I developed the concept for this story years ago. In 2010, according to my original outline document. Though, funny story, I actually thought I had lost that doc when I decided I wanted to dust off some old ideas and see if I could produce something with them. I still had the general outline in my head, and then it morphed into what you hold in your hand. Very different from my initial idea. That’s a good thing. The original didn’t have the same heart as this version, and the characters of Lance and Gust were phenomenally different. They feel more like my characters than they did before, as do all the supporting characters. I’m very proud of what I have produced.
The concept of a warrior seeking redemption was inspired by one of my favorite shows in the 1990s (and still top 10 on my list), the campy, action-packed, I-am-woman-hear-me-roar show, “Xena: Warrior Princess.”
Yep. No lie.
And each of the books in this trilogy are individually inspired by a particular episode in the first and second seasons. For “Healing Lance,” the inspiration is from the pilot episode, “Sins of the Past” (naturally). Xena decides to leave behind her warrior ways but has to fight to save a bunch of girls being kidnapped into slavery. It’s there she makes the acquaintance of Gabrielle, her future traveling partner, friend, biographer and, according to some fans, her lover. Then the warlord who wanted the girl slaves, a man from Xena’s past, comes to her home town, and she duels him to safeguard everyone.
I took the general storyline and ran with it.
Although the idea of the gauntlet that Lance is forced to go through is from one of the first episodes to feature Xena, in the “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” show. The trilogy certainly has the trappings of the episodes that inspired it but the rest of the storylines are all me.
The mythology throughout the trilogy is also based off our own world’s mythology. For Cairon, Gust’s home kingdom, I chose to emulate Egyptian mythology with a few of my own original ideas thrown in. To my mind, mythology gives a fantasy world gravitas, a sense of realism. At first, I attempted to create my own mythology but I couldn’t sustain it, and it didn’t feel real. So, I borrowed from those I’m most passionate about, and knew the most about. Doing so allowed me to envision each kingdom on their own, and then how they collectively formed the Nifdem Empire. I wanted to do each kingdom justice and give them their own feel, image, and culture. Whether I accomplished that or not is up to you.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Lance and Gust’s journey, and I truly hope you will join me for the rest! I have a bunch of things in store for these guys that I’ve fallen in love with.