Inspirations for The United, The Realm of the Light Book 1
Today I want to share what inspired various aspects of The United, The Realm of the Light Book 1.
As I have shared many times before, the plot for Book the First of The United was inspired by a 5th Grade Halloween-themed Creative Writing Assignment. Funnily enough, after I turned it in, my asked me if I wanted to publish it in a magazine of short stories written by 5th graders, and I told her “No, I don’t want to be a published author.”
The plot for Book the Second of The United came along by means of a Creative Writing assignment in the 7th Grade. And Book the Last in 10th Grade.
Other aspects of the story.
In Book the Second, I made the antagonist of the story a shifter. So, when I went to make The United into a novel, I did a lot of research on Native American shifters, and learned about the Skinwalkers and Manidones. So, in the early novel versions of The United, called “The Legend of Jacob Hunter,” Jacob Hunter was a Manidone.
Denizens. Well, the concept of a denizen came to me in a dream. I dreamed about a clan of immortals who I met just before boarding The Titanic (yes, I am actually referring to the dream that originally inspired ‘The Viscount of Sternboard’). The immortals had the physical prowess and immortality of vampires, but they were not undead. So I got thinking about that and I realized that denizens were not immortals, per se, they were the offspring of an immortal and a mortal that could only be killed by means of decapitation. Otherwise they would heal from any infirmity and never die.
And finally, those who have read The United, are well aware that is full of teen-drama. Such as TJ and LyAnn’s relationship (dating-engagement-premarital conception of HeatherAnn-marriage). Blaze and Amanda’s relationship, dating, breaking up, dating again, and marriage. Amanda and Angie’s friendship. Susan’s reaction to her fiancé’s death. TJ’s depression, and so on. All of those events were inspired by various dreams and day-dreams.
For more about The United, check out this page.
James Quinlan Meservy - Author 