http://samael1103.deviantart.com/art/Yuki-Onna-181153373
Since the release of my book last month, I’ve had a few
people ask me what the inspiration was for the Dead of Winter series. So I thought I’d share how this series came
about and how I created these mystical women who are born from the snow. I wish I could take complete credit for
creating these awesome magical beings, but like many good story ideas, I
borrowed from legend.
A few months ago, I was sitting around wondering what to
write next. I had just finished a project
and was wide open to possibilities. I
knew I wanted to write something in the New Adult genre, and I knew I wanted to
write something fantasy/suspense, but that’s as much as I had, which wasn’t
much to go on. So I started poking
around on the Internet to research demons and legends. That’s when I stumbled across a very
intriguing spirit in Japanese folklore called the Yuki-onna, or snow woman.
The Yuki-onna of Japanese legend appears on snowy nights as a gorgeous
woman with long hair, very pale skin and blue lips, and floats across the snow
without leaving footprints. Some legends
say she is the spirit of a woman who perished in the snow and that many times
she looks beautiful and innocent, but viciously kills the humans she comes across. Some stories portray her as vampiric in
nature, sometimes succubus-like, preying on weak-willed men. There are also stories where the Yuki-onna is
seeking revenge for her wrongful death.
There are also the occasional tales of the Yuki-onna where she is
forgiving, often involving a handsome youth who wanders into the woods whom she
lets go because of his beauty.
I was so intrigued with this beautiful and fierce legend
that I knew immediately I had to write a story that involved elements of this
story. And the great thing about
rewriting a legend, is you can take what you like, and leave the rest. I chose to mirror the softer legends instead
of the more evil an vampire-like Yuki-onna. Consistent with the Japanese snow
woman, Tess, Alexa and Ivy are born naked, have extremely long hair, and leave
no footprints, but I left out the creepy blue lips and instead gave them ice-blue eyes. I loved the portion of
the legend where the snow woman was soft and forgiving and vulnerable to beauty
– an element that I used in the budding romance between Tess and Lance and
their past interaction six years before the story begins. And of course I let my own imaginations seep
into the story, like the women having to drink from the lake to sustain their
energy, and my favorite, their yearly materialization from the snow
itself.
I’ll leave you with a few pictures of the Yuki-onna. There are so many beautiful renderings of
these fascinating creatures. Follow me
on Pinterest to see more.
http://reginanegra.deviantart.com/art/yuki-onna-as-ghost-176343131
http://dreamfollower.deviantart.com/art/Yuki-Onna-363969285
