Author Launch Party Chat | The Inspiration Behind Star Wielder (Realms of Zoria, Book One by Annah Wyatt)
Writing Star Wielder was such a fun and challenging journey that spanned from 2019 ish to present day. I didn’t start writing the book without years of dreaming and actually writing a totally different book back in 2022. Let’s dive into all the fun details about how this beautiful romantic fantasy book came to life. :)
Ms. Ruby’s Angel Story | Fantasy Fiction Inspiration #1 for Star Wielder
Ms. Ruby Strange lived in McLennan County where I was born and went to college. She was my neighbor and adoptive great-grandmother. She lived to be 108 years old. When she turned 102, the DMV wouldn’t renew her driver's license much to her irritation. She lived through the Titanic sinking and both world wars. I would go spend time with her and help her with things around the house. One day, I remember her telling a really sweet story about how she looked up at the sky one night, and all the stars were hosts of angels (I wish I could remember more details, but that’s what stuck out to me). That really captured my imagination, and I felt a tug to write about it someday.
Falling Stars | Fantasy Fiction Inspiration #2 for Star Wielder
I wrote a story a long time ago about a village nestled in mountain terrain, hidden from the world. There were powerful falling stars/meteors that caused the inciting incident and a lot of pretty pools dotting the landscape. It’s funny because I’d never even heard of Howls’ Moving Castle, but it was similar to that scene. That story didn’t go anywhere, but I’ve drawn from its inspiration for years.
Celestial Angel Beings | Fantasy Fiction Inspiration #3 for Star Wielder
Okay so this is pretty funny, but I came up with an idea that an angel becomes trapped on earth. It was nostalgic and fun, but I didn’t want him to be an ANGEL angel, ya know? A celestial being with wings with a higher calling perhaps. Eventually, I realized the kind of character I dreamt of was more of a guardian archangel, a higher personal guard with a longer lifespan and magical abilities tied to a specific mortal on the surface.
I mulled these ideas over with snippets of writing and starting new little stories.
Orange Star (2019 ish) | Fantasy Fiction Inspiration #4 for Star Wielder
One day I had a random question: “Are there orange stars?” I guessed yes because stars can have different heat indexes and colors, but orange specifically was a special one for me and I wished to see one more than anything.
That day, Mason and I were looking at wedding venues out in various small towns of Texas, and on the drive home in the pure dark sky, right in front of us, an enormous orange shooting star comet thing streaked in front of us. Y’all, this wasn’t just a little bright line–it was a tangerine fiery trail that we just sat wide-eyed watching in slow motion in awe. I was so shocked and happy, and Mason was dumbfounded as well.
And guess what? We marked the special occasion with our first-ever kiss. I was SOOOO happy and it was truly magical. God was so present in that moment when I realized He cares about little things like first kisses and orange stars.
Shifter Mermaids | Fantasy Fiction Inspiration #5 for Star Wielder
My next stories shifted to the water depths (the deupaz level as I call it in the Realms of Zoria series).
This was my 50k book I wrote in 2022! It was the first time I got really serious about plotting, writing, and making this novel thing happen. My main characters were Lilac and Petrarch. It was inspired by a hippocampus (water horse) which led me to create a race of oceanic people who could shift into powerful creatures. Mermaid shifters—I call them Marpeople :)
I placed Jemma as an indentured servant in the middle of a desert realm (Dünyaqar) so that she didn’t know her heritage. It was so fun, and I got a lot finished in that book. I didn’t have enough fortitude however, and found myself buried in imposter syndrome and needing a break from all the overwhelming questions that came with it. I’m a messy drafter, but that draft was so messy it felt a little unredeemable at that time.
That’s where the sparks of inspiration for Zoria were born though, in that draft. I started envisioning continents, people groups, ways of life, magic systems, and demographics… the bad guy from that book is even mentioned in Star Wielder 👀 Do you know who it might be?
And 2023 started Star Wielder | Realms of Zoria, Book One
That led to me starting my official first fantasy fiction series in January of 2023. I was determined to become an author within the year! The Realms of Zoria series is complete with all the wish list items I had been dreamstorming for years. This idea of a wish list to create your unique book style came from John Truby in his book “The Anatomy of Story.” Realms of Zoria has:
Shapeshifter marpeople
Dreamwalking abilities
Sizeshifter creatures
The world is broken into three vertical layers called the firmaments, the surface, and then the deupaz layer. Upper Zoria rises into the firmament level before Book One and descends at the beginning of Book Two
Bioluminescence everywhere. The oceans are crystal clear for miles, like stepping into liquid air.
Guardians and mortals tied to specific stars based on colors
Ancient martial arts (I took some jujitsu classes that helped)
Oracle prophetess characters
Wise trainer characters
Lots of bantering to show characters love each other
Mini elephants (yes that’s a specific one that had to make the list hehe)
A leopard companion based on my own house leopard (bengal) cat
Sibling bickering
Tropical vibes meeting starry aesthetic
A village dancing scene (giving Rapunzel vibes)
“Healer of the party” vibes inspired by the old RPG games I played (shoutout Aveyond lol)
Attack vs. shielding powers
Wound transferral magic
“Fallen” guardians who are tied to evil but want to protect their mortal guardees more than anything
Ocean magic
Star magic
As this wish list developed, I realized I really wanted the main elements in my book to be starlight and ocean magic. I developed a rule that would provide the basis for a lot of story/plot structure:
“Ocean and starlight magic cannot be combined.”
That right there drove forward so many crazy ideas including the final act in the epic battle in Star Wielder.
Purchase Star Wielder | Realms of Zoria, Book One by Annah Wyatt
May 26th 2024 marks the day Star Wielder was released into the wild, haha.
Check out Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Kindle for listings of Star Wielder and occasional promotional sales. Currently, you can access the Kindle book for free via Kindle Unlimited.
Save This to Pinterest:
