(Last time, I shared a little about the world from which my protagonist came. Here are a couple of thoughts about the world to which he goes.)

5. Louisville, Kentucky. A few months back, I came across a new story where Louisville was voted the most ordinary city in America. So obviously, setting a contemporary fantasy story there meets a clear need! I went to graduate school in Louisville. I met my wife there. I have many fond memories of the city. But yeah, if you’re not a big fan of bourbon or horse racing, it’s pretty ordinary.

And yet, there is potential here. Geographically and culturally, Louisville is in the middle of everything, with the Midwest to the north, the Upland South to the south, the Appalachian Mountains to the east, and the Mississippi River to the west. It’s a macro-scale version of the sort of crossroads where you might expect a shadowy figure to offer to make you a deal.

And oddly enough, Louisville is apparently at the midpoint of an important ley line between Yellowstone National Park and Bermuda. So maybe it’s appropriate for it to be some kind of nexus of mystical energy, if only people were attentive enough to see it….

6. Religion. When the literal forces of creation course through your mind and body and you can bend them to your will, concepts of Ultimate Reality and the true nature of things are bound to get a little problematic. Rune’s people don’t have “religion” as most Westerners understand the term. This is my nod to the mythology that says the Fair Folk are averse to human religions. Some despise or denigrate them; most just don’t understand them.

So of course, I made Rune’s landlord in the mortal realm a preacher.

The shadow falls on October 1