Behind the Scenes: Anne Kane
Behind the Scenes: The Big Blue by Anne Kane
Inspiration
The Big Blue is part of a multi-author series titled Protect and Serve. The premise is loosely based on uniformed heroes who are also shifters. I liked the idea, but I wanted my couple to be something other than werewolves. There are so many werewolf stories, it’s hard to come up with a new slant on the furry canines. I wanted my couple to be different, something distinct and I wanted the main conflict to be the fact that they were not the same species. While thinking that over, I was watching the local news one night. I live in Canada so there was a story about how climate change is affecting the polar bears. These powerful creatures were roaming farther afield in search of food and were being seen more commonly in some of the northern communities. That led me to decide that it would be fun to have a polar bear as my heroine. That just left the hero, who would have to be tough enough to decide mating with a polar bear was a good idea. I came up with a big blue troll. I found the idea of a big, grumpy, muscular troll having to deal with a female polar bear highly entertaining. That was the birth of The Big Blue.
Writing Process
I am what is known as a pantster (as opposed to a plotter). My writing process for this book in particular was definitely by the seat of my pants. I didn’t have an outline. I didn’t have a plot of any kind. What I had was two characters and I had to figure out how they interacted with each other, and how they came to be together in the first place. I knew it was going to be a short story, so I needed to have them meet right away. Since my heroine was a polar bear, she wouldn’t be a shy, retiring kind of girl who sat at home waiting for the phone to ring. With that in mind, I had her go out hunting for a likely candidate for a one-night stand. The story developed itself from that point forward. The characters told me what they wanted to do and how they wanted to do it, and I just wrote it down.
Of course, at some point, something had to happen that they didn’t like or there wouldn’t be a story. I don’t want to give out any spoilers, so let’s just say that something happened that neither of them was happy about and they had to do something about it in order to get back together and live happily ever after, which is something that I always, always put in my books. Everybody lives happily ever after. Always.
Character development
This story is written in first person, from the POV (point of view) of Tundra, which is not how I normally write so it was interesting in that I got to give a lot of attention to how she felt as the story developed. Before I started writing, I knew how I wanted the characters to behave. I wanted Tundra, my heroine, to be forthright, tough, ask-for-what-you-want-and don’t apologize for being yourself kind of gal. Throughout the story. I endeavoured to make sure that she was never wimpy, and that she was always willing to go that extra mile to get what she wanted, both for herself and for her chosen mate.
As for the Big Blue, the troll she fell in love with? Well, he was just going to be what you’d expect from a military guy. Since the story is told from Tundra’s POV, we don’t get a lot of insight into what he is thinking or feeling other than by his actions. Big, tough, sexy, and extremely loyal sums him up. Once he decided that Tundra belonged to him, he was going to do whatever it took to make sure that she was safe and that they stayed together. I had to make sure that came across clearly. I did not want him to appear as a big lug who would have slept with any convenient female.
Setting and world-building.
The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world. It’s what I imagine the world would look like if governments failed and people were forced to reimagine world order. At the same time, I don’t like to waste a lot of time describing background scenery or political situations, especially in a novella-length story. I try inserting little bits here and there so that you knew that this is not modern-day Detroit or New York. There is still organized crime, but it goes by a different name. There is law enforcement but it’s not the police as we know them. Things are different and at the same time it makes sense and readers can recognize key concepts of a society. Of course, we have the addition of the shifters, fay, trolls, fairies, and other paranormal creatures. That’s what makes it so much fun to write!
Closing thoughts
I think the thing I’m most proud of in this story is the fact that my female lead can hold her own and doesn’t try to hide her strengths. I like to think that women can be equal to men and at the same time can still be feminine, and can still enjoy life to the fullest without having to apologize for that. I try to make sure that all my female characters have that basic mindset. They may be looking for a man but as a partner, an equal, not someone to take care of them because they are too weak or afraid to take care of themselves. I hope you enjoy the story!
The Big Blue by Anne Kane
Tundra’s a polar bear shifter with a hankering for some Big Blue.
Polar bear shifters are rare these days, and most of them keep a low profile. Tundra knows the rules, but tonight she needs to get laid, and it will take a strong man to satisfy her.
Alex’s buddies call him Big Blue, and they’re closer to the truth than most of them know, but he does his best to hide his true nature — trolls have a nasty reputation in this brave new world.
The very first time Tundra sees Blue, she knows she had to have him. What she doesn’t realize is that she’ll never want to let him go. So when Alex goes to confront the head of a vicious cabal, Tundra follows to make sure he doesn’t get hurt. After all, even a troll’s hide isn’t as thick as a polar bear’s.