Everything I know about the Chanku began with an Internet search late in 2003 when Margaret Riley asked me if I could write something really hot to help her launch Changeling Press, a brand new epublisher that focused on short and sexy stories aimed at those readers who were reading ebooks on their PDAs...remember those? We'd talked about what readers were looking for--paranormal was definitely popular, and shapeshifters were catching on. So then we had to decide what kind of shifters were sexy--I liked wolves, so did M, so that's where I focused my search.
I found a subspecies of Himalayan wolf called Canis lupus laniger, but what really caught my attention was the animal's common name: Chanku. That's when the proverbial light bulb went off, but I still had very little, and I needed more. I knew I didn't want them to be werewolves. I didn't want them locked into just one creature, so I called them shapeshifters. And that's when I decided that they should be living among humans, unaware of their genetic differences.
Their history evolved as the series evolved--I knew very little about them when Kensington Publishing offered on the five short novellas I'd already written for Changeling Press, but with each story I wrote, more of their history unfolded. I don't really plot. I get a visual of a scene in the next book, figure out what characters are involved, and sit down and start writing. There was no overall story arc for the twenty-one novels and novellas, but my Kensington editor gave me plenty of warning when they decided it was time to end the series, and I was allowed to write it longer--as much as I needed to tell the story.
As it turned out, that final story was nothing like I expected. I didn't know where the Chanku had come from and I wasn't certain if the world would find out about their existence. Sunny Daye wasn't even on my radar--she literally came out of nowhere and was suddenly an integral part of the story.
It has truly been an adventure, made even more fun by the avid readers who have gotten to know my characters, in some ways, even better than I have. Anton Cheval has been my muse almost from the beginning, and he continues as I follow the second generation in the Spirit Wild series. I've posted some of my personal notes about the Chanku, things that helped me keep track of so many characters over the years. If you think of something else that should be here, please let me know. Just use the form below:
I found a subspecies of Himalayan wolf called Canis lupus laniger, but what really caught my attention was the animal's common name: Chanku. That's when the proverbial light bulb went off, but I still had very little, and I needed more. I knew I didn't want them to be werewolves. I didn't want them locked into just one creature, so I called them shapeshifters. And that's when I decided that they should be living among humans, unaware of their genetic differences.
Their history evolved as the series evolved--I knew very little about them when Kensington Publishing offered on the five short novellas I'd already written for Changeling Press, but with each story I wrote, more of their history unfolded. I don't really plot. I get a visual of a scene in the next book, figure out what characters are involved, and sit down and start writing. There was no overall story arc for the twenty-one novels and novellas, but my Kensington editor gave me plenty of warning when they decided it was time to end the series, and I was allowed to write it longer--as much as I needed to tell the story.
As it turned out, that final story was nothing like I expected. I didn't know where the Chanku had come from and I wasn't certain if the world would find out about their existence. Sunny Daye wasn't even on my radar--she literally came out of nowhere and was suddenly an integral part of the story.
It has truly been an adventure, made even more fun by the avid readers who have gotten to know my characters, in some ways, even better than I have. Anton Cheval has been my muse almost from the beginning, and he continues as I follow the second generation in the Spirit Wild series. I've posted some of my personal notes about the Chanku, things that helped me keep track of so many characters over the years. If you think of something else that should be here, please let me know. Just use the form below:
