#shatmir

[nyeusigrube-haven]

Yet he wasn’t doing anything threatening at the moment. Instead, he was regarding her with curiosity. “Sarah Vida, I presume?” he inquired, voice civil.

“Making sure introductions are out of the way before we fight?” she asked flippantly.

-Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Shattered Mirror

[nyeusigrube-haven]

Shattered Mirror

Shattered Mirror was inspired by Sarah MacLachlan's CD "Surfacing." Listening to its lyrics, to the haunting voice singing, I was struck with a story-- love between two individuals perfectly wrong for each other, love where one is willing and one is held back.

"And I had the sense to recognize... that I don't know how to let you go..." "We are born... innocent. Believe me, Adia, we are still innocent..."

The story evolved.

Born was Sarah Vida, youngest daughter of an ancient line of witches, youngest daughter in a line that has hunted vampire since they existed, and is bound by rules forbidding connection with any of their prey. She is a flawed member of her clan, imperfect in the eyes of her mother and her older sister, desperately trying to win their approval.

In this state, she can hardly help falling for sweet, romantic Christopher... who is incidentally a vampire.

And she falls in love.

Shattered Mirror has fewer amusing stories. It is based on an idea I hold highly: The belief in the absence of absolute good or evil. My characters, be they witch, vampire, shapeshifter or whatever else, are all essentially human. They can be "good" or "evil" as they choose.

Shattered Mirror, in a way, is a mirror for many things. It is a mirror for the Crusades, for the Holocaust, for the Japanese internment-- for every war where we were absolutely right and the other side was absolutely wrong.

Fun Facts

Michael Kitsune Arun was a major character in all of ShatMir's drafts-- except the last two. One of the last of the infamous witch line that was infected with vampiric blood, he was also Sarah's fiancé... and needless to say, hated Christopher. My editor complained, with good reason, that he muddled the plot. He was cut, and Adianna took over most of his scenes. The book is the better for his loss.

Scenes cut from Shattered Mirror include a scene where Kristin kills Kaleo (he was very relieved to learn he lives), a scene with Sarah and Kendra, the history of Risika's (In the Forests of the Night) family, and a kiss shared between Sarah and Nikolas.

Richard Roberts (or was it Robert Richards? I can't remember...) was originally a joke character. Usually, any character named Richard or Robert in one of my books was bound for death. I thought he could use a break.

The cover models look NOTHING like who they're supposed to. Thank you to the artists who have made an effort to give me something far, FAR better than that cover.

I'm more than a little in love with Nikolas. Trust me, he's a sweetheart. When he isn't your enemy.