Owl's Flower has been around for a couple years, but we're still pretty new in the world. Illustrations for book 3 are now underway (and they're looking great!) and we're always happy to get more readers, but we're aware that we're not all that well known.
So... why not fix that?
Today we're taking a minute to drop a few fun facts about Ginger, Kara, and the world of the books—both the fiction and the making of.
Ginger and Kara didn't meet because of Doctor Who.
Granted, the show is a major part of both our lives, and we started talking more after Kara saw Ginger's Doctor Who art on Tumblr, but that wasn't our first encounter. We actually first crossed paths when Kara found some Sleepy Hollow fan art by Ginger! (Yep, they were both fans of that, too!)Lots of planning happened in Kara's car.
Everything from Herne's and Iris's names to lots of what would become standard elements of the book were finalized during one long drive. Thanks to a storm that caused Ginger's flight home from D.C. to get cancelled one summer, the two spent a lot of time together on the Interstate after Kara went to rescue her so she wouldn't have to stay in a hotel. The story was still in the earliest planning phases then.
Stormy is named after a real person.
Stormy Nakabito is named after a girl Kara grew up with, whose actual birth certificate name was Stormy. It seemed like a good fit for the character. Incidentally, her last name also has a special meaning... but you'll have to wait to find out what that is!
Herne was originally just a were-owl.
In early iterations of the story, Herne wasn't able to take on multiple forms. He was literally just an owl-shifter. He still favors the screech owl look, but has a lot more flexibility. And yes, we're looking to showcase some more of it in later books.
Technically, he's a genius loci.
The concept of genius loci, or "spirit of a place," dates back at least to ancient Rome, though there are shrines to similar spirits in Asia. Genii loci had altars built to them and were given sacrifices. They could be big-time gods, but that was more a reflection of the size of the region they oversaw. With Herne in charge of a suburb, he's not particularly big news.
Iris is named after one of Ginger's pets.
We knew we wanted a flower name, for obvious reasons. "Iris" has mythological ties, of course, but was also the name of Ginger's betta fish in college. We like to think our Iris has slightly better survival skills and fights a little less.
Honey cookies are deity-approved!
The owl-shaped honey cookies Iris makes for the shop came about because we wanted something that would count as a traditional offering to a spirit. Honey (and sweet things in general) are especially favored in offerings. Angela Pritchett came up with a honey-based sugar cookie for us, and voila!
You've already seen some major hints to the future.
We know what we want to do with these characters pretty far in advance, and we're already laying the groundwork. What may seem like scene setting or offhand comments may end up being important as we expand on this first story arc. Or they may just be scene setting. You'll just have to wait and see!
Want to know more? Our first book is always free to download for most e-readers, and our second book is pay-what you want (as will be the case for digital editions). Go get yours now!
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