The Story Behind WINDSINGER, by Lark Westerly.
eXtasy Books (adults only)
“Windsinger” had its genesis in a television programme about animal courtship. A male wood-duck was courting his little tailfeathers off to impress his chosen lady but she, alas, was a different kind of duck and didn’t understand what he was suggesting. He gave up in the end, and she remained unaware that she’d just been offered His All.
I already knew that cultural misunderstandings can cause all kinds of problems among otherwise well-disposed parties. For example, some cultures have no word for “No” and will use a circumlocution instead such as “I shall think about that”. This will leave one party with the impression that a proposition has been favourably received, while the other party will believe s/he has made it plain that it won’t be happening.
I put these two ideas together to form the germ of the plot that became “Windsinger”.
Other nuclei came from my fascination with flowers, the fact that medicine can be beneficial in some cases and dangerous in others, and the difference in attitudes between different generations. My interest in birds (we have cockatoos) led to the windfolk’s bird-names, and a fascination with Greek/Roman mythology led to the names taken by the Mercies.