As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I had faced writing book 2 of the Red Slaves series with some trepidation–after all, I’d only had peripheral contact with China, and had expected to have my characters spend some time there. As the story developed further, it became apparent that rather than a real location, Anne and her crew would need to deepen their connection with the fantastical.
As part of that development, I started learning more about Chinese mythology, and in particular Himmapan. I found a fascinating resource about the oriental myths surrounding that place online at himmapan.com. Evidently, there are variations on the theme, depending on whether you’re in India, Thailand, or China, but in general it reads to me as a vague, eastern cross between the western concepts of heaven and Avalon.
That suited my needs perfectly, and even allowed me to make reference to some of what I learned from reading Trish Nicholson’s Journey in Bhutan: Himalayan Trek in the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon, which I reviewed last year. After all, how could I not include reference to a place that calls itself the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon??
To see what their experiences there end up being, of course, you’ll have to read Blood to Fire; I hope you have as much fun reading them as I did researching and writing them.