Religion can be a funny thing…..good for some, horrible for others. I’ve always been fascinated by how religious leaders convince people to do and believe things, whether it be in cults or in more benign religious settings. I’ve also studied medieval culture in depth, which means I’ve read extensively on the Black Plague. And, when people are afraid, they surrender their power in order to grasp on to some measure of comfort.
These were some of the root ideas that led to the formation of this book. What would happen if there were a modern plague and some people escaped in order to isolate themselves from the contagion? What would this new society look like? How would people behave? At what point does this protective place of isolation turn into a prison? These were some of the questions I entertained when writing.
I don’t pretend to have absolute answers for these questions, but my imagination did conjure up some potential ones. That’s one of the fun things about fiction….the creation of new worlds.
Anya's Infinite Vellum 