Character Inspiration
I created Niki Ballantyne while I was in a more physically active phase of my life, hiking wooded mountain trails several times a week, and getting quite fit. The movement, the challenge and the solitude fired my imagination, and made me want to write about a character that was comfortable in her body – though perhaps not so comfortable in her mind and heart. She’s an Aphrodite archetype, a warrior and a woman who has transformative powers, is sexually active and independent, loves relationships but avoids long-term plans, and yet is irresistible to men. (Here’s a great write up of the goddess archetype) She was the perfect model for my story as she is both heroine and catalyst for change in others.
