#1 Deleted Scene
A couple of years ago, when I was attending a local junior college, I had a friend named Jen who loved to read fantasy novels. Despite her best efforts, she never got me to read them, but she loved to tell me all about the adventures of sword and sorcery and, to a lesser extent, tales of modern fantasy.
I told her stories about my family, too. On more than one occasion she would burst out laughing and tell me I ought to write my ideas down.
I guess she never actually believed that I come from a long line of sorcerers. Considering how normal I turned out, I suppose I can't blame her.
One day, as we were chatting after class, my mom sent me a text message asking if I could pick up a couple dozen eggs on the way home from school. I mentioned the message to Jen, who got an oddly pensive look on her face. Then she said, “If your mom's a sorcerer, why's she texting you?”
I drew a blank. “Because she's out of eggs?”
“No,” Jen said, “I mean, doesn't magic cause modern things to break or something?”
“Why would it do that?” I suspected that whatever she was on about had something to do with the books she liked to read. Though I'd never been interested in those types of stories myself, I was truly intrigued by the idea that magic and modern technology might not work well together.
“Well, because magical energy and things like electricity might interfere with one another.”
“You are aware that our bodies send out lots of electrical impulses, right? I mean, it's just a force of nature, like heat or sound.” I was picturing someone having a heart attack every time they managed to cast a spell.
Jen frowned. “I hadn't thought of that. I guess it's not electricity, then, just modern gadgets.”
“So what, anything invented after 1353?”
“All right, all right, I get it,” Jen said. “But why would a sorcerer use a text message when she'd have magical alternatives?”
“You mean, like a journey book, where she writes a message on her end and it shows up on mine?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Well,” I said, drawing out the answer for effect, “I guess it's because a journey book requires human blood and the cell phone company just wants a two year contract and a monthly service fee.”
#2 How I Met Cassie
Cassie came to me, I didn’t go to her.
I finished The Immortality Virus late in the fall of 2008, and though I took pride in my second novel, I felt worn out (creatively). When the new year came, bringing with it the opportunity for all kinds of writerly resolutions, I decided I needed to take the year off. I would read, blog, journal, but otherwise give my muse time to heal.
I didn’t make it a year. It turns out, I really am a writer. Writers write. We can’t not write. Taking the pressure off my muse did turn out to have been a great idea, but putting a time frame on it was a bit naive.
Cassie came to me in mid-February, as I played on the floor with me (then) 9-month-old daughter. I won’t go so far as to say she popped into my head fully formed, but it was close. I sat bolt upright, my eyes probably doing that cartoon bulge, as a light bulb appeared over my head.
What if… What if the hero of a fantasy story was the only one in it without magic?
I wrote the first line of the story as soon as my daughter went down for a nap. It read: “My parents think the longer the name, the more powerful the sorcerer, so they named me Nicolas Merlin Apollonius Roger Scot. You can call me Nick.”
Okay, so it needed work. It didn’t take me long to realize I wanted a female heroine. Nicolas (who does not go by Nick and might set you on fire if you tried) became the oldest of Cassie’s siblings.
After that, Cassie told me new things about herself every day. I had a rough draft by the end of June.
#3 Evan Blackwood Character Interview
My name is Christine Amsden, author of the new urban fantasy novel Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective. This first volume in a (completed) four-part series introduces us to Cassie, the ungifted daughter of powerful sorcerers. Amidst mystery, romance, and family feuds, this "new adult" series shows us that there are many types of strength, and many ways to be a hero.
With me today is a more traditional hero from the novel. It is my great pleasure to welcome Evan Blackwood, a young sorcerer with a great deal of talent and potential. Plus, he's really good looking, even if I did create him myself! :)
The 21-year-old Evan hails from Eagle Rock, MO, where the existence of magic is accepted, if not exactly understood. Evan, like most sorcerers in the area, is tight-lipped when it comes to what he can do and how powerful he is, but he graciously agreed to talk to me as long as I don't try to pry into his family secrets.
Christine: Evan, thank you for being here. I understand you've known our heroine, Cassie, for a long time. How did you two meet?
Evan: Cassie and I met in the first grade. I had never been to school or spent much time around other kids, and I made a fool of myself. She helped me out. Took me on as a project, you could say. That's sort of her style.
Christine: Did you know at the time that your fathers were enemies?
Evan: No. I was six, and I don't think I was that aware of what my father did unless it had something to do with me. He told me later in the year, but by then it was way too late.
Christine: So you and Cassie have remained friends this whole time?
Evan: Sort of. Things got a little awkward after I accidentally sent Paul Ellerson to the hospital. She never said so, but I think she was a little afraid of me after that. She was hardly alone. She got over it, but between that and some rumors that started flying around about me, we weren't quite as close in high school as we were before.
Christine: Are you talking about the rumors that you cast love spells?
Evan: (Glares) Yes. Those rumors.
Christine: Sorry. Sore spot. I assume they weren't true?
Evan: Do you have any other question?
Christine: Where have you been for the past three years? After high school, you kind of fell off the map.
Evan: Magical apprenticeship. Henry Wolf took me on.
Christine: Henry Wolf? Isn't he a little crazy? Lives in a cabin in the woods with no running water or electricity?
Evan: He's brilliant. He just thinks modern gizmos interfere with magic.
Christine: Is that true?
Evan: The first thing I'm going to do when I finish my apprenticeship is buy a cell phone. Then watch movies, starting with the Star Wars trilogy. The original trilogy, not the prequels.
Christine: Why do you like Star Wars so much?
Evan: It's a great fantasy. Good on one side. Evil on the other. I wish the real world was so easy to figure out.
Christine: Is there anything in particular you're trying to figure out?
Evan: Lost of things. But mostly, I worry because of the way my father and Cassie's father hate one another. They both think they're right and the other is wrong. I suppose I should side with my family and I do, but I wish I didn't have to pick a side at all.
Christine: Because you're in love with Cassie?
Evan: I didn't say that.
Christine: No, of course not. So, what are your future plans? After you watch Star Wars, that is?
Evan: I want to do some good in the world. I've got a few ideas, but nothing concrete yet. There are a few things I need to work out first.
Christine: And those few things are...?
Evan: Private.
Christine: I see. And I will leave you to that privacy, but first I have one last question. Is there any advice you would be willing to give us about how to deal with sorcerers?
Evan: Don't.
Christine: What if we can't avoid it?
Evan: (Pauses) Ivy. Plant some ivy to protect your home. And don't leave any blood lying around.
Christine: Those sound like good tips. Thank you for sharing your secrets.
Evan: They aren't secrets. You can learn some basic magical self-protection on the Internet. Although there's a lot of crazy stuff, too.
Christine: Any way to know the difference?
Evan: For the average person? Not really. But the average person probably isn't going to be in danger. It's far worse if you have a tiny bit of talent you don't know what to do with.
Christine: That sounds like something we should talk about when the next book comes out. I hope we'll see you back then.
Evan: Wait. What happens in the next book?
Christine: Don't worry about it. You've got to survive the first book first.
Evan: My grandmother is a seer, you know.
Christine: I know. I created her, too. But there are so many possible futures, I don't know how much she'll be able to help you. I did rewrite the series several times, after all.
Evan: (Glares again) I got to go. Master Wolf is calling me.
Christine: Well then, you'd better go. Thank you so much for being here with me today.
Evan: You aren't going to hurt Cassie, are you?
Christine: Henry Wolf is calling you.
Evan: All right, but for the record, we're not done.
Christine: Absolutely not.
