Creating the Magic {Guest #Author: Kathryne Kennedy + #Giveaway}

Hello again Farrah! Thank you so much for having me back here at The Book Faery Reviews! It’s a pleasure to be here to talk about how I created the magic in my series, The Elven Lords.

I was inspired by Tolkien’s characters in The Lord of the Rings. I have always loved what I consider ‘true’ elven, the Sidhe, and when I saw the movie version, I fell in love with Legolas, and knew right then that I wanted a romance revolving around those beautiful characters.

Since I write a blend of historical, fantasy, and romance, a new world began to take shape in my mind, and it surprised me how it all jelled together.

I start farther back in history than the era I’m actually going to write in, so I went back to the time when William the Conqueror invaded England and split it into several baronies…a time of great change that significantly altered England’s history, and made it easy for me to alter it yet again with the introduction of The Elven Lords. Instead of William bringing England under a unified rule, I had my seven elven lords breach the barrier between their world and ours, defeat William, and take England under their own unified rule. The elven lords made seven sovereignties (baronies) using their magic and beauty, enslaved the English people, and made the king nothing more than a puppet ruler, a prize to be won in their elven war games. And humans and the half-breed children of the elven began the Rebellion for England’s freedom.

Since I used a historical world as the basis for my new series, I researched the eighteenth century, Georgian era, so I have a basis for readers to identify with. Researching the history always gives me new ideas about how to incorporate magic into the world. I often use real historical figures, and apologize to King George, who became a pawn in my alternate world, his interests focusing on the only thing he could control: the court fashions of the era.

I gave each elven lord a scepter that reflected his individual magical strength: Black for Mor’ded who rules fire, Blue for Breden who rules sea and sky, Green for Mi’cal who rules the forests, Gold for Roden who is master of glamour and illusion, Silver for Lan’dor who masters the blade, Brown for Annanor who rules the earth, and Violet for La’laylia who enspells gems. Each realm they created is altered by their primary magic, and so with the help of a thesaurus (for quick and easy use, I use Dictionary.com), I named each realm:

Firehame: Fire.

Dewhame: Sea and Sky.

Bladehame: Metal.

Dreamhame: Glamour and Illusion.

Terrahame: Earth.

Verdanthame: Tree and plant.

Stonehame: Rock and gemstone.

I love researching fashion (as frustrating as it sometimes can be) and realized that the white wigs common in the era were a perfect foil for the white hair of the elven lords. In my world, the wigs were worn to copy the beautiful locks of the elven, with powdered stone used to imitate the silver sparkles in the elven lords’ hair.

In The Lord of Illusion, we visit the realm of Dreamhame, where my heroine, Camille, is enslaved by Elven Lord Roden. We meet Grimor’ee, Dreamhame’s golden dragon-steed. And my hero, Drystan, must set aside his books to become a warrior to rescue Camille, who may hold the key to England’s freedom.

So I started with history, changed it by adding a healthy dose of magic, infused it with romance and passion, and the world of The Elven Lords was born. If you should have any questions or comments about how some of the magic was created I’d love to hear from you!

As Always, My Magical Best,

Kathryne

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Kathryne Kennedy is a critically acclaimed, best-selling, award-winning author of magical romances. She welcomes readers to visit her website where she has ongoing contests at www.kathrynekennedy.com. She’s lived in Guam, Okinawa, and several states in the U.S., and currently lives with her wonderful family in Arizona, where she is working on the next book in her Relics of Merlin series, Everlasting Enchantment.

THE LORD OF ILLUSION BY KATHRYNE KENNEDY—IN STORES FEBRUARY 2012