It often surprises me how my historical research will add to
or completely jell with the fantasy aspects of my novels. In THE ELVEN LORDS
series, the stories are based in the eighteenth century, so I spent over a
month researching the Georgian era, including the political environment, with
special emphasis on daily life and--since my books are first and foremost
romances--the clothing and housing of the aristocracy.
When I read that white wigs were prevalent in the era, it
made perfect sense that the true reasons for wearing the wigs were to imitate
the ivory-haired elven lords of my fantasy world. All I needed to do was to add
a crushed silver stone to the wigs, which the aristocracy uses to imitate the
silver sparkle of my lords. For my readers to identify with the history of the
era, I felt that it was important to keep a king on the throne, but since the
elven broke through the barrier between worlds and conquered England, dividing
it into seven sovereignties that each ruled, I couldn’t be sure of the role he
would play.
Then I read that the true power behind the throne at that
time lay with Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of England. So, with an
apology to King George, I made him nothing more than a trophy for the elven
lords to wage their wars--wars that used humans as chess pieces in games of
entertainment similar to the Roman gladiatorial games, but on a much broader
scale. Sir Robert (and following Prime Ministers) became the leaders of the
Rebellion, the underground movement of humans and half-elven who fight for
England’s freedom and the restoration of their king to true power. As with
actual history, the court set the precedence for clothing and style, but since
the king of my fantasy world held influence only in that limited aspect, it
became an obsession with him and his court.
My seven mad elven lords each had possession of a scepter,
and the master of a particular power. As I researched the landscape and the
development of England’s resources, I used that knowledge to divide the
sovereignties. Since Bath and its famous healing waters were located in the
southwest, it fell naturally into place that the elven lord Breden, master of
the blue scepter of sea and sky, controlled that area, becoming the sovereignty
of Dewhame, revealed in the novel THE LADY OF THE STORM. South central England,
where London is located, is a politically important part of England and became
Firehame, the sovereignty of Lord Mor'ded and his black scepter over the
mastery of fire, a powerful realm that is explored in THE FIRE LORD’S LOVER.
Agricultural eastern England became Verdanthame, with Mi'cal ruling with the
green scepter of forest and plant. Northeastern England, extending upward into
York and known for its roadways, became the sovereignty of Terrahame, and the
elven lady Annanor and her brown scepter of earth. North central England,
dominated by mining and hilly country, became the sovereignty of Bladehame and
the silver scepter of Lan'dor, who masters metal. The northwest became
Stonehame, where the elven lady La'laylia called up quartz from the depths to
enchant with her violet scepter. And the west became Dreamhame, butting up
against the craggy mountains of Wales, the sovereignty of Roden of the golden
scepter, with his spells of glamour and illusion, fully revealed in the novel
THE LORD OF ILLUSION.
Arranged marriages were common in the era, often devised for
political gain, and it fell naturally into place that the elven lords would use
them to their own advantage. My hero in THE FIRE LORD’S LOVER, General Dominic
Raikes, is a half-breed who has inherited his father’s magical gift of fire,
and because of it, is a General of Firehame’s army. My heroine, Lady Cassandra
Brydges, has the bloodlines to produce a new champion for the elven lord’s war
games…and is secretly trained as an assassin by the Rebellion.
In my novelette, The ASSASSIN’S LOVER, we get a glimpse of
the sovereignty of Stonehame, and the capital city that glows with jewel-fire
even in starlight. We meet a lady of that city, Minerva Overon, whose home
falls within the shadow of Stonehame Palace, which is crafted by the elven lady
from one large piece of amethyst. But my heroine lives in one of the few
mansions created of black jet, which aids the young assassin (another of
history’s ruthless characters) sent to kill her…although he gets more than he
bargained for.
And so did I, as I researched eighteen-century England, and
found some surprising developments for my stories along the way.
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