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My absolute favourite part of being a fiction writer is that I get to put my over-active imagination to use on a regular basis. Whether it’s a short story, or a novel length piece, I love finding tidbits of information about something, and then adding my own special twist.

One of my favourite finds is Apophis, a demon that makes an appearance (and an impact) in Eve’s Return.

Before I go demon hunting, I always decide on a few characteristics that they must have. In this case, (and for various reasons) I knew I wanted a creature that was snake-like, or that had reptilian features. I did a Google search and found a few that I couldn’t use (again, for various reasons) but it didn’t take me long to find Apep, whose roots can be found in ancient Egypt.

Apep is actually a deity, who personifies chaos, which explains his official moniker: Lord of Chaos. His arch nemesis is Ra, God of the Sun who is arguably one of the most popular deities in Egyptian lore.

Poor Apep spends a lot of his time trying to take down Ra (the sun) every morning as he rises, and every evening as he heads back home. Apep rarely launches an attack during the day (solar eclipses anyone?), so if you want to find him, you’ll have to start your search below the horizon. In other words, head on down to the underworld.

There is a significant amount of information on the Lord of Chaos. So, after I found him, my next steps were to take what I needed and alter other bits and pieces to make him a better fit for the story.

Fact

The first time we see Apep, the sun has just slipped past the horizon, and he is pretty determined to create as much chaos as possible.

In addition, Apep, like most otherworldly creatures goes by many names. The most common substitute is, Apophis. I decided to go with the latter because I really liked the way the name sounded when I read or said it aloud. I also think it carries more weight, which is appropriate for what I wanted to convey.

Side note: It was also really, really temping to call him LORD OF CHAOS because: awesome.

Fiction

The most significant changes I made were to Apep’s appearance.

Typical depictions of this demon are of a snake with many coils, to give the reader an impression of his great length.

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While I wanted a physically imposing demon to test my heroine’s strength, I didn’t want her fighting a creature that looked like a really long snake. I found that couldn’t write the action scenes because they felt boring and cliched, so I came up with a vision for what my version of Apep looked like:

Jordan looked up, and gripped Owen’s hand. A long, sinewy body covered the length of the dented hood. Catlike eyes embedded in a narrow face swung toward them. Its neck stretched until a forked tongue almost brushed against her face. The creature stared down at them as it crouched low on four squat, muscular legs. Jordan tugged at Owen’s arm, a silent scream filling her open mouth.

There you have it! Fact & Fiction on Apophis. Join me again in two weeks,  for the second instalment of the series where I’ll tell you all about another demon who you’ll get to meet in No Escape…

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The other day I was hanging out with some writer friends, and we thought it would be fun to pick out the perfect cast for our books. I had so much fun thinking of the right people for the different roles that I thought I would share them with you.

Jordan Andrews – Tatiana Maslany

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If you haven’t heard of Orphan Black, you need to investigate how you can watch it, stat. Tatiana Maslany plays a young woman who discovers she is a clone. She not only plays the main character, Sarah, but she also plays all of the clones. When you watch the show, you will lose your mind at the talent this woman possesses. I know, she doesn’t have the auburn hair but I think she could play Jordan flawlessly.

Owen Neilson – Jesse Spencer

You might remember this gentleman from a little show called, House M.D. and more recently, Chicago Fire. Not only does he look like Owen, but he’s a versatile actor who would absolutely nail both the serious and goofy side of the character. Also, bonus points: he happens to be a musician.

Madison Neilson – Bella Thorne

While I wanted to pick someone who was beautiful and could pull off the lovely bubbly essence that makes her who she is, I also wanted to pick someone incredibly smart. I think Bella Thorne is a great match for both sides of Maddie’s personality.

Parker Andrews – Dane DeHaan

I mainly chose Dane DeHaan based off of pictures I found. I like the way he’s able to pull off so many different looks, especially like the one above. He’s got a boy next door quality  mixed with an undertone of darkness, which is absolutely perfect for Parker.

Sheriff Tully – Bob Odenkirk

Most of you might know Bob Odenkirk from his work on Breaking Bad, and his upcoming series, Better Call Saul. I think he’s got a father figure kind of look about him that would work really well for Eve’s Return, and subsequently, No Escape.

Dinah – Tilda Swinton

I’m a huge fan of Tilda Swinton and I think she is a perfect fit for Dinah. Without getting too deep into the reasons why, I’m hoping those of you who have read the book know what I mean.

 Levi – Colin O’Donoghue

Out of all my characters, Levi was the most difficult to cast. Why? Well, everyone who reads the book will have their own interpretation of what he looks like. In fact, I actually don’t think Colin O’Donoghue looks exactly like my vision of the character. However, having seen him play Hook on Once Upon a Time, leads me to believe that he would bring all the right bits that make Levi who he is to the screen.

What do you think? Do you agree with my picks or would you have chosen a completely different cast?

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Many of you wonderful readers have been asking where I came up with the idea for The Book of Eve Series.

For seven years I worked on an epic fantasy trilogy that was extremely complex and difficult to manage. It amuses me when I looking back on that period of time. I thought writing a fantasy set in a world I created was going to be easy.

Writing lesson number 1: world building is one hell of a difficult skill to master.

I decided to set that series aside and try my hand at writing something on a smaller scale.

I’m not really sure what I meant by that since I’m now working on the second novel in a 5 book series.

When I started brainstorming ideas, vampires and werewolves were all anyone seemed to write about.  While I do love a good vampire/werewolf saga, I wanted to write something different.

I came up with an idea around angels and demons. What if an Angel lost his wings, and was sent to earth, I thought. He learns the value of doing good deeds, and falls in love with a woman he can never have and…

Sound familiar? That’s because it’s been done several thousand times before. I scrapped the idea and continued to brainstorm.

Writing lesson number 2: don’t be afraid to move on to the next idea if the initial one isn’t working out for you.
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While I was doing some research on angels, I came across an article that referred to Lilith.  My initial reaction was to move onto the next bit of information, but I decided to read on.

In some circles, people believe that Lilith is the Queen of Demons. She is sometimes considered to be the mother of vampires, or often appears as a succubus.

She is also Adam’s first wife. You know the one. She wanted to spice up her sex life by trying out a new position. Adam…well, he liked things the way they were. Lilith ended up running away and making a strange deal with three angels, that allowed her to eat babies who were less than a certain number of days old.

It’s a little messed up, yes, I know, but it got me thinking. Over thousands of centuries, both Lilith and Eve have been treated rather poorly. In fact, some sources treat them as one interchangeable person.

In most cases though: Lilith is a wanton woman, who refuses to obey her husband and curses herself. Eve is responsible for the First Sin.

My first ‘what if’ question hit me. What if a woman was given the chance to right a wrong committed thousands of centuries ago?  Followed by… well, if I tell you any more, I’ll ruin the story. I’ll have to end here for now.

Writing lesson number 3: find your Thought Kernel, your ‘what if’ question, your Novel Idea. Revel in how awesome it feels. Release it onto the page.

There’s something I love about a male protagonist who rides a fine line between being classified as one of the good guys, or one of the bad. It also doesn’t hurt that he can typically pull off a smirk that ends up on the right side of charming.

For those of you who have read, Eve’s Return, Levi is my vision of this type of character. Many of you have crossed your fingers, hoping he makes an appearance in book two.

 SPOILER ALERT: He does. In a big way.

In celebration, I would like to share a list of my favourite male movie/TV characters that know how to smirk like a pro.

Indiana Jones – Raiders of the Lost Ark (Harrison Ford)

The first time I saw Indiana Jones I fell head over heels in love with Harrison Ford. That being said, the movie had already been out for over ten years, so I was shocked to discover how old he was, “in real life”.

I loved him anyway.

His smart mouth, knack for finding adventure, and trademark half smirk puts Indiana on the top of my list.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds – Firefly (Nathan Fillion)

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I arrived rather late to the Firefly party. Now, I can’t watch certain episodes because it makes me sad that such a great show ended much too soon.

Our Captain Reynolds is a man who ended up on the losing side of a war, and now, in present times, makes a living primarily through transporting goods (legally and illegally).

He’s a cowboy in space who isn’t afraid to shoot a man to make a point, loves his people, and smirks like a champ.

Peter Quill – Guardians of the Galaxy (Chris Pratt)

This is a recent addition to my list, seeing as the movie just came out. While the plot could have used a bit of tweaking, I thoroughly enjoyed each character and the actors who played/voiced them.

For the time being, I’m going to focus on Peter Quill. He’s is a criminal who calls himself, Star Lord. He’s got a heart of gold, a bit of an ego, and a smirk that could melt the hardest of hearts.