Creating a new world for a book series is so much fun, and as an author, I’m definitely most inspired by real-life places. While the last year has been filled with zero travel plans, I thought it might be fun to share some of the real-life places from my past travels that inspired some of the settings behind the cities and landscapes in my Star Cast series.
The citadel
First up, the colorful citadel, home to the Governance and the past seat of the Mages Guild, is inspired by real-life Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal.
“I lean toward the window, watching our destination grow larger. Part fortification and part castle, the citadel is a medley of turrets and crenelated battlements, painted in bright hues of terracotta, lemon, and blue. It looks more like a pleasure palace than the administrative seat of the Governance and was better suited to its flamboyant previous inhabitants – the Mages Guild.”
Tapestry of Night, Chapter 11
The citadel library
The citadel library, Cassia’s safe space and home to Libby the cat, was inspired by a beautiful bookshop in Porto called Livraria Lello. (Just try to imagine it without all the tourists!)
I push open the grand door and slip through.
My jaw drops. The room is long and immense. Dark wood shelves line the walls, and ornate, wood carvings swirl across the ceiling. When I look up, I realize it’s actually the floor of a higher level. I breathe in the scent of wood polish and parchment, reveling in the silence. And it’s not just sound. I can’t feel anyone close by, either. The pressure in my temples fades to the lightest twinge, and my shoulders relax.
The parquet flooring creaks gently as I trail my fingers along the spines of the books, my head tilted as I murmur a few of the titles. There are almanacs, maps, books on the natural world, geography, art, and languages.
I reach the staircase in the center of the room, stepping onto the bright red runner that leads up to a landing, then doubles back on itself to reach the second level. My feet sink into the soft carpet with every step.
Tapestry of Night, Chapter 13
The city of Lisahr
The capital city of Lisahr is inspired by a mix of European cities: Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, and Valetta in Malta.
The sun high in the sky, Lisahr rises in the distance – soaring bell towers and red-roofed houses tumbling down toward the sparkling blue pane of the Farfey Sea.
The carriage clatters and bumps over the cobbled streets, and I notice that Kip takes us the long way around, avoiding the bustling market squares and busy streets.
Gratitude swells in my stomach, soon replaced by a nervous churning as we head farther into the city. Tiled houses, courtyard taverns, and fountain-speckled squares flash past as we make our way uphill. The tangle of staircases and hilly streets all wind up toward the imposing hilltop citadel at the heart of the city.
Tapestry of Night, Chapter 11
The peal of eventide bells accompanies me on the downhill walk from the citadel and through the warren of cobbled alleyways, each dappled in light from street lanterns.
I hurry past the grand houses in the Riverside Quarter, their olive-green, wooden shutters already closed for the night. I pull my hood up for warmth, but also for disguise.
I dart into the next doorway, like Kip taught me, pressing myself against the hard wood, then peer out to make sure I’m not being followed.
The street is empty. I’m dodging into alleyways and circling back on myself for nothing.
Even when I reach the busier parts of the city, the winding streets tangling themselves in knots, no one pays any attention to me.
Tapestry of Night, Chapter 15
The botanics
I have this thing for greenhouses, especially abandoned ones! I’d love to visit an abandoned one in real life, like in the story, but my main inspiration came from two main glasshouses, one in Edinburgh’s Botanic Gardens and another from the glasshouses in Kew Gardens in London.
The voices fade, the people few and far between as I reach the run-down, quiet edge of the city. The white, metal structure of the botanics shines with an eerie opalescence in the moonlight, a handful of stars strewn above its skeleton.
Once set in a thriving public park, the adjoining glasshouses were the pride of city, created and tended to by the Guild’s earth-signers, housing exotic greenery from across Myrsia and beyond.
Now they sit abandoned, the plants slowly trying to reclaim the building – hulking trees pierce the glass roof, trailing climbers twist and twine their way around the outside like a living shroud. Behind me, the city glows with a constellation of street lanterns, but the botanics is dark as pitch, a quiet shadow in a city of light.
Tapestry of Night, Chapter 15
There’s no sign of life as I cup my hands on the cold glass and peer in. I push through the door with a creak, stepping into warm air and darkness. I shrug off my cloak almost immediately.
I take a step down the faint outline of a path. The earthy smell of sap, soil, and something like aloe hangs in the air as I make my way toward the sound of trickling water. Huge leaves slap me in the face, and I paw away the assailing foliage, their jagged, gray silhouettes all around me.
“Cass?” a familiar voice whispers loudly.
“Who else would be stupid enough to roam around in complete darkness?” I grumble, unhooking a fan of spiky leaves caught in my braid.
Tapestry of Night, Chapter 15
The countryside surrounding Lisahr
The lush vineyards and valleys were inspired by a mix of the Douro Valley in Porto and the countryside of rural Mallorca. This inspired the setting for the scene where Cassia and Zeb ride out of the city for *that* stargazing moment.
As the sky darkens above us, we ride at a slow, ambling pace along the wide, main road. The countryside is beautiful, even in the fading light. Rolling vineyards carpet the valley with lines of lush greenery that point down to the River Lis sluicing along nearby. The glow of the city is almost out of sight, the turrets of the citadel poking over the horizon.
We talk about safe topics – Librario, Lisahr, Clover – as day slips into night. After a while, we stop talking and look up. An eternal wash of stars looks back, glittering and vast.
“Let’s stop here,” I suggest.
We’re in between two vineyards, a sloping patch of land that’s part citrus grove, judging by the scent, and part pasture, the soft clanking of goat bells nearby.
Tapestry of Night, Chapter 31
The Rust Desert
Home of the Defiance mages, the rich red rock and the canyons of the Rust Desert are inspired by my time traveling around the Midwest US. Places like the Grand Canyon, Canyon Lands, Zion, and Arches National Parks, Monument Valley, and slot canyons in Arizona all inspired this beautiful but barren desert setting.
I emerge from the tunnels and out into the Rust Desert, squinting, the blazing sun heating my cheeks and forehead. It’s another cloudless day, the sky a haze of blue, the rock and sand below a bright orange. The Defiance sits beneath my feet, hidden deep in the rock alongside one of the desert’s largest canyons. There’s a reason the Governance, the anti-magic ruling power of Myrsia, has never discovered us. It’s so remote out here, there’s no one else around for miles.
Promise of Stars, Chapter 2
Well, except for the sisters. I turn around. Behind me, the towers of the Lunar Enclave bask in the sunshine. From a distance, one would believe they’re just the wind-carved pillars and monoliths of the desert. But up close, the red stone is smooth, arched windows chiseled at regular intervals. The towers are capped with shimmering, silver turrets, but I know they’re an illusion. Each tower is open to the sky.
Custard tarts and port
These crop up quite a bit throughout the book! Cassia loves her custard tarts and Clover loves her port. Both are Portuguese staples and I ate/drank my way through a lot when I was writing in Porto!
“I packed this for you. You said you liked them.” He hands me a brown, paper parcel smeared with grease and flaked pastry. I peel it back to reveal a partially crushed custard tart.
I don’t remember ever mentioning my love for custard tarts to Zeb. He must have remembered me wolfing them down at the Solstice Ball. I smile and thank him, eating the tart quietly, savoring its cold sweetness on my tongue and the warm, fragrant smell of cinnamon.
Tapestry of Night, Chapter 31
“There’s no rush… Thank you.” She’s briefly distracted as Tonny places a carafe of ruby port and two narrow tumblers onto the bar. Clover slides him a silver coin. “Keep the change.” She turns back to me, pouring. “Besides, we’re celebrating a successful Governance negotiation.”
She slides an almost overflowing glass toward me. I hold back my hair, leaning forward to take a sip. The port slides down my throat like hot velvet, leaving behind a warm feeling and the vague taste of honey.
Tapestry of Night, Chapter 17
I hope you enjoyed browsing through the places that inspired me to write! I think even the most fantastical settings and lands feel more real when they’re grounded in real places. While most of Tapestry was written in London and finished in Edinburgh, I started writing in Mallorca and also wrote a bit in Porto, and I think that really influenced my writing – for the better!
If you want to find out more about the books, check out my Star Cast series page.
What are your favorite places you’ve visited in real life that felt just as magical as somewhere fictional?
Elm x