Now that the holidays are over, I’m diving into my new series. Even though I’ve made a lot of progress on the opener, The Girl Who Broke the Dark, I still get to spend a lot of time on my favorite part of writing:

Research.

No, this isn’t like doing research for a school project you have no interest in completing. This is delving into history and language and culture, looking for unusual details, stories or names that can be woven together to create an entirely new world.

To help myself along, I bought myself a Christmas present.

Yes, I’m nerding out on the maps.

But I’ve come up with all kinds of additions to the culture and history of the Cinarian Empire, which is one of the major powers in my yet to be titled series. Derya, the young heir to the empire, has a key role in The Girl Who Broke the Dark.

With her desire to shock people, compassion for her people, and dedication to duty, she’s already become one of my early readers’ favorite characters.