The (Sort of) Secret Inspiration for The Bayou Magiste Chronicles

I have a little secret about the inspiration of the Bayou Magiste Chronicles. Okay, well, some people know how it came about, and I do mention it occasionally, though it's pretty common knowledge that I am a HUGE fan of the Harry Potter books and movies. Still, it's not widely known that a few characters from the Harry Potter series gave me the motivation to attempt a genre I had always enjoyed reading and never attempted writing. Say what you will about fan fiction, I came across quite a few very talented writers when I played in it, and some of them have gone on to do the same thing I did – take the inspiration JK Rowling and her books provided and create our own unique worlds and characters.

When Claimed by the Devil first started, it was only supposed to be a diversion from the vampires I was writing at the time. Just to see if I could make a story hot enough. I broke all the rules, I just wrote, imagining each scene and trying to convey what was in my head onto the damn screen that kept freezing up (still does - be glad you're not my neighbor listening to me lose my mind all day long! lol).

Before I started my fic, my love scenes, while sensual, didn't make pulses race. When I finally found my groove writing sex and love scenes in a way I never had before, I found it really freeing. Along the way, the characters I'd used for my experiment suddenly became completely different from the canon. The next thing I knew, an entire plot sprang up in my head, complete with a multitude of subplots, that stretched the "diversionary dabble" into a 300K word year-long project that taught me so much about what worked and what didn't, and how to bring what worked to its fullest potential. BTW, there are parts of it in all four of the books, though clearly more in some than others. No doubt I was definitely over-wordy, which my critique partners will tell you has ALWAYS been my problem, and still is (I like to talk, okay? I'm a Gemini, and I embrace it! ;p).  There were also some things included in the opus that will likely never again see the light of day – they are quite dark and I am still somewhat surprised I shared them in that realm. My beta reader, who was usually unfazed about many things, was quite disturbed by the content in at least two chapters.

Anyway, as I moved through the world I had created, so much about its origins came to life in my head. I recorded every bit of it (yep, on my famous spreadsheets), and found myself anxious to go back to the roots of the Magiste – at least as far back as how they came to reside in what is now the Gulf Coast of the US (I have notes that go even further back in time, almost to ancient times, but it'll be a while before I tackle that!). And that's when my need to incorporate something real into my fantasy world took over. I've spoken of the Inquisitions here before, and I will probably address it again – I have more books planned for the founding of Terre Nouveau. It was easy enough to find just what I needed and incorporate it into Claimed by the Zyndevine. There were a few coincidences along the way, and a few shocking surprises I'd never imagined when I started, which I happily took advantage of, and Henri and Chantal's story came to vivid life, at least for me. I hope it does for you, the readers, as well.

And here's a little more about Claimed by the Zyndevine, Book 4 in the Bayou Magiste Chronicles:

In 13^th century France, attacked by those carrying out the Papal Inquisition, Magiste Enchantress Chantal Belliveau is thankful for rescue from certain torture and death. But she never expected it to be at the hands of Henri Marchand, one of a powerful pureblooded line of ancient Magiste, the Zyndevines. Henri holds the key to her survival, but the danger he poses to her heart and soul could turn out to be even more perilous.

Henri is part of Il Resistasse, a handful of powerful Magiste fighting the atrocities the Catholic Church inflicts on their race. Saving Chantal becomes more than a simple rescue - the innocent young woman with half-trained powers enchants him more than he has ever been before. That she enjoys the dark side of pleasure he inflicts on her makes him question his determination to never give another his heart.

Chantal is horrified when Henri invokes an ancient spell, the Possede Puissant. The incantation leaves her little more than his possession. While she finds herself enjoying his dark and wicked sensual delights, she determines to free herself. Still, the security she finds with Henri encourages her to stay by his side, claiming spell or not.

Resentment toward her from Henri's family convinces Chantal she must ultimately break free of Henri's possession. But when the Inquisitioners attack, Henri convinces Chantal to embark on a journey to a new land, a journey that may well mean the survival of the entire Magiste race but the loss of her freedom forever.

** Contains lots of explicit Magically Kinky! sex of the paranormal kind, including magical sex toys, potions, bondage and spanking, and more!

Near Toulouse, France 1255

Henri adjusted his cloak, striding quickly toward the stables, thumb turning the ring on his left hand in a nervous motion.  The stone, set in nearly pure gold mined from the caves near Limoges, warmed.  He took a deep breath, teeth grinding in anger.  He had little time to reach his destination, and waited impatiently as the groom finished saddling his horse.  If he made it in time, he'd need the animal to help with the task that lay ahead.

Word had come that a family near Toulouse had been targeted by the Inquisitioners.  Each passing second seemed somehow a waste, spurring his impatience, the message arriving only minutes before.  In his mad rush to reach the stables, he'd avoided his parents, knowing they would disapprove of his actions.  While Edouard and Marie Marchand preferred dealing with the minions of the Church using dark arts, Henri feared such measures only served to increase the rabid urges of men who held power and hungered for more.  While he appreciated the use of sinister magic to bring his enemies to their knees, the brutality of the Inquisitioners far exceeded anything he'd witnessed from the Magiste.

Today's victims were a minor noble family of Magiste.  They'd lived peacefully for centuries on their land, alongside their neighbors.  What had changed to turn the evil eye of the Inquisition toward them?  The question lingered and he finally accepted the reins of his horse from the stable boy.  Thunder rumbled overhead.  Henri mounted.  Closing his eyes, he clenched his fist, the ring near scalding.

"Portalus."

Beneath him, the horse pranced as the compression of the traveling spell took effect, sending Henri and the animal through distance and time.  When the pressure eased, Henri found himself in the middle of a lush forest, damp with a recent rain.  To his right, shouts sounded, and he wheeled the horse around.  Beyond the tree line, fire illuminated the night.  Henri's heart sank to see flames erupting from the windows of a large farmhouse.  Even from this distance, he could hear the screams of those trapped inside.  Merde! Too late!

Smoke quickly wafted toward the forests, the acrid stench burning his eyes.  A flurry of movement in the brush nearby drew his attention.  He dismounted and fastened the horse's reins to a tree.  He held his hands above the animal's back.

"Cachevois."

His ring warmed and the horse vanished from view, concealed by the spell.  No Mortals would find his mount.  Henri stood motionless for a few moments.  While the shouts of the Inquisitioners echoed around him. He ignored them, concentrating on the immediate area. 

The tingling awareness of someone else possessing magic grew stronger to his right.  He turned, his ring warming further and leading him closer to the source of power.  Another rustle of foliage, this time accompanied by a choked sob.  The flash of movement almost eluded him, but he headed in the same direction.  His ring grew hotter and hotter, nearly scorching his skin.  There, up ahead. 

A woman ran, her long fiery hair catching on low-lying branches.  He picked up his own pace, desperate to reach her before the Inquisitioners.  He just about came even with her when she stumbled and fell, more sobs and gasping breaths reaching his ears, even over the din of chaos at the edge of the forest. 

Aware of two of the Inquisitioners closing in, Henri hurried to the fallen woman as she struggled to rise.  He held out a hand.

"Come with me!"

She froze, a shriek escaping before she scrambled away from him.  Damn, she thought he was one of them.

"If you want to live, come with me now!"

Claimed by the Zyndevine is available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/CLAIMED-ZYNDEVINE-Bayou-Magiste-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00YB65GS0

Keeping the Magic Straight (Or, Worksheets and Lists to Infinity and Beyond!)

Anyone who knows me knows I love to make lists and spreadsheets. Part of it is necessity – a way to stay organized. Part of it is because I like to see everything all together in some semblance of order, and I have been known to tinker and revise my lists and spreadsheets so they are logical and yes, look nice. :-) I'm like Santa - making the list and checking it twice, though the reality is more like 100 times! lol I make lists for everything - shopping lists, guest lists, menus, items to pack for trips - you name it, I guarantee I've made a list for it.

When it comes to my writing, I have TONS of spreadsheets. I have one huge one which catalogs all of my books, series, worlds, etc. Then I have smaller ones that are book or series specific. For instance, I am currently working on the second book in my Vikings/Norseman's series (hopefully some word on the first book soon), and in my Excel workbook, there are several worksheets – one is for the characters that are part of the series, with their names, who they are, how they are related or interact during the books. Another contains lists of items the Vikings use in their daily lives, during battles and invasions, and for special occasions. There's a spreadsheet for all the fictional town names I made up for the series, along with one for the real places which were important to the Viking society. Yet another sheet contains a list of items I still need to research, with another for all the items I did research and the facts related to them. And of course, the listing of the gods that were so important to the Vikings' daily lives.

I also have a spreadsheet for every book I've ever written that is simply a word count tally - from my working days, I worked on a lot of spreadsheets, with formulas and "If" logic and the like, and a lot of that comes into play with the word count. It's a good way for me to keep track of my daily/weekly/monthly word count, and helps to stay on track, though I keep notes as to why I didn't hit the target word count goal for the day so I don't feel guilty if I have a few days with minimal new words.

By far, the biggest spreadsheet I have for a series is the one I have for the Bayou Magiste Chronicles. Not only do I catalog all the characters, I also list various magical items that are used by the characters - yep, the magical sex toys and various aphrodisiac potions have a list of their own, of course!  But the longest worksheet in the file is the one where I list all the spells that are used either directly by the characters, or mentioned. This one was a little tricky. Since the Marchands' roots are set in France, I had to spend a lot of time translating words, then conjugating the verb forms. I didn't want to use the actual French words as they are used today, I needed to change it up to fit the story and make them a little more special. In my younger days, I took several years of French classes, and while I did well, I remember nearly nothing now. So a lot of it was re-learning words – I can't tell you how many times the light bulb of memory went off when I found certain words that fit perfectly for the spell or item I was working on. 

 

One big benefit I've gotten from my lists is they also serve as important checkpoints, especially when I am starting a new book. There are more Bayou Magiste Chronicles planned as soon as I finish this Viking book, and I've already begun going through my list of characters. I'd paired off a few people when I started Claimed by the Zyndevine, but already, I'm making changes to those pairings based on the ending of that book. There were some unexpected deaths that paved the way for characters to become heroes and heroines who I hadn't originally planned to be anything other than supporting characters. The Founders of the Bayou Magiste Society have been established and if all goes well, there will be at least one book for each of the main founding families, if not more. Because I guarantee there are many more characters I've yet to meet who most likely will start popping up when I least expect them to. It's a matter of which ones are the loudest in my head.

 

Edward I

In my historical romance novels, I like to include real people and events of the time the books take place. In my latest release, Warrior' Possession, I included King Edward I, who was both adored and reviled – during his time and still to this day. Many are familiar with his portrayal in "Braveheart," but while he was indeed called "Hammer of the Scots" and "Longshanks" (he was very tall for a man of the time, which is where that nickname came from), he was not evil, as he was portrayed in that film. There's a lot of huge inaccuracies in that film, but I'll save that for another time.

Yes, Edward was a brutal man – being a king at the time almost required that. Very few within the nobility of the time dared to oppose him. Those who did were met with brutal retaliation. He crushed his enemies quickly and conquered Wales and Scotland with ruthless methods. Warrior's Possession is set at the end of the Welsh wars, when the rebellion had been crushed and Wales united under the English throne. The act of drawing and quartering those convicted of crimes had not been utilized for a very long time until Edward brought it back in use. Yes, there are two ways of drawing and quartering – a lot of people are familiar with the method in which the victim's hands and feet were tied to four horses which were then driven away, causing the victim to be torn apart. But the method that Edward used is far more brutal. I portray the first time Edward used it, against the last Welsh prince, Dafydd, in Warrior's Possession. I even included some of the remarks made by Edward and the executioner, as they were recorded by the authorities of the time. I can't say for sure these are the exact spoken words, but as this was a very big event at the time, chances are they were recorded faithfully. In this drawing and quartering scenario, the victim was first dragged to the execution location, then hanged by the neck until almost dead, before being cut down. At that point, the victim was disemboweled while still alive, then beheaded. The quartering came when the body was cut into four pieces, with each one being sent to the farthest corners of the realm. Yucky stuff, I know. In Warrior's Possession, Gillian didn't handle seeing such gruesomeness very well.

But Edward was also a revered king. His Parliament is what today's Parliament is based on - he made it a permanent institution. At that time, Parliament was held wherever the king was traveling to. He loved his first wife, Queen Eleanor. Even though the marriage was arranged, the pair had a deep abiding love for each other. They were truly a "Golden Couple," tall, blonde and both very attractive, by accounts from the time. There are legends about Edward nearly dying from being stabbed with a poisoned blade during his last Crusade, with Eleanor sucking the poison from his wound, though there is no proof this actually happened. But when she died, Edward's grief was so profound, he had twelve large crosses built wherever her funeral train stopped during the journey back to London. Three still stand – in Geddington, Northampton and Waltham. Fragments of most of the others are all that remain in museums and historical societies. 

In Warrior's Possession, I tried to portray Edward as that loving husband as well as the brutal king he was known to be. He was known for his generosity to those loyal to him, and ruthless toward those who dared betray him. However, his biggest mistake was marrying his eldest son, also Edward, to Princess Isabella of France (who, btw, was only 8 years old at the time of William Wallace's death). Edward adored his son but was also frustrated by him, as the younger Edward did not have his father's skill as a soldier or statesman. The political alliance Edward hoped to make with his son's marriage ended up with the younger being a weak and ineffectual king who ultimately was murdered by his wife and her lover. But that's a story for another post.