Every story begins somewhere. Evermourne began with a collection of fantasy worlds I loved, ideas I wanted to explore and one central question:
What if the hero of a fantasy story was an ordinary young mother trying to keep a baby and a small child alive?
In the summer of 2025, my family was waiting for a surgery date for my youngest child. She was born with hip dysplasia which had not been diagnosed at birth. She was 6 and we were spending the summer in the garden due to walking long distances being difficult. We spent days on end in the swimming pool, and she loved playing with her brother and sister as well as such a support group of friends and their parents.
Well this led to a lot of time at the house that summer. I spent time on the laptop. One thing you should know about me, is that I’m an incredible creative person and create stories and worlds in my head all the time. Well I had the laptop, I had the kids playing beautifully, while I sat there and I started writing. I wrote for hours on end every day, between board games and pool sessions I wrote my little heart out.
By the end I had created a large fantasy world filled with different peoples, creatures, gods, magic and social change. However, I wanted readers to experience that world through someone who was not a warrior, ruler or all-powerful chosen hero.
Faye begins her journey with limited power, two vulnerable children and no understanding of how important her choices may eventually become. All from sitting there in the garden wondering how the hell I would be able to get my children to safety if I ever needed to. Faye was born. What if the hero of a fantasy story was an ordinary mother trying to keep a child alive? Which by the end extended to a baby as well.
The Worldbuilding of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
One of my biggest inspirations is the worldbuilding in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. I love watching its world expand as new species, cultures, countries and political relationships are introduced. Each group has its own abilities, beliefs and place within the wider world.
This inspired the different peoples of Evermourne, including the Fenrathi, Eldahrim, Duergrin, Nymari and Ondari. Each has its own culture and history, while decisions made in one settlement or kingdom can affect people much further away.
In Book One, Evermourne is deeply divided and trapped in poverty. As the series progresses, new ideas begin improving everyday life. By the later books, countries will be sharing technology, knowledge and democratic ideas while learning from one another.
Evermourne is not intended to remain a fixed setting. It will grow alongside its characters, allowing readers to see how one generation’s decisions reshape life for those who follow.
Innovation in Ascendance of a Bookworm
I love how Ascendance of a Bookworm explores inventions and improvements that gradually change everyday life. Its innovations are not limited to weapons or enormous displays of power. Knowledge is used to solve ordinary problems and improve how people live.
One example that stayed with me was Rozemyne’s influence on sanitation in the lower city. Cleaning away the waste and smell was not as dramatic as winning a battle, but it made everyday life safer and more pleasant for thousands of ordinary people.
That inspired me to consider how farming, medicine, sanitation, education and manufacturing could gradually transform Evermourne. A small discovery that initially helps one family or settlement could eventually change an entire kingdom.
Because Evermourne follows several generations, readers will see these improvements develop over time and witness how knowledge discovered by one generation changes life for those who follow.
Creatures, Gods and Legends
Creatures, Gods and Ancient History
The creatures, gods and goddesses found throughout the Percy Jackson books influenced my love of mythology within fantasy. I enjoy stories in which gods are not distant ideas. Their relationships, rivalries and choices continue to affect the lives of mortals.
In Evermourne’s history, Eldareth was accidentally created during a conflict between two gods. The damage they caused tore open reality, forming the Rift through which divine power entered the world and became mana. Gods shaped forests, raised mountains, created creatures and sometimes lived among mortals.
Some gods protected people, taught them or genuinely loved them. Others treated mortals as servants, experiments or entertainment. Their interference eventually led the Ancient King to seal the Rift, cutting the gods off from Eldareth and removing mana from most humans.
Centuries later, the people living in Evermourne know very little of this true history. Religious teachings and frightening legends have replaced much of what really happened. The gods may be gone, but their creations, old temples, magical creatures and the consequences of their choices remain buried throughout the world.
What If the Hero Had No Magic?
Many fantasy stories follow someone with extraordinary strength, magical talent or a hidden destiny. I wanted to begin somewhere different. While watching my own children playing in the garden, I found myself wondering how I would possibly keep them safe if we ever had to run from danger (with my youngest being fragile). That thought became Faye and her baby.
What if the central character had no mana, combat training or powerful weapon? More importantly, what if she had a baby and a frightened young child depending on every decision she made?
Faye cannot approach danger like a traditional fantasy hero. Before choosing a route or taking a risk, she must consider whether the children are hungry, frightened, cold, injured or too exhausted to continue. She must stop to feed and clean the baby, comfort Fern and find somewhere safe for them to sleep. Even escaping danger becomes harder when she cannot simply run without them.
Her vulnerability does not make her weak. Her courage takes a different form. She keeps moving while terrified, provides care when she has almost nothing left and repeatedly places the children’s survival before her own.
Realistic Romance and Relationships
I wanted Evermourne to contain relationships that feel complicated, imperfect and believable. Love does not automatically solve every disagreement, and believing that you love someone does not necessarily mean the relationship is healthy.
Spoiler
Faye begins the story believing that Quinn is the love of her life, but their relationship is abusive. Her understanding of love has been shaped by her limited experiences, and part of her journey will involve recognising the difference between love, control and dependency. Other relationships will be casual, unexpected or built slowly over time. Fenriren and Naska share one night together without it becoming a lasting romance, while both eventually find love elsewhere.
Relationships within Evermourne will also reflect the different people and cultures of its world. Naska will fall in love with a warrior princess, while the Ondari do not have genders at all. The series will explore romantic love alongside parenthood, friendship, loyalty, desire and found family.
Evermourne is adult fantasy, and sex will be part of some relationships. I enjoy adult romance by writers such as E. L. James and Sylvia Day, and I do not want intimacy to disappear as soon as characters fall in love. Some relationships will be messy, some wholesome and some harmful, but all of them will continue changing as the characters make mistakes, grow and choose whether to remain together.
Injuries Have Consequences
One element of fantasy that sometimes frustrates me is how quickly characters recover from serious injuries. In series I enjoy, such as That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime and My Hero Academia, characters can find the strength to continue fighting even after suffering injuries that should leave them unable to stand.
I wanted Evermourne to approach this more realistically. Poison, blood loss, infection, pain and exhaustion cannot be overcome through determination alone. An injury can prevent even the strongest character from helping, forcing someone else to act instead.
Strength is not always demonstrated through fighting. Sometimes it means surviving, accepting help and allowing the body time to recover.
Spoilers for the end of Evermourne Book One
Near the end of Book One, Fenriren is poisoned with henbane and remains unconscious for weeks. When guards arrive at the group’s new home, a mysterious voice finally pulls him out of his nightmares and warns him that Faye and Fern are in danger.
In another story, this might have been the moment when Fenriren found a sudden reserve of strength and defeated everyone. Instead, he wakes confused, dizzy, starving and without his usual weapons. He manages to throw one guard aside, but another cuts the back of his leg and brings him to his knees. His determination to protect the group cannot erase what the poison has done to his body.
Faye saves them not because Fenriren’s strength suddenly returns, but because his injuries genuinely prevent him from being the hero everyone expects him to be. The moment allows Faye, who has spent the story believing herself powerless, to become the person who protects them all.
Combining These Inspirations Into Something New
The worldbuilding I love, the gradual development of inventions, the presence of gods and creatures, and my desire for realistic consequences all contributed to Evermourne.
However, its heart came from the questions I kept asking:
- What if the fantasy hero was a mother?
- What if she had children depending on her?
- What if she possessed no obvious magical power?
- What if relationships remained complicated after people fell in love?
- What if injuries genuinely prevented heroes from fighting?
- What if discoveries made by one generation transformed life for the next?
Those questions became the foundations of a multi-generational series about motherhood, survival, prejudice, relationships and a world beginning to change.
Follow the Creation of Evermourne
Evermourne: Book One is currently in development. I will be sharing more about its characters, peoples, locations, artwork and the process of building a fantasy world across multiple generations.
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