Karen Azinger's Blog: The Silk & Steel Saga - Posts Tagged "inspiration"

My inspiration for writing The Silk & Steel Saga comes from everywhere! From history, from the beauty of nature, from the diversity of travel, from reading books and watching movies, and even from talking with good friends. I guess my two favorite sources of inspiration are history and travel. To me, history is fascinating. There are so many larger-than-life personalities in the past. It's interesting to explore the problems they faced and study the solutions they tried. So many problems of the past are repeated today. If you want a crystal ball, just look to the past, human nature hasn’t changed all that much. One of my favorite characters in the saga, Queen Liandra, is based one of my historical heroines, Queen Elizabeth I, a lone woman ruling a kingdom in deep peril.
I also find inspiration in my travels. Travel makes you look at the world from a different perspective, a different culture, a different history. Travel also provides inspiration for fabulous settings. In my travels I’ve found settings that resonate with history, or beauty, or wonder, from the mysterious ruins of Machu Picchu, to the natural wonder of the majestic Sequoia trees, to windswept castles overlooking a turquoise sea. I try to imbue the settings of my saga with the wonders of far away places. An example of this in my saga, is The Ghost Hills, inspired by the beehive formations of the Bungle Bungles in Australia, and The Deep Green, inspired by the forest of giant Sequoia trees in California.

When I finished reading George Martin’s Storm of Swords, I desperately wanted more, but George takes a long time between books, and I really could not find anything else on the bookstore shelves that satisfied my craving. So I decided to write my own epic medieval fantasy, something similar but different. The first thing I borrowed from George was writing each chapter from the perspective of one point-of-view character. I love this writing style, the way it lets the reader and the author get deep into the character. It makes the story intimate and very personal, where the reader understands the dreams and fears of every POV character. The second thing I borrowed from George was complex plots and strategies. I wanted to write a big sweeping saga full of twists and turns that would surprise, shock, but also delight the reader, grabbing hold of your imagination and never letting go. But there were some things I wanted to do very differently. I wanted more women in the saga, not just women to bed and/or wed, but women that make a difference. From a sword-wielding princess, to a seductive priestess, to a queen who rules by coin and guile, to a silver-haired grandmother who wields knitting needles and knives, I wanted to explore how women gain, keep, and wield power in a medieval world. I wanted my saga to be a fast-paced sword-wielding adventure, but I also wanted it to be full of deeper meaning, so my saga explores the mechanisms of evil, the overarching theme the books. If the avatars of good cannot recognize or understand evil, then they will not prevail. And last but not least, I agree with George that some characters must die to make the risk real…but not all of them. If you love Game of Thrones like I do, I hope you will consider reading The Silk & Steel Saga. I’d love to hear how you think the two sagas compare.

I became a writer because I love to read. I discovered the library in fourth grade and was instantly smitten by the magic and wonder of books. Reading has been a lifelong passion, a magic carpet whisking me away on many adventures. I long to don burnished armor and fight for justice, to search for treasure in a faraway land, to explore secret passages of a ruined castle, to find love on a windswept mountain. Reading has given me so much pleasure that I wanted to pay it back by contributing my own verse, The Silk & Steel Saga.
I believe "you are what you read." So I thought I'd share with you some of the books and movies that inspired me to write my own epic fantasy saga. Perhaps you'll recognize echoes of these works in my writing...but only echoes, since I put my own twist on everything.
First and foremost is George Martin's Game of Thrones. Reading this epic medieval fantasy is what caused me to put pen to paper (actually fingers to keyboard) and start writing The Silk & Steel Saga. After reading Game of Thrones I wanted more but could not find it on the bookstore shelves, so I decided to write my own saga. I love George's style of writing, where each chapter is deep in the point-of-view of an individual character, so I used that same style for my saga. This style lets both the reader and the writer get deep into each character, so you truly understand their needs, their wants, their secret desires. This depth of character makes everything seem more real. Deep characterization is what draws the reader into the rabbit hole.
The second work that inspired me is JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. LOTR is the saga that made me fall head-over-heels in love with epic fantasy. I longed to live in a land of elves, wizards and enchanted forests. For me, LOTR is the masterwork of fantasy world building. Middle Earth is a world you long to explore, from the mines of Moria, to the halls of Rivendale, to the towering Argonath, it lives and breathes in our imaginations. Inspired by LOTR, I strive to add magic and enchantment to the kingdoms of Erdhe, from the illuminated manuscripts covering the walls of the Kiralynn Monastery, to the towering forests of the Deep Green, to the shimmering battlements of Castlegard, and the fearsome magic of the Gargoyle Gates. I hope you will agree that Erdhe is a land brimming with wonder, a feast for the imagination.
The third work that inspired me is Frank Herbert's Dune. To me, Frank Herbert is the master of incorporating themes like environmental science, religion and politics into the weave of his story, turning Dune into a classic. Theme is the underlying message. Theme is what elevates a good book to a great read. Themes resonate with the reader, drawing us back to read the same book over and over again. Inspired by Dune, The Silk & Steel Saga has many themes woven through it. One of the main themes is to explore the mechanisms of evil. Evil is not just a horde of ugly orcs brandishing swords. In my saga, those who walk on the Dark side are beautiful, smart, and manipulative…which makes them scary as hell. The avatars of good must recognize evil and foil their mechanisms in order for good to have a chance to prevail.
Another book that caught my imagination as a young reader was Bram Stoker's Dracula. There is a plot twist in Dracula that I think is positively brilliant and you'll find echoes of it in The Silk & Steel Saga. There is one character in particular whose story arc is inspired by the original Dracula...but I'm going to let my readers figure this one out for themselves.
One of the movies that inspires my writing is Braveheart. The underlying theme of Braveheart is 'it's our wits that make us men'. I love how all the battles in Braveheart are about strategy, advantage, and alliances, not just sword and brawn (although there is plenty of that too). Inspired by Braveheart, The Silk & Steel Saga is brimming with medieval battles, swords and spears and shields, but all of the battles have some twist dealing with strategy, advantage and alliances. In my saga, victory is often achieved more by wits than by swords.
And last but not least, another movie that inspired my writing is the Highlander (especially since it stars Sean Connery...be still my beating heart). In the Highlander, the immortals are battling for 'the prize.' In The Silk & Steel Saga, the dedicates of the Dark Lord are battling for more lifetimes, but each lifetime must be earned. What would you do for another lifetime, another youth, another hundred years?
I hope you'll read The Silk & Steel Saga and let me know what echoes you find in my writing! Enjoy!