Science fiction world-building, as my fellow Carina Press author KS Augustin pointed out in her post about IN ENEMY HANDS, must feel natural to the reader, almost like you could slip into it as easily as walking inside your own house. With historical novels, it’s no different.
In order to get the setting just right for CAPTIVE SPIRIT, including descriptions of things like the clothing or food that the Hohokam Indians prepared over 500 years ago, I spent many an hour at the Phoenix Heard Museum, trying to make my story as authentic as possible. The Heard has one of the world’s largest Native American history collections. I’m fortunate that it’s only about a thirty-minute drive from my house.
Not much is known about the Hohokam Indians, but if you’re ever a contestant on Jeopardy and Alex Trebek asks you that daunting $1000 category question, know this: After establishing a thriving community, the Hohokam Indians vanished from the Sonoran desert around 1500 and no one knows why. Cool, huh? To me, there are about a million stories in that fact alone. And it’s also the piece of history that inspired me to write CAPTIVE SPIRIT.
Despite my good intentions, Carina Press editor Elizabeth Bass and I had an amusing time trying to come up with the right words for time because, let’s face it, 500 years ago, a girl wasn’t pulling out her Blackberry. What would a “year” be to the Hohokam? A day? A minute? So, we used terms like a moonrise or a sun to mark the passage of day or days. Harvests, since the Hohokam Indians were farmers, would mark the passage of seasons and years. If you read the story, know that great care went into making sure every detail felt right, including the time of day! 
Aiyana might be from the dawn of the sixteenth century in CAPTIVE SPIRIT but she is one kick-butt, savvy heroine. I figure you’d have to be as clever to survive during that period in some of the most unforgiving terrain you’d ever want to see. Much of it is still pretty rugged today, as you can see from this photo of Four Peaks, just east of Phoenix. Like the history of the Hohokam–or lack thereof–the mountains that surround Phoenix also inspired me to write CAPTIVE SPIRIT. The landscape is very much a part of the story.
There is a line in the first chapter of CAPTIVE SPIRIT where I talk about “boulders as jagged as Grandfather Eyota’s front teeth.” I’m talking about Four Peaks in that sentence, a gorgeous mountain range that I’ve hiked and admired for a long time. I could picture Aiyana gazing at those mountains, wondering what surprises waited on the other side.
It was hard for me to write the words “The End” to CAPTIVE SPIRIT because I had become so attached to their world. For about one year, Aiyana, Honovi, Eyota, Chenoa–they were all that I thought about, dreamed about, and sometimes even talked about. And now I feel so privileged to be able to share their world with you.
What makes you become so attached to a book that you can’t let go–or, even better, what makes you want to read it over and over? Is it the writing? The characters? The setting? The love story? Inquiring minds just gotta know! 
Thanks so much for spending time with me today.
Don’t hesitate to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, my blog, or my web site and let’s dish about books and writing and LOST reruns. Whatev!
Remember that you can win a free copy of CAPTIVE SPIRIT, just for making a comment on this blog, Twitter, or Facebook. CAPTIVE SPIRIT releases on June 28, 2010. Commenting on any of the Countdown entries will also enter you into the big giveaway for a Carina Press promo prize pack. How cool is that?!
