Feathers and Fae is an intrusion fantasy. It's a term I didn't know about until long after writing this story. All I knew was that I'd never written a fantasy at this level before where I had to create a whole new world outside of Earth instead of based on Earth.
Once I had written the first chapter of Feathers and Fae and got my characters to Mythos, I had to decide 'what next?'. I drew my inspiration on what to do from Lord of the Rings and I sent them on a journey.
While the idea came from a well known epic fantasy, I knew that the only way to write this was to draw from my own experiences. I've spent many years hiking, exploring and travelling so I had plenty to draw from. It's these memorable moments and landscapes that I used to paint the descriptive word pictures of the many landscapes of Mythos.
I would like to think this brought a sense of realism to the experiences of my characters and the places that they visited.
With no further ado, I will tell you where the inspiration for each of these incredible landscapes came from.
Tithoriea's forest near Abernath
In the town where I grew up, there were "forests" that my friends and I played in. These areas weren't heavily forested, but small patches of treed areas. They were large enough that there were multiple paths running through them. Here the dirt trails were worn down to show the roots of the trees. It felt like another world to us kids. Maybe it was.
Small those these patches of forest were, they were full of life. Wild berries, bird song... and a laughing group of teenagers who may or may not have been up to no good.
I am sad to say that those stands of woods where I spent much of my youth are gone now in all but memory.
As a side note, the baseball field described while in Blakely Grove on Earth is an only slightly altered version of one I knew well as a kid. I fell out of a tree there and hit my head pretty hard. I think that may have been the moment I decided to become a writer.
Strophia's Hidden Valley
This is one of the few places that is based mostly on imagination. Although I drew inspiration from multiple hiking and sightseeing trips throughout North America as well as a bit of tropical flavour thrown in. I figure a water nymph could coax the water in her home a little more towards the brilliant side.
Waterfalls and the small pools that form along some areas is something I have seen more than once. Beautiful secret valleys that are a little off the beaten path, I've been there too. These are the places that sometimes you only get to see once, but they stick with you forever.
Álfheimr (The elven woods)
I know I mentioned that I grew up in a temperate rainforest area. If you've ever been out hiking in those forests you may understand just how dark they can get when you're not on a well-travelled path. Deep and dark, I took this feeling and intensified it until I get the thick protected woods that make up the land of Álfheimr.
A place where the trees lean towards each other to whisper secrets. Where a squirrel sounds like a bear crashing through the underbrush, but the deer you're hunting moves by without a sound. A place that feels both dangerous and welcoming at the same time. If this is what you imagine when you read it, then I guess I did a good job of describing this place.
Baksüz Bog
Near where I grew up there is a bog called, Burns Bog. I've driven by it. In fact, I've seen and been to numerous bogs, but for some reason, this big bog that was turned into a protected park was one of those places that I've never actually spent time in. What makes it stand out in my mind (besides that fact that EVERYONE back home knows about Burns Bog) is the summer that Burns Bog was burning.
This, of course, is nothing more than an aside to say that because it is such a well-known area where I grew up, we were taught a lot about peat bogs and other types of wetlands. Growing up in a rainy area, we are pretty familiar with marshes and bogs of various types.
When I was asked to add a bit more adventure to the middle of the story by my good friend and freelance editor, Naomi, it seemed only natural for me want to want to add something that I was familiar with, but with a twist of the fantastical. I made this bog a bit easier to travel through in some ways, if not in others.
I think this may have ended up as one of my favourite places that my poor characters were forced to traverse through.
Verilindore Mountains (hiking through them)
If you haven't figured this out yet, I spent a lot of life communing with nature. Summer road trips where we camped and discovered. My parents were always willing to randomly take a detour because it sounded interesting. It was an attitude I took with me into my own travels. It has been the root of many incredible memories.
Living in a place surrounded by mountains led to a natural interesting in hiking. Although hiking is something I can't do with the same passion I once pursued it, I still love being out in nature and up in the mountains. The Verilinidore Mountains are loosely based on the Rocky Mountain Range that separates British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. If you've been to them, you'll understand. If you haven't then you should see them when you get a chance. Go to Banff and Jasper, drive along the highways. Go through Rogers Pass. You'll understand.
The views and experiences along the way are many of the things I've seen or experienced myself as I've hiked through the mountains. Until you get to the part about the snow and the sundogs, those experiences come from my current locale.
Where I grew up, it rarely ever snowed then I moved to the Canadian Prairies. My first winter was a learning experience where I had to trudge through knee-deep snow in -40C, fearing frostbite because I didn't own long underwear and I had missed the last bus. Thankfully, my friend rescued me after 10 minutes of walking, but I will never forget what those 10 minutes felt like.
And I can tell you about the time my buddy and I went ice fishing and it was snowing so hard we lost sight of the landmark we needed to navigate off the lake and we couldn't stop or slow down for fear we'd get stuck in a drift out on the ice.
These are the things I've based some of the experiences my characters go through while hiking through the mountains. I do fear that I may not have done sundogs on a bitterly cold morning proper justice in my description, but some things are too awesomely beautiful for words to do them justice.
Gigan Moreus Ridge
There is this one hike that is on my bucket list, but I never did get to it. I fear now that I might never get to go there. I'm supposed to limit my weight-bearing exercise due to an injury. It meant not being to run long distances anymore or go on long hikes. I miss hiking and I still want to do this hike even if it means I will be eating painkillers like candy.
This is Akamina Ridge. I have maps, plans, equipment. I figured if I couldn't traverse this scenic mountain ridge than I can at least have my characters do so for me. And thus, this part, the beautiful panoramic view from here is based on years of research for a hike that I may never get to do.
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Okay, this isn't an exhaustive list of every incredible landscape that you'll discover in Feathers and Fae, but I sure don't want to bore anyone! I mean I could describe every time I've gone spelunking or exploring the lava tubes in Idaho or visiting ice caves that played into the dwarven caverns. I could describe my trip up to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada, how I fell in love with that rocky landscape.
Maybe I will another time but for now, this is probably enough. I do hope you've enjoyed this bit of insight into what went into these landscapes and things that I described in Feathers and Fae.
