Why are the goblins in my books sexy?

Before I get to today's blog topic, I want to congratulate Mark Van Name for winning the Compton Crook Award for his debut novel One Jump Ahead. Since the Baltimore Science Fiction Society graciously pays all travel expenses for the winner, they notify the finalists weeks in advance to let them know which one needs to clear their calendar for Memorial Day weekend. (The Compton was awarded Friday night at Balticon.) I had been notified that I had not won, but I didn't know the winner's name until last Friday. I am so thrilled for Mark, and I felt truly honored (and incredibly lucky) to be nominated. : ) The next book in Mark's series -- Slanted Jack -- will be out on July 1st. Be sure to check it out.

For today's blog topic, one of you had asked how I came up with my view of goblins.

Not only did I want to go in a different direction with my books (modern voice in a traditional fantasy setting), I wanted to give a new twist to two traditional fantasy characters: elves and goblins. When I first started writing I went with a more traditional idea of elves, but my goblin have always been as they are now. And when I found Raine's voice, traditional Tolkienesque elves, gave way to elves like Raine and Phaelan. I don't think that Raine and Galadriel would have all that much in common. ; )

And as to my goblins -- most of the goblins in books that I'd read were short, gnarled, and had a bad case of post-nasal drip. Again, I wanted to do something different. I asked myself why couldn't goblins be gorgeous? Why couldn't they be tall, lean, silvery skinned, and wicked sexy? And while I was at it, I thought fangs and long, glossy black hair would be a nice touch. (Heck, they don't call it "fantasy" for nothing.) My goblins are just your basic dark-eyed, smooth-talking, dangerous bad boys who you probably wouldn't take home to meet the parents.

My goblins have dark eyes and vision that is much like cats. It was a natural progression for me -- if they move with smooth grace (much like cats), exceptional night vision would be a logical trait for them to have. One thing led to another and soon I had an image in my head of quasi-gothic architecture, dim lighting (for the comfort of those sensitive dark eyes), and when they go out during the day, they have to wear sunglasses. After all, there's nothing like a good pair of shades to make their wearer cool, mysterious and sexy. ; ) And for me, all of those sexy and mysterious vibes led to a race that considers intrigue and manipulation to be their national sport. Once I had the basics for my goblins established, other little details just started coming to me. And as I wrote, various aspects of their social order began to fall into place -- and believe me, that social order is very strictly regimented; a good example being the reaction to and the perception of Talon Tandu (goblin/elf halfbreed). Goblin aristocrats are real sticklers for racial purity; but as evidenced by their less than mentally stable royal family (the Mal'Salins), it wouldn't hurt goblin nobles to venture out of their family trees once in awhile. ; )

In upcoming blogs: World-building for my books, how I pick which ideas to develop, outlining, how I get through the "saggy middle" of a novel, and more.

Lisa