Building a Feral World
by Pamela Palmer

One of the most exciting aspects of writing a new paranormal series is creating the world. It’s also one of the hardest. Where do you start when the possibilities are mind-bogglingly endless?

When I first set out to write the "Feral Warriors" series, I began with only the germ of an idea--the basic premise of the first book, DESIRE UNTAMED. I knew the story was about a woman snatched from her safe, normal world by a powerful immortal male--a male claiming she was the only one who can save his world. Beyond that, I knew nothing, not even what kind of immortal this guy was. At that moment of conception, he could have been anything. The story could have been set in any place, in any time, real or imaginary.

How do you decide anything when faced with an infinite array of choices? For me, it’s actually not as hard as it sounds. I have this inner compass that tells me when I’ve hit on the right idea. I know that sounds strange, but really, it’s true.

I run ideas through my head and literally feel something inside me when I hit on the right one, almost like the tug of a magnet. Was this immortal guy a vampire? Nope. A demon? No, again. A werewolf? No, but I felt a tingling. Not a werewolf. A shape-shifter? Bingo! A lion capable of changing shape at will, but not part of any kind of pride. From there, the ideas began to tumble forth.

This lion shape-shifter was the only one of his kind left in the world. But he wasn’t the only shape-shifter. The rest began to fall into place fairly quickly--nine shape-shifters, each a different animal, each the last of his own unique line. Nine Feral Warriors standing between the Earth and the Daemons who would rise and destroy us.

Other questions followed. Where do these stories take place? When? These questions were easy to answer. Our world, here and now, because I love urban fantasy. Where? The Washington, D.C. area. Not only do I know it best, living here, but the mid-Atlantic around the nation’s capital offers a rich wealth of diverse settings within a short distance--the city, the mountains, the beaches, the rocky cliffs over-looking the Potomac.

Then, it was on to the more intricate details of the world. Who will be the villains and allies of the Ferals? What other non-human races populate this world? What magic and powers exist? And how will it all come into play to create action-packed, romantic, conflict-driven stories?

I don’t have space here for all the answers. You’ll have to pick up DESIRE UNTAMED to see for yourself. But that, in a nutshell, is how the Feral Warriors and their world were born.

Now a question for you. If you could become any animal when you wished, what animal would you choose to be? Me, I’d choose to be a bird. A big bird soaring across the sky. I can’t imagine anything more exciting. What about you?