Behind the scenes: Fire Dancer

Ever wonder about the story behind a story, especially one featuring a secret agent in supernatural law enforcement and a glass artist? Read on to learn about the inspiration for the characters and storyline of Fire Dancer, Book 2 in my new Spellbound in Sedona series!

THE SERIES

In brief, I came up with the idea of three sisters with fire-related magic by linking three points of inspiration. One was Blown Away, the Netflix series about glass artists that inspired me to make Pippa, the heroine of Book 2, a glass artist. Her sister, Erin, grew out of my experience of taking a balloon ride over Sedona, while the third sister, Abby, was inspired by Rae in Netflix’s Metal Shop Masters series. You can read more about the genesis of this series in my blog post on the “Behind the scenes of Wind Whisperer.”

THE CHARACTERS

In case you haven’t noticed, I love writing about siblings, being the middle of three myself. I love contrasting siblings most of all. So, while Erin of Wind Whisperer (Book 1) is the serious, responsible one, Pippa is the flirty, free-spirited, peppy youngest sibling, and Abby… Well, let’s just say she has some issues to work through, but you’ll find out about those in Book 3!

I put those two separate ideas together (free spirited youngest sister + glass artist) to create the foundation for Pippa’s character. This is one of my favorite tricks for making a compelling character: combining two or more unusual traits from several real-life people in one character. Gradually, I came up with the idea of Pippa’s father being a pyromancer and firefighter (seems logical, since firefighters seem to have a fascaintion for fire). But I wanted Pippa’s father (and thus Pippa) to have truly unique powers, so, over time, I came up with the idea of a Fire Dancer – a person who can control fire with incredible precision, such as “painting with fire” in my favorite scene - read on for more about that below!

Ingo, the hero, was easy to “design” from there – because who better to pair an upbeat heroine with than a serious special agent with zero work-life balance? Being a wolf shifter, Ingo is loyal and protective, which fits his firefighting background too. (I left the details out of the book, but bascially, he started out as a firefighter in Pippa’s father’s fire crew, and was eventually recruited into supernatural law enforcement after working as the agency’s liason on an arson case.)

I started putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) on this story in earnest in the month of June, and I’m a history buff, so I watched many D-Day documentaries at that time. One was about the role of photographers in the D-Day landings, and it included an interview with a US Army veteran (now an old man, but a young man in his prime back then) who appeared in some of those historic photographs. The images of him, exhausted on the battlefield, and his recollections of what an idealistic young man he had been really struck me, so I modeled Ingo after him – modest, committed, idealistic, heroic, but also worn down by the awful things he’d been through.

Of course, Ingo has a lighter side that shines through now and then, but he needs Pippa’s help to find his balance again. And it’s not a one-way street, because she needs him to find her own inner balance.

The one thing I struggled with was whether to make them new acquaintainces or old friends. I went with old friends because you can pack in so much more backstory that way. It also made for some funny moments in terms of Ingo getting along with Pippa’s dad. Which leads me to…

SIDE CHARACTERS

Don’t you love Mike and Greg, the dads? Me, too! I love me a bad boy with a heart of gold, such as intimidating, tough-guy motorcycle guys with long beards and tattoos who look a little dangerous but turn out to be real sweethearts who do good deeds. I love the banter between the two dads too. They’re the male version of a kind of “First Wives Club” – former rivals turned friends after having their hearts broken by the same person (in this case, Pippa’s and Erin’s mother). I love their banter and their unabashed love for their daughters and “granddaughter” Claire.

Other side characters guaranteed to bring chuckles are Pippa’s mother and Todd – er, Tom – Ingo’s boss at the agency (aka Captain Edwards). Yes, they make encore appearances in Book 2!

THE STORY
From the very beginning, I knew the villain would be a vampire with some kind of blood-focused business and that he would be based on an exclusive property overlooking Sedona. That property was inspired by “earthship” architecture and by Arcosanti. The latter was built in the 1970s with visionary architecture for its day, and while you won’t find the words “hippie” or “commune” in their literature, that’s the easiest way to describe the place. When I lived near there in the 1990s, the main draw was their bronze bell casting business. I still have the wolf-shaped bell I found there to this day!

Once I establish the villain and setting of a story, the rest flows naturally, with the criminal mastermind gradually being investigated and the danger increasing steadily – plus the extra conflict posed by Pippa’s financial woes. In this case, the external plot also helped set the stage for Pippa’s and Ingo’s character arcs. As the story progresses, events bring about gradual shifts in their mindsets in a believable way and pave the way to that healthier balance they both need. I hope you agree!

ON LOCATION IN SEDONA

Many years ago, I worked on a ranch close to Sedona which formed the inspiration for my Twin Moon and Blue Moon Saloon series as well as aspects of Pippa’s ranch. I’ve hiked the Sedona area extensively, including to the vortexes at Airport Mesa, Cathedral Rock, and Boynton Canyon (but I haven’t been up close to the one at Bell Rock…yet!), which Pippa and Ingo see from their lookout point.

Two of my favorite places in town feature in the Spellbound in Sedona series. Erin and Nash confront Angelina on the outdoor terrace of a food-court type eatery inspired by Canyon Breeze in Sedona. My favorite rooftop restaurant in town is the Oaxaca. I don’t think they offer brunch, but their location and decor are the inspiration for the fictional Chinchilla restaurant Pippa recommends to her mother.

For more about my decades-long fascination for Sedona, see “Behind the scenes of “Wind Whisperer.

MY FAVORITE SCENE

For once, it’s easy to name my favorite scene: bonfire “story time” with a pyromancer and a weathermonger in Fire Dancer! That scene has so many familiar elements – an off-beat but loving family, a nippy night under the stars around a crackling bonfire, marshmallows, s’mores – mixed with one really out-there “fantasy-world” element of telling a story through fire. Part of the inspiration came from my father, who loved to build intricate sand castles taller than I was as a kid. But instead of shaping castles from sand, Greg (and Pippa) can shape them from fire!

The scene that comes a close second is the one in which Ingo meets with the wolf and bear shifters of Twin Moon Ranch and the Blue Moon Saloon. More on that below!

What about you? Were those your favorites, or would you nominate a different scene? Don’t worry: I’m happy for you to disagree and name a different favorite scene!

CROSS-LINKS WITH OTHER SERIES

I couldn’t write a series based in Sedona without including a cameo by their neighbors from Twin Moon Ranch and the Blue Moon Saloon! Kyle of Desert Fate is one of my favorite heroes of all time (well, all my heroes are my favorites for different reasons, but he gets the prize for being a sweet, loyal, determined hero who overcomes a difficult childhood and dedicates himself to law enforcement and is now living happily ever after with his lucky mate (who I’m only sllighly jealous of - I swear!). I wanted to include more of Andie of Desert Destiny, but I was afraid of overcomplicating an already busy scene with yet another character. She does appear in Fire Dancer, but you’ll have to read carefully to find her.

I write bonus scenes for all my stories, and the one for Fire Dancer is directly linked to my Fire Maidens series. I won’t reveal too many details here, so I highly recommend you sign up for my newsletter and read the bonus scene to see what I mean. Such bonus scenes are exclusively available to subscribers as my sincere thanks for reading, reviewing, and spreading word of my books.

That’s all for now about the making of Fire Dancer – but there’s much more action, passion, magic, and romance coming soon in Book 3 of the series, Dream Weaver! That’s Abby’s story and the series finale. Happy reading!

PS - If you enjoyed this story and series, please remember to spread the word and post a review. Thank you!