Samhain Publishing

What to blog about, what to blog about? Hmmm. It’s been my conundrum for days as my debut release from Samhain crept closer and closer.

For the first time in my life I couldn’t figure out what to say, which can be quite horrific for a writer to tell you the truth.

The post hit me last night, in the middle of the night. Talk about how Incarnate came to be. Well, it started with a panic. I was going through a spell of writer’s block. It was terrifying. I had just had a baby and didn’t write anything for a year. Scary. It was then that old adage came back write what you know. Only I don’t totally agree with this. If I wrote what I knew at that time it would be recitation of diaper contents and sore nipples. So I began to write down some things I seemed to know a lot about and then manipulated the information in my head for my own wicked devices. Muwahahaha.

Writing Incarnate took tidbits of several things I knew:

1. A lot about the fabled Celtic queen, Boudicca
2. Religion. (Which I won’t talk too much about because I don’t want to bore you)
3. Northern Canada
4. The ice roads

All these things came together and created Incarnate.

The POV character, Cia walked into my brain fully formed when I was worrying about my dry spell from writing. She had this calm persona on one hand and then this voice in her head. The voice of ancient Celtic Queen Boudicca and a big sword. I just didn’t know what to do with her, and the character kept talking in my head. I thought what kind of kick ass rough job could she have? The answer was playing right in front of me on the television screen. Season One of Ice Road Truckers. I loved this show. I was recuperating after my third C-section and had a new born baby I was feeding, so I was locked to the couch and was totally enraptured with the show. So my ice road trucking inspiration not only took care of her occupation, but helped settled on location.

I know Canada. I am Canadian after all. I know Northern Canada. I’ve never been, but I’ve researched it for years. Planned trips. Heading to the top of the world has always been my dream. My parents had a decorative plate, sent to them by my uncle from Frobisher Bay (now Iqaluit in Nunavut) and I would stare at the plate for hours. I was fascinated by the igloo shaped church and wildness to the land. My Dad also had lots of stone carvings made by the Inuk people. I couldn’t believe that animals like polar bears and seals were everyday animals for them. I grew up on the outskirts of Toronto and if I was lucky would some time spy a big fat raccoon meandering down the street. So my obsession with the top of the world began. I also have cousins who are Inuk and it would be nice to meet them. So I know the North, I just have yet to experience it.

In a total backwards way I wrote the ending first and the rest of the world came falling into place. This was also a first for me, I wrote backwards. Another first was the genre, urban fantasy and non-romantic. It surprised me. My alter ego, Amy Ruttan, has been writing spicy romance since 2007. This book came totally out of left field.

When I got the ‘call’ (or email) from my editor, Jennifer Miller she helped me brainstorm a stronger, more urgent GMC for Cia. Jennifer helped me polish my diamond in the rough, my convoluted story which didn’t seem to fit anywhere except, Samhain and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

I hope you enjoy by debut release from Samhain Publishing.