I kind of wrote a lot of my own soul into the main character, but I wouldn't say that entirely. My favorite film was Gladiator. When it aired, I had already finished my novels and had them copyrighted. However, I thought Gladiator was a lot like my fifth novel. It captured the essence of what I was already writing. I did so many hours of research into ancient Rome, and the kings and knights and gods of early history.
I was capable of Olympian-level skills in gymnastics and ballet (Russian-style) at the time I wrote most of this novel, so a lot of Russian gymnastics and ice skating, and artistry filtered its way into my novel as characters strong enough to be super-human as it were. I learned to speak fluent Russian at one point on the idea that I might use it as an interpreter, and I love The Russia House, so that has probably influenced my writing as well, but nothing directly. Action and poetry and epic fantasy. My interest began with a book called D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths, I had when I was 5 and re-read year after year. I got an idea to write my own space epic with god-like heroes. So my story has some of the Trojan War on Earth, with the idea that the immortals become different gods in different lands, and take control of the Earth. Some are immortalized by the lyra serum--they are white. Others are still mostly like Rega (Rigell) people. Others are from a planet that has Draconian people.
Some are purple-black aliens. Others reptilian greys, and others white immortals. Some are green and purple and others are more like amphibians.
Recently, someone asked what my influences were in writing. I can promise that I have not watched a single episode of Star Trek: Deep Space anything or Star Trek: Voyager. Mano a mano. I can also verify that I may have only caught about two or three episodes of the Next Generation, and that there is almost no similarity to my work in any Star Trek thing. If anything, I was most influenced by lots of different shows. First and foremost was The Lord of the Rings. Second, Star Wars, the original. My work predates the second generation of Star WArs. A friend of mine worked for George Lucas, and I got to go to the premiere with Queen Amidala's palace. However, I had already written my novel, and I have proof of it, marked by the US postal service with a dated seal.
My work is intentionally highly original and wholly mine, in response to not wanting to be like any other, and yet a lifelong interest in nature and exploring the possibilities of the mind and the world. If anything, I was also slightly influenced by action shows and great literature, mostly classics. I really like airplanes. I really like a lot of subjects, astrophysics, martial arts, the ultimate human machine. I love the James Bond films also when I was a little girl. I also loved scary dracula films. I also love Asian cinema, the Secret of Nimh, and Old German fairy tales about knights, and tales of King Arthur and Druids, who appear in my fourth novel. I am not only interested in these, but in the stories of ancient Sumeria, Rome, and gods of Egypt. In my story, the fallen immortals become gods on Earth, called Kiel 3 (named for a region in Germany, a coat of arms, and also the "keel" of a ship."
I have been writing this novel since I was 10.
The character Sargon, who is the Great Leader, was the first conqueror of the ancient world.
The name "Alessia" means "champion of the world".
All of the names in my novel had meanings that are connected to ancient druidic or other type legendary people. Some, however, are Asian in origin.
This story is not intended to be like any other science fiction, in that the basis for it was an interest in military science and in the potential for pushing the human body to its limits. It was also based on "The Chariot of the Gods" by Von Daniken, but the passion and interest in gymnastics, rock climbing, hiking, and ballet got me through the everyday process of writing. I like to think of my characters as highly intelligent yet also interested in sports, nature, and other kinds of active things. I like horse racing and racecars and aerospace as well as depth of academic pursuit. This is all reason enough to say that I hope to reach a more varied target audience than the usual science fiction. I loved "The Highlander" though there is little influence in my novel to this except testing the idea that humans can live forever. I'm 50% native Scottish, and my great-grandmother Murron Sinclair, was a Highlander from the Orkney Isles. So I guess maybe there is something to it.