Revived Redacted

'The pamphlet was of the most interest to her, providing an account of female power and notable practitioners through the years. Names like Kammani, Lucia and Bluka were unknown to her, and their brief biographies piqued her interest, Agathe hoping to learn more about them.'

The above sentences, taken from Fallen Idols, provide the only mention of Kammani in my earlier works. She isn't mentioned once in the Accursed trilogy and she only earns this brief fleeting note in the final of Georges Steil's series of novella prequels. Lucia and Bluka are both mentioned in despatches elsewhere as victims of Octavius and I needed another name to go with them, an unknown quantity. Even at this stage, when I had no plans for Kammani beyond this, I had an idea of who she was. An ancient Mesopotamian, Kammani has no connection to other long-lived characters such as Laura Spencer or Inge so originally I imagined that she had perished before their era. End of very brief story.

Fast forward several months and I finished Georges Steil's series of books (or is there a short story left to tell?) and I promised myself six months away from writing. I felt close to burnout and I found myself returning to similar characters and themes so wanted to have some time out to come back with something fresh. The characters of James Grey, Laura Spencer and Georges Steil had been extensively covered in my other works which left me with the quandary of picking a new protagonist. Carrying on in the 1950s was an option and several storyboards were constructed featuring a supporting character from Eidolon, but for some reason it just wasn't resonating with me. I ended up examining characters from all of my stories and weighing up who could carry a story of their own from the short list of those who had not received definitive endings already. Kammani fitted into this category - she had barely had a beginning so here was a wide open story. The only rules that were established were that she had to have existed before 1850 (the pamphlet is estimated to have been dated around then) and that she was a creature of power. This loose frame proved helpful and a lead character took shape. For Kammani to earn so few mentions I decided that she had to be reclusive, not like Laura Spencer who lived at remote farmhouses and ventured into town infrequently, but instead almost catatonic, Kammani spending over 1200 years in seclusion in a tomb in Suzhou, China. I picked China as the setting as it is far enough away from the epicenter of previous troubles - Kammani could have done virtually anything here and the news of her deeds may not have permeated across to the European immortals.

Like so many of my heroines, Kammani quickly began exhibiting difficult traits, and more likeable protagonists had to be formed to counterbalance this. Lihua, her handmaiden, begins the story as her staunch unwavering servant, almost automaton-like in her devotion. Three or four chapters in and that front begins to crack, largely due to Shaozu. Wong Shaozu is the bodyguard hired cheap by the ladies to take them on their pilgrimage from Suzhou to Paris. Shaozu is adamant that he is viewed as a bodyguard and not a mercenary, his strong moral code proving one of several reasons why he struggles to find work despite his fighting prowess. Other characters come and go such as Ban Fuling, Wuma, Madam Yin, Tso, Sphinx, Kasim, Agamemnon, and Ehrhart and Ursula Fey, but it is these three characters that form the heart of the story. The spectre of Octavius hangs over this book just as it does over Underbelly. Kammani had almost been one of his victims and her husband was not so lucky, and Kammani only dared leave her tomb upon learning of Octavius' recent death, though not all are convinced that he has passed over...

Revived was envisioned as a serial, hence the usage of cliffhangers. I am drawn to old films, the older the better, and find a nostalgic appeal in old serials like Flash Gordon, The Phantom Empire and Commander Cody. Nobody goes over a cliff in a car in my 1652 setting but there are plenty of ominous threats and momentous decisions to be made, with the outcomes revealed in the next chapter. Kammani attracts enemies wherever she goes, moths drawn to the flame with the same result in most but not all cases.

Selection of covers:

I still don't know which I prefer!

I always welcome feedback on all of my projects. Please feel free to get in touch.