You've heard me mention this term for a while now so here is the official explanation of the world in which my books exist: The EverVerse.
The Known World consists of fours continents, two countries and an archipilago named Mortania, Coz, Yitesh, Agmantia, Lithania, Cotai and the Dyam Islands respectively:
MORTANIA - Inspired by the my native U.K and classic Fantasy settings, Mortania is ruled by the Antonides family who possess the power of the Everlasting. The Antonides Legacy and Genesis of Dragons take place here, albeit 1000 years apart.
COZ - Inspired by the Orient, Coznians are ruled by emperors who much like Targaryens in Game of Thrones, have no issue with marrying close relatives...
YITESH - Inspired by Africa and is a nation of witch doctors and magics based around voodoo and necromancy. Characters from Genesis of Dragons are primarily from here.
AGMANTIA - Inspired by the Caribbean and full of wolf shifters, shaman and beautiful landscapes. Wolves of Duty and Wolves of Honour are set here.
LITHANIA - A country ravaged by a magical war, it is now desolate with its inhabitants living in exile in other lands. A nation of Empaths, it is inspired by Ireland for its citizens but Greece for its landscaping and history.
COTAI - Inspired by the Middle East. A continent split in two halves and governed by a series of kings and princes all slowly coming under the command of the Dark Emperor. Shadow Seer is set here.
DYAM ISLANDSÂ - A nation of merpeople who live isolated on this stunning archipelago. Ruled by a sea king.
My original trilogy, The Antonides Legacy tells the story of Trista Antonides, the last in a long line of royals who are blessed by the Everlasting with almost endless powers. In this series, Trista learns the true nature of her powers and the reach of the Everlasting itself.
Trista is Samaian, a member of a group of people known collectively as the Samai who have been gifted the powers of the Everlasting over other races. When Man steal that power from its Keeper, Trista's father, it sets in motion events to help rebalance the magical shift in the world.
When my trilogy was complete, the pandemic hit and I went into a bit of depression. However, out of that down time, the prequel to this trilogy was born: Genesis of Dragons.
Genesis is set 1000 years before the events of Legacy and explains how the Antonides family came into power and why. It is filled with, you guessed it: dragons! Both majestic and malevolent, our main character has a love/hate relationship with the dragons in his life and while on a quest to destroy them, falls in love with an Agmantian princess who is not all she seems. Genesis has more taboo content than any of my books with blood sacrifices and ceremonial orgies and necromancy. It's also my most queer book as it features a gay character struggling with his feelings for his heterosexual mentor.
I had a lot of fun creating the Elys character who I can't say is either good or bad because I just don't know. It was interesting writing a female character who was all the aggression of most male characters while maintaining her femininity and her reception by readers was interesting. How she links my books is both beautiful and tragic which I really enjoyed.
This book also features an interracial relationship which while holds no bearing on the plot of the story was nice to include.
Lastly, from Genesis, Wolves of Duty was born. Featuring a very unlikeable main character, Duty is the book I cherish the most. Not because I like it better than any other but simply because it better reflects the style of writing and stories that I wish to eventually be known for.
It's my first fully diverse book featuring an all black cast who are all affluent and educated, with no struggle narrative in sight. It was important to me that Wolves be a reflection of the nuances of Blackness and all the majesty that that entails. It highlights Black people in a place of strength and power and magic that is usually reserved for others and it is special to me because of how much it doesn't make a point of highlighting race. It just...is.
The decision to feature wolf shifters in this novel was no special lightning moment other than I watched Twilight: New Moon one day and thought it would be cool to write about them #TeamJacob.
I loved the idea of low fantasy for my next outing considering I'd just been working with dragons, so, to strip it back a little, I was ready for low maintenance but high stakes. A cast of beautiful brown folk with real intrigue and some spicy smut, I was all in!
As I write this, I am currently working on another novel that although set in the EverVerse is playing a slightly different role in how it is distributed. Check out another post that will explain all about, Shadow Seer.
I hope everything above was clear but let me know thoughts in the comments or just get at me on socials.
C x