I’d like to talk about some of the research for THE CIRCUIT FAE series. I’m hoping some insight into the process of researching and writing a series will be of interest to my readers, many of whom are also writers.
Today, I’ll talk about CIRCUIT FAE’s setting and magic system.
First, the research for THE CIRCUIT FAE setting took the better part of a year. I was signed to write the series at the end of 2016, but my publisher and I decided I’d take a “stealth year” to research and write before releasing anything. It was important to me that I pay homage to the traditional Fae while also putting a new spin on the themes and tropes.
Plus, I wanted the setting to connect well with queer themes, identities, and struggles because, while THE CIRCUIT FAE aren’t coming-out books, they still deal with all the angst and feels of growing up queer.
Truthfully, I took much of that from my own childhood.
As for the Fae… As a third-generation daughter of Irish immigrants, I threw myself into the Irish tradition of the Fae. I was lucky to come to the writing with a good basis in knowledge from my own Glamma. In addition, I did online and library research, and I read extensively in the fairy genre. Books like Thomas the Rhymer and Bull’s War for the Oaks, and poems like Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” were extremely helpful. I also looked back at a lot of the tabletop RPGs I’d played in my younger years—Shadowrun, D&D, etc.
All that became the basis for Syl and Rouen’s world of Fair Faerie and Dark Faerie.
Regarding the magic system… In THE CIRCUIT FAE series, the magic is elemental (for instance, Syl can throw sunfire and Rouen wields lightning), but there’s also a technological aspect to it.
The introduction of the Moribund as a type of “organic” black magic that manifested itself in circuitry took me to a lot of artwork, especially H.R. Giger’s. I really loved the dark organic look and feel of a lot of his art for Aliens.
We see the technological magic first in MORIBUND, when the villain uses the Moribund circuits (essentially magical Faerie nanites) to control Rouen and make her go after Syl. (Then, of course, the question becomes: can Syl save Rouen before she becomes nothing more than a killing machine?)
While much of the magic is based on anime-type physics, it was important to me—and to Syl’s character—that I get the major sciencey parts right. See, Syl’s something of a nerd (like me in school), so she’d know the science backwards and forwards.
And I suspect my readers do too.
So the Moribund became more “soft science,” where the Fae could infect a machine or a person with black-magic Moribund circuits and control or even kill them, the Faerie magics were very true-to-life, based on science and the physics of the universe.
I tell you—I’ve spent many a night burning the midnight oil researching weird things like: What happens when lightning hits a solar flare?
Nemesis
Genevieve Iseult Eldredge
(Circuit Fae, #4)
Published by: Monster House Books
Publication date: March 26th 2019
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
“I found the writing to be on par with Queen [Sarah J. ] Maas and Elise Kova; I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy read that steps out of the box and makes a name for itself.” – FairestSkyeBooks
What would you do if your beloved girlfriend suddenly became your worst enemy?
That dilemma’s all too real for Syl Skye, the last princess of the fair Fae.Even though Syl is all things sun and Summer, she’s drawn to her polar opposite, Rouen Rivoche, the dark Fae princess-assassin of the Winter Court.
They should be mortal enemies, but they’re best friends. Girlfriends. In love.
That is, until Roue falls under a dark spell that makes her forget all about Syl, their lives and their love. Now Roue rules Dark Faerie as a cruel and cold Queen. A Circuit Fae who can harness the killing magic in technology, she wants nothing more than to destroy Syl and her fair Fae people.
But when an old enemy brings both Faerie realms to the brink of destruction, only their queens, Syl and Rouen, can save the day—and only if they can put their differences aside for two seconds and team up.
With the clock’s ticking on Syl and Roue’s relationship—not to mention all of Faerie—will Rouen remember the love she and Syl once shared, or is she destined to be Syl’s nemesis forever?
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo
Author Bio:
Raised by witches and dragons in the northern wilds, GIE writes angsty urban fantasy YA romance–where girls who are mortal enemies kick butt, take names, and fall in love against all odds.She enjoys long hikes in the woods (where better to find the fair folk?), believing in fairies (in fact, she’s clapping right now), dancing with dark elves (always wear your best shoes), being a self-rescuing princess (hello, black belt!), and writing diverse books about teenage girls finding love, romance, and their own inner power.
She might be planning high tea at the Fae Court right now.
GIE is multi-published, and in her role as an editor has helped hundreds of authors make their dream of being published a reality.
The Circuit Fae series
Derailed – A Moribund Prequel Novella
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
