgorth’s forest, Vorgoroth, is inspired by Gorgoroth, which is land inside Mordor. Yes, LOTR again. Sue me.
5. The name for Morgorth’s castle home, Geheimnis, is actually the German word for “secret.” In hindsight, I probably should have made up another word or named it something else, but again, it’s one of those things newbie authors do. At the time, I also wanted the name to connect with his fascination with the human world (Earth) and the few times he traveled to it. But as the series progressed, that idea never expanded so now it's just an odd quirk.
6. Yes, payshthas are dragons. But I didn’t make up that word, actually. I found it in a fairie encyclopedia, and it’s an Irish water dragon that hides hidden treasure.
7. Yes, the big cosmic baddies, the Formoryans, are based on the Fomorians/Fomoire in Irish mythology. They are monstrous creatures, one of the first races to ever live on the island, who were eventually conquered/driven off by the Tuatha de Danann.
8. I was originally going to use words like “elf” and “dwarf” but my first editor encouraged me to create my own creatures and names for them, to own my world. I am forever grateful for that suggestion.
9. I never give the ages of my characters... but in my notes, Morgorth is around 100 years old. Yeah. Let me explain. I wanted my characters to be long-lived (again, like Tolkien), but there just wasn’t a way at the time for me to insert that info without making it awkward. I was still honing my writing skills and anything I tried just came off as too explain-y, and I just gave up and realized it didn’t matter, ultimately. Aishe is a bit older than Morgorth, and Master Ulezander is over 500 years old.
10. I created a calendar for Karishian. I honestly couldn’t say where it is now, but while the type of seasons remain the same (winter, spring, summer, fall), the names of the months and days of the week are different. Even when I received the rights back for the series, and I went through to modify and tweak things for smoother reading, it just never felt quite right to include all that. But, as I said earlier, these are things that I need to know so I can correctly indicate the passage of time and have the seasons change.
May dragons guard your dreams,
M.D. Grimm
Comments ()