I’m over at The Lucky 13s blog today, talking about art that inspired The Oathbreaker’s Shadow. I thought the easiest way to showcase some of the main photos was to create a Pinterest board, so I encourage you to take a look at that too!
**
“Art and photography have always inspired my writing, in a multitude of ways. In 2006, when The Oathbreaker’s Shadow was just an idea floating around in my head, I headed down to an achingly hip part of Toronto known as The Distillery District, a pedestrian-only zone lined with the converted Victorian industrial buildings of the old Gooderham and Worts distillery. It’s packed with art galleries and amazing coffee shops (head to Balzacs immediately if you’re searching for good coffee in Toronto), and a fabulous place to spend an afternoon. Read more ->“
Tag Archives: inspiration
Inspiration vlogs: Wadi Rum desert, Jordan
Oops – I’ve been rather neglecting the blog. You might forgive me though as it is one of the most hectic weeks in publishing: the week of London Book Fair! Last week I partied with George RR Martin and some of the Game of Thrones cast members at the Tower of London, went to my first ever party as an author (hopefully more on that when I can share the good news!), and – of course – worked the rights centre at LBF, trying to discover the next big talent for Voyager. Phew!
Now, back to regular blogging, I hope. Or in this case, maybe it’s back to vlogging? Here’s the next video in my ‘inspiration series’ of videos, this time set in the immense Wadi Rum desert in Jordan. Most of The Oathbreaker’s Shadow is set in a desert, and I always love a desert’s stark, barren beauty. I’ve seen where sand dunes touch the ocean in Namibia, been to the world’s smallest desert in the Yukon (the Carcross desert), shooed away flies in the Australian outback, but the Wadi Rum desert really took me by surprise not only for its rainbow coloured sands and immense rock formations, but also because of the people who I met there – the Bedouins – who were happy to demonstrate their way of life to us pesky tourists. You definitely get the feeling that the Bedouin harbour far more secrets than they share, however, and in a place like Wadi Rum, you can hide multitudes – even entire cities. That’s the kind of detail that goes straight into my novel.
This video is a little more awkward than the others, as we had to shoot it in one take before the sun disappeared completely. Hope you enjoy!
Inspiration vlogs: Abu Simbel, Egypt
It’s no secret that while writing The Oathbreaker’s Shadow, I took inspiration from numerous gorgeous settings around the world (take a look at my inspiration page if you want to see more). Mongolia, China, Thailand, Egypt, Jordan, Namibia, Zimbabwe… no place has truly been safe from my imagination’s safety (one-day-I-might-use-this) deposit box!
So while I was out in the Middle East, I thought it’d be a great opportunity to shoot a few vlogs in some pretty fantastic locations – and explain why these places have such an influence on me as a writer, and in particular on The Oathbreaker’s Shadow.
The first in my ‘Inspiration series’ of vlogs is from Abu Simbel, Egypt…
I hope you enjoy!
Congratulations to the lucky winner – and a post on settings
First of all, congratulations to Annabelle H (_annabelleh_) for being the lucky winner of the Wither/Fever Lauren DeStefano giveaway! If you would e-mail me your postal address (mcculloch[dot]amy[at]gmail[dot]com), I’ll get the books out to you straight away.
Over on the Lucky 13s blog, there’s been a lot of chatter about settings and world-buildings, from California (the setting of The Wig in the Window by Kristin Kittscher) to London (and beyond) in 1894 (the many fascinating settings of The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd). This is by far one of my favourite aspects of both writing and reading novels. A good setting can add so much to a story, almost becoming a character in and of itself.
The same works for movies and TV shows too. These are some of my favourite TV show settings:
Lost
It was a show full of sexy castaways, but there’s no denying that the island was the main star of Lost. Even when Lost lost its plot (and a few of those castaways), the mysteries of the island kept people hooked. And who wouldn’t want to be stuck on a deserted island like that? (without the creepy smoke monsters, of course!)
The Wire
Good Morning Baltimore, every day’s like an open door! Oops, wrong show… Still, what would The Wire be without Baltimore? The accents, the streets, the political tension – yes, it’s far from a complete picture of the city, but it certainly makes for great television viewing.
Sex and the City
The show was basically a love letter to New York City. Could characters like Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte really exist anywhere else? Each one of them is New York through and through. I think Sex and the City 2: Abu Dhabi (itself a gorgeous and exotic city) proves that in this case, New York is the only way, baby.
Game of Thrones
Yeah, I’m not going to be able to get away with writing this post without mentioning the best setting on television at the moment: Westeros. As a fantasy writer, George has been able to borrow from all cultures all over the world to create the lush, bleak, desolate, stormy lands that make up Westeros. And HBO are taking full advantage: this year, the show filmed in locations as varied as Croatia and Iceland (among others!) to get the perfect setting.
The wonder of a yurt
I saw this video on BoingBoing and I just had to share! The Oathbreaker’s Shadow is very much inspired by Mongolian culture, and several key scenes take place in a yurt. This is a very modern yurt (I don’t think my characters would have a polyethylene sheet to waterproof the inside of their homes), but it’s still a fascinating demonstration of an ancient tradition living on. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of visiting Mongolia, but when I do, I’m dying to spend a night or two in one of these.
An evening with Leonardo da Vinci
Last night I went to the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square to see the Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan exhibit. 
I was accompanied by fellow Voyager-ite Natasha, and together we spent an hour ooh-ing and aah-ing over the genius of Senor da Vinci. Despite the ticketed and timed entry, it was absolutely jam-packed. Over five centuries have passed since his death but that man can still draw a full house!
This particular exhibition focuses on his skills as a painter – setting aside for a moment the rest of his talent as an inventor, architect, engineer, mathematician, etc. etc. etc.! One thing that really struck me as I was walking around were the incredible studies he did on the minutest details – from a pair of clasped hands, to the draping of a cloth over a kneeling man, to the exact tilt of a head – everything was meticulously researched, experminted with, and and practised.
All of the notes we saw by Leonardo were written in his distinctive mirror writing. Seeing it in person reminded me that for a period of about six months in high school, I wrote all my journals in backwards writing after finding out that was how da Vinci did it. (I also wrote in ALL CAPS for a while – even in my exams – after seeing a friend do it, so it wasn’t just geniuses I copied… although that friend is now doing a very in-depth PhD so genius might not be too far off!)
Natasha and I belied our cultural prowess by making frequent references to The Da Vinci Code and Everafter, before heading off for some delicious Mexico City-style street food at Lupita.
Yet the most surprisingly and delightful thing about the whole exhibition, for me, was discovering a little Oathbreaker’s Shadow connection: Leonardo da Vinci’s intricate knot patterns. Knots are probably the most significant motif in Oathbreaker and so it was a little thrill to see they inspired the Grand Master too.
