Paranormal Fantasy Author
Inspiration & Easter Eggs
Curious readers often ask what inspired names, locations, and ideas amongst my books, so here’s an ever-growing list of those sources. I also have a few easter eggs scattered throughout my books; little extra somethings for readers to find.
Chary Tree House
Coveted Power series
The summer home of Lynda, sister of Queen Gwendolyn where some seriously nasty shenanigans go down, courtesy of Jarrod. Chary Tree is an anagram of Treachery—a suitable word for the events. If there’s such thing as a Chary Tree in real life, Google knows nothing about it, but a few clever readers have spotted the anagram.
Blackwater Ridge
Turning Moon series
Blackwater Ridge is the name of the town in the opening scene of Season One of Supernatural. (If you’ve been living under a rock, here’s what I’m talking about, and honestly, I don’t think we can be friends if you’re not a Supernatural fan.) I also blatantly stole Dean’s name for Bound, because I always thought Dean Winchester would make a great shifter, and Sam a vampire, but that’s a fan-fic story for another day.
Prince and David Bowie song titles
Turning Moon series
Tori is a huge 80’s fan, and with my own fond memories of the decade—for the music, not the fashion—I threw out a nod to the legends Prince and Bowie with Tori’s nicknames for Elsa and her ever-changing hair colour; Electric Blue, Raspberry Beret, Purple Rain, and Little Red Corvette. Tori and Alexander also dance to When Doves Cry, my all-time favourite Prince track.
Creedon
Appears in every book
This surname appears in every single one of my books, and always will. It’s a nod to a most beloved teacher of mine who recognised my love for creative writing. Her advice had a huge impact on sixteen-year-old me who scribbled away in private, never thinking she’d ever write a book. ‘Write what you love,’ she told me. ‘And read, read, read.’ I don’t know where Mrs Creedon is today—happily retired, I hope, but I’ve never forgotten her kindness, respect, and all-round awesomeness.
Terrasson
Coveted Power series
The home of Lynda, (already mentioned above) is the name of a street in Bordeaux, France where my big sista lives. Tara also gets a nod in the Coveted Power series with a witch character named after her. Yo, sista. You’re famous. My little bro, Carl, gets a mention, too. One of King Christoph’s advisor’s is named after him. Hey, bro. You’re like, totes famous, too.
Lynan
Coveted Power series
When I first began writing the Coveted Power series, I lived in a small town in Co Laois called Ballylynan (also spelled Ballylinan). Ballyadams Castle was just up the road from me, and when my daughter was a wee baba, I used to walk her along the castle road in her pram, concocting all sorts of stories around the derelict castle. A few years later, I had a dream which inspired the entire Coveted Power series, so took inspiration from the rolling hills around Ballyadams Castle for the Lynan setting. If you’d like to see pictures of the castle and read a little of its history, click on this link which will take you to The Irish Aesthete. It’s certainly not as grand an abode as Elaria’s Lynan Castle, but it’ is an impressive sight.
Newlands House
Rogue Assassin
Rogue Assassin began life as The Untitled, and was written way back in 2011 when I was working in HR. Around that time, my commute took me along a route called the N7. Before hitting the N7, traffic had to sit at a junction called Newlands Cross—and like most major junctions, it was the kind that would only increase the Monday Morning Blues. When trying to come up with a name for the institute where Leven was raised, I wanted to pick a name that while sounded full of hope, was really quite the opposite. One morning, while sitting behind a foggy windscreen, waiting impatiently for the traffic at Newlands Cross to move, the answer came to me in a blink of traffic light green. Any fellow Irish commuter who remembers the old Newlands Cross will agree it was a depressing place that had the power to suck the soul out of your body. A perfect name for Dr Richard Krieger’s medical institute!
Joe & Co's underground home
Rogue Assassin
Staying with the N7 motorway, inspiration for Rogue Assassin came about thanks to the widening works that took place on the route. (Guess who daydreams while driving?) The few houses scattered along the length of the existing motorway’s edges were vacated over a number of years and demolished, but on my commute, one bungalow always caught my attention. Despite the neighbouring homes disappearing (which was so sad to watch on a daily basis) this one bungalow remained. It didn’t appear to be occupied, but neither did work crews move in and seal up windows and doors like they had with the other homes. It had a large bay window, and for a long time, a lamp sat on the inside windowsill, always lit in the evening. My imagination went into overdrive wondering why this house stayed standing and intact when all the others had been demolished so fast, and my busy brain soon came up with the idea of an underground home, kitted out with hi-tech security systems, and occupied by supernatural beings—and from there, Joe, Leven and the gang of Rogue Assassin were created.
Calnaloch
Moonstone & Mugwort
Although this is a brand new name for readers, and there’s not much I can say without spoiling the fun, Calnaloch is the name of the fictional town of my brand new, work in progress series. Calnaloch is heavily based on my home town of Skerries in Co. Dublin. The harbour, Martello Tower, and even some of the street names form the backdrop. If you’re nosey and want a peek at what’s inspiring this new series, here’s a link to view Skerries.