Today I had thought about showing you the development of the cover for This Cursed Flame, but instead, you can learn all about that on Saturday with Savannah Jezowski, the wonderful cover artist who actually did the work, over at the Facebook party (PS don’t forget to RSVP)!
So that left me to wonder: what behind-the-scenes looks would you guys want to see??? What about the research process for this book?
I started this particular story way back in 2011, so my research methods have changed a lot. Back then, I didn’t use Pinterest or have a reserved notebook, like I do now. Everything was amassed in multiple fragmented Word documents and files of inspiration pictures on my hard drive. And I knew so little about photo attribution that I don’t even want to share some of those photos now!
So how did I actually research this book?
Google.
Yup, that’s it. I researched the history and mythology of djinn from Middle Eastern culture, I found pages about Aladdin and the magic lamp, I saw pages of people selling djinn trapped in rings (yes, people do sell these items), I saw warnings about how djinn could affect your life… there was so much out there from basic mythology to djinn in current culture. It was so much I never knew and had never realized, beliefs of people I had never heard before. It was a mountain to sift through and find what could be used for inspiration of my djinn culture.
Ultimately, I decided to go with the four base types of djinn I found during my research, the four that kept reappearing over and over throughout the more scholarly sources: ghul, marid, ifrit, and sila. These types of djinn are almost all used to varying degrees throughout other media and fiction also, but it was so interesting to see how everyone had their own take and their own creation based on the same central mythology. (And if you want to know more about these classes of djinn in my world, make sure to go to the Facebook party!)
And for me, I wanted to create a world separate yet parallel to ours where these djinn still lived and had lives just like we do. This also aligned with some of my research, stating basically that djinn do have their own lives, just like we do. They’re born and live and die. And so I thought: why can’t my djinn be just like us, only magic? And so the basic magic structure of the Djinn Realm was formed!
But I still had my genie. That very first idea. And I didn’t know how to fit her into this structure. The answer wasn’t easy, but somehow it worked its way into a sort of half-being. In my books, genies are not quite the same as djinn, having less control over the elemental magic but a wider range to choose from. Unlike the djinn, who could control a single element, my genies could access all elements, only to a much smaller, less powerful, degree.
And so, from all the research I did on the mythology, the countless Google searches and hours, I developed my own magic system influenced by all my research. It started with the idea, blossomed through research, and became an actual story.
And that’s that! Do you have your own stories of book research, new or old, to share with us? Tell me in the comments, or talk to me about djinn! Let me hear from you! 😀
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This Cursed Flame is available to pre-order on Amazon and any other major retailer! Also, if you prefer a paperback, those will be available through Amazon. And once again, be sure to head over to Facebook on Saturday for the Launch Party! (and your chance to win your own hand-painted genie bottle, just like in Janan’s collection!)
Selina J. Eckert 