Supernatural Creatures and Other Delightful Subjects
Oct
09, 2011 |Filed in:
Uncategorized
Thanks to an interview with author and friend, Mina Khan about her upcoming book, The Djinn’s Dilemma, I’m pondering supernatural creatures.
My favorite when I was a child were unicorns. I even created five tribes of unicorns for my first book. Fortunately, that’s almost all I remember of that literary travesty, though I did finish it. LOL
Mina’s interview made me ponder what supernatural creatures I’m interested in now. I used a ghost in my last work. For a future series, I think I’ll look up the difference between a Djinn and an Iffrit and possibly use one or both. I think I’ve looked them up before, but don’t recall what I discovered. (I blame old age.)
Are you interested in the supernatural or faerie creatures? If so, which ones?
I love all supernatural creatures but my favorite will always be dragons.
Do zombies count?
I'd love to write about centaurs. I feel they're so underrepresented in fiction. 😀
Oh my, mythical creatures are my passion, which is why my historicals always end up as historical fantasies.
My first book is about unicorns, too and my latest one featured a spin on genies.
I'm curious about your friend's book on djinns – very curious!!!
My latest idea is going to be a take off on the wilis, a deadly and beautiful ghost featured in the ballet Giselle.
There is something wrong with blogger. It tells me I have one comment in here!
I DO have a penchant for dragons – thank you, Anne McCaffrey. I've even got a short story with a dragon. Who knows, maybe someday I might mess with a Chinese dragon story. That would be fun.
DWei – Last time I looked the undead were beyond natural, so I'd say they count. *shudders* I have to admit, they're not a favorite. I've read one zombie novel and it depressed me because there was no hope for the poor little undead guys. LOL
I agree, TK. Centaurs are underrepped. In fact, the only high profiled centaur I can think of is in Harry Potter. They're in Narnia, but they're not central in any way. A centaur could even be a majestic main character with the right story.
Okay, now I have to rent Giselle. I haven't even heard of this ballet! Thanks for the tip, Margo! I think I'm hunting mythical creatures precisely because I want them in my historical fantasy – no matter how peripherally – but it has to be the right one, ya know?
Making me think…. Thanks!:D
I just adore supernatural creatures. Would love to write about them.
Hey, Rachna! You should, then. In fact, I'd LOVE to see you produce a story with an Indian supernatural creature. That would be soooo cool. Can we tell I love settings & characters outside of the normal western stuff? Thought so. LOL
you had me at DRAGONS
LOL You know what I'd love to see with Dragons? Something unique. I LOVE Pern, don't get me wrong, but I've been there many times now. I did enjoy Allison Goodman's Eon and I know the sequel's out. Can't wait for it, but the dragons there were peripheral. Oh, heck. I don't know what I want, but I'll know it when I see it! LOL
You know me . . . I love them! Dragons fascinate me. And faeries done right . . . doesn't get much better. 🙂
I don't know why I skipped the unicorn phase. It's never been my thing, though.
That's true, I love the fae. Especially when they're done as beautiful, but terrifying creatures. Have you ever read Feist' "Faerie Tale?" or Tim Power's "Stress of Her Regard?" WOW. Technically, "Stress" is kinda sorta vampirical, but it has a feel of faerie to it, if you follow me. Both books are utterly amazing. I think I drove myself in and parked among the unicorns because I first loved horses. And horses of every breed, though I have favorites. (I suspect this was why I created my Unicorn tribes.) It was a natural progression for me, but it wouldn't have happened as an adult or even a teen.
Hello! Thank you for visiting my blog and I am so excited to find yours! This is fabulous. I love supernatural creatures. Probably all of them. All that kind of stuff fascinates me and I know I will end up using them in my fantasy books, but right now I am working on a contemporary MG so it's no fun with the supernatural stuff. 🙂
I love to read supernatural books, but I haven't written any stories that involve them.
I do have a shiny new idea that involves fairies though.
Janet Johnson spotlighted you on her blog today. 🙂
Thanks for reciprocating, Abby! I hate to admit it (it feels like a failing somehow) but I don't think I CAN write a contemporary anything without it turning into fantasy. Urban fantasy, magical realism, whatever you want to call it, but there's still something off kilter and mythical about it. I have no self-control where fantasy and chocolate are concerned. 😀
Sharon, I'm curious why you haven't dipped your toes into writing a fantasy if you enjoy them. Give it a go! Maybe you'll like it. Good luck with the fairies and be sure to leave them a bowl of milk at night if you're discussing the Wee folk. 😀
Thanks for the tip about Janet. She's such a lovely friend. I discovered she'd mentioned my blog early this morning.
I have a supernatural demon hitch hike a ride with someone traversing a wormhole in my next book. Of course, he wrecks unimaginable destruction here on earth.
I saw your link over at Janet Sumner Johnson's blog and am stopping by to say hello!
I was fascinated with witches when I was a child.
Stephen, that sounds awesome. Like Hitchhiker's Guide with Demons. LOL
Medeia, I wonder if that's not a childhood development thing. My daughter's been obsessed with witches ever since she saw Hansel and Gretel on video.
Hi Victoria!
I hopped on over from Janet's blog because she mentioned you write in Asian settings. I write YA contemporary (so I haven't researched too many supernatural creatures), but I often write in Asian settings, too (because I'm sort of Asian at heart, having lived there half my life). Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself! I'll follow you! We might have a lot in common. 🙂
Amy
Wow! Where did you live, Amy? If you're interested, I have a Yahoo group (Authors of Asian Novels) that's designed to be a support group and centralized database for those of us interested in Asia. You're welcome to join. There's a link on my site, or you can just copy and paste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/authorsofasiannovels/join. Thanks for following me! I'll be sure to reciprocate.
Oh wow, Victoria, thanks for including the Djinn's Dilemma in your post & so glad you got inspired by my interview. Ifreets btw are a kind of djinn 😀
So glad to be in Authors of Asian Novels with you! 🙂
You're very welcome, Rashda. Now that you say that, I seem to recall that was the result of my research. However, I couldn't find much detail. I remember trying to find books of mythology for the regions Djinns and Ifreets come from and the library had nothing. Grrr. I'd love to see visual representations of what they look like, or verbal descriptions. Something to jump start my imagination which seems strangely stunted these days. 🙁