The time has come for me to talk about my first book, The Narcissus Blood Bank, which will be coming out before the end of the year ( 2021). I’ve dreaded talking about it, having that jealous and nervous approach to something I’ve never shared with the world before.
With my husband’s full support, I have now finally come to the point of no return: Only the last few steps remain before I release my firstborn, the first fragment of my realms into the world. This is the first story in an incredibly ambitious plan that crosses over my three realms of existence. The excitement and terror are very real!
The Narcissus Blood Bank is based on the bottom realm, a post-apocalyptic world, where 90 % of the vegetation has become one with dust due to a catastrophic event. It is a prologue to a very grim reality of poverty, misused power, and fantastic beings that each have their own goals and desires.
What inspired me to write the book?
I’ve always been very fascinated with life and the many forms it takes on the planet. One of my trips to the fascinating functions of the world led me down to some very fragrant gardens, and eventually, the most glorious flower I’ve ever heard of. Although I’ve not had the pleasure of seeing one in real life yet.
Now, I’ll admit that objectively, the titan arum aka corpse flower, might not be the favorite of the crowds when it comes to all the marvels of the plant nation. But for me, this incredible thing is just pure beauty in its colossal form and life cycle.
I got obsessed with playing with the thought that this plant only blooms for a very short time, and extremely rarely. I mean, the plant has a cycle that can last up to a decade before it blooms again! Come on now, a flower that blooms so scarcely stays up for less than a day, and it attracts pollinators by smelling like rotting flesh. What’s not to love about it?! And oh yeah, it can be over 3 meters tall.
What can I tell you about the book?
When Madame Hebburn finds herself broken on the floor of her greenhouse, her legacy torn to shreds, she has to gather up all her broken bones, experience, and intuition. Her desperate struggle to keep her pride and joy, the Cloud Coffee, alive leads her into the depths of a forest and its well-kept secret, the Narcissus Blood Bank.
Does the pale woman’s offer still stand? Can the Narcissus Blood Bank really save her bush? And most of all, is she ready to do what it takes to bring it back to life?
The Narcissus Blood Bank is a story of loss, desperation, and hope. It’s the beginning of miracles and magical happenings in a world that sees no sunlight. Sadly, every miracle comes with a heavy price.
What did I learn when writing the book?
The fun and games last for a while, and then the editing process starts. While I enjoy polishing my text and going through it as many times as is needed, the grind can become overbearing very fast. The blindness to the story, to the letters, becomes real. The frustration of being your own worst critic surfaces and the doubts crawl under your skin. This is the time to prevail. To keep going.
One of the biggest problems with this book seemed to be that I was too caught up in the ‘’proper’’ length a book should be. Between this and that many words. This and that many pages. I’m happy to say I got over it, and I might even say, that the biggest lesson I learned from writing The Narcissus Blood Bank is that every story will take however many words and pages it takes. There’s no need to try and force it to be what it is not, that would only make it worse and not honor the story at all!
Were there any surprises along the way?
I suppose the biggest surprise is that this story became the prologue to a whole project. When I first sat down with Ridia, Doctor Narcissus, and Shanice, we never thought they would open the door to this massive universe. We never predicted the twists of fate and tragedy that are behind their conditions, nor the games that were played behind them.
We never understood that the three realms I’ve created would be tied together in this massive epic of love and pain, war, gods, and magic.