The music references in Unbreakable are even more prominent. I admit that it also gave me the opportunity to mention a few of my favorite paintings, one of which-Chris Berens’ “Lady Day”-took on a life of its own in the novel. Kennedy keeps her feelings bottled up inside, and art felt like a natural way for a person like that to express herself. I wasn’t intentionally trying to pattern her after me that aspect grew out of her character. Kennedy, the protagonist in Unbreakable, is also an artist. In college, I was a Fine Arts major for a while, and I was a painter for years. I’m too superstitious to venture inside a haunted house myself, but I did stand outside several of them, including Lilburn Mansion, which appears in the book, and Georgetown University, where the story opens.Īrt and music have always been huge influences in my life and my writing. I also spent a lot of time researching real haunted places and ghost hunting, including the procedures and equipment ghost hunters use in their investigations. But I researched dozens of real secret societies first, and I chose one of them-the Illuminati-as one of the opposing forces in the series. For example, in Unbreakable, I created a fictional secret society called the Legion of the Black Dove. So I create a foundation that includes an aspect of history, science, etc., before I add my fictional elements.

It’s easier for readers to suspend disbelief if fantasy is mixed with facts. Research fuels my writing in an equally important way. Whenever I feel stuck while writing, all I have to do is stand in front of that wall, or play around with the stack of photos waiting to be added, and something will come to me. In my new office, I currently have an entire wall covered with photos, charms, poetry, and quotes related to Unbreakable-the first book in my new series, the Legion.

But I’m a tactile person, and one of the things I love to do is spread the images all over the floor and move them around to create settings or moods that correspond to different elements of my universe.

Before I had an office, Pinterest served as my virtual inspiration board. Please give a warm welcome to Kami Garcia, folks!Įverything I write begins with an inspiration board that I fill with photos, quotes, and song lyrics that evoke the spirit of the project. The first book in a planned series, Unbreakable is Kami’s second solo novel effort (she’s also one of the authors behind the Beautiful Creatures books – recently adapted to film). Today we are very excited to have Kami Garcia over to talk about her new book, YA paranormal thriller Unbreakable.

Kami garcia the legion book 3