The Story Behind
Helsgaard Keep
It started with a machinima music video that George, his kids and some online friends made in 2009 using the World of Warcraft game engine and screen capture software. The music was "Save My Soul" by Christine W remixed by Gabriel & Dresdin.
The five questions that led to three music videos and several books...
1. In the song, she asks, "Who is gonna save me?" Well, the Paladin is going to save her.
2. Why does she need saving? Because she's fighting dragons.
3. Where are they fighting dragons? On the volcanic plains of Hel.
4. Where did the dragons come from? Hel is their home.
5. Where did the human warriors come from? They came from the fortress on the border of Hel, aptly named Hel's Guard Keep, or Helsgaard Keep.
Just for funsies...
George started his writing career with an article in the October, 1988 Computer Shopper Magazine. Buoyed by success, he wrote several articles for Windows/DOS Developer's Journal and Linux Journal and was a monthly columnist for Hawaiian Hard Drive from 1999 to 2002.
Completing his Graduate Degree with a 160-page thesis, he fondly recalls a job interview in which the prospective employer debated him on the thesis's conclusions. He was surprised they had read it.
As an information security architect, George has written scores of documents, including runbooks, troubleshooting guides, operating procedures, and architectural documents.
Recently, George started exercising his creative brain by writing screenplays. He wrote three screenplays based on the above machinima music videos. He submitted the first screenplay, Blood on the Plains of Hel, to a film festival, and the reviewer offered a suggestion: What if Anja and Rylen were Lozen's parents and she didn't know? That spawned Helsgaard's Heroine, and by following the five questions above, created the prequel.
Another review of Blood... by a prominent screenwriter revealed compelling defects, so it was scrapped and rewritten as Hel's Fury Unleashed, which led to two sequels, whose names have not yet been finalized.
George, the Author
Fun Facts
The terrain surrounding Helsgaard Keep is based on Schnebly Hill Overlook, east of Sedona, Arizona. This makes Sedona the area called Helsgaard Frontier. The walls that are named Eastern Helsgaard Wall and Western Helsgaard Wall really exist at that location. The names were changed, but the terrain is the same.
The Cinder Hills OHV Area inspired the terrain of Hel.
The Nels River is named after George's great-grandfather, Nels, who was exiled from Haderslev, Denmark, to escape impression into the German army during their occupation in the 1800's. In researching the history and the family's genealogy, none of the alleged family stories could be verified, and the dates indicate it never happened.
The Clarellen River is named after George's mother. The story about the settler who named the river actually happened in real life (must read Helsgaard's Heroine for the details).
Lozen is named after an Apache warrior rumored to have had one-fourth of the US Army chasing after her.
Mission Commander Hrolf is based on a real person who was mediocre at his job and ascended through the attrition of those above him. Or maybe several people :)
All of the cursing in the books is based on Old Norse swear words.
"Hell" seemed appropriate for a volcanic area, but the double "L" gave it an undesired religious connotation and was inconsistent with the older Germanic languages, so it lost an "L." It turns out the name "Hel" with a fiery meaning is due to Christian influence, not Pagan beliefs. However, Hel is believed to be underground, consistent with Christian beliefs, where Hel, Loki's daughter, ruled with her dragons. The occupants of Hel were known as Hel-walkers and were those who died of old age or illness.
"Gaard" is Danish for "yard," making Helsgaard mean "Hell's Yard," which the Wyverns would likely agree. "Get out of my yard, Humans!"
All titles in the series must have the word "Hel" in it. Hel, Helsgaard, Helstorm. Whatever. Must have "Hel" in it, like it's a trademark thing.
The movie "Betelguese, Betelguese" referred to Jenna Ortega's character Astrid Deetz as "Little Bird" - a term used in the book Helsgaard's Heroine months beforehand. Coincidences do happen.
Inspiration
Donelle, for seeing Alva as more than just a crazy lady living in the forest, rather, a puppet character manipulating world events. She also supported my writing addiction. Pretty important :)
Tracy, for sharing that she was fired from work because she "didn't fit in."
Unknown Reviewer, for suggesting Anja and Rylern were Lozen's parents, which spawned the prequel to what was the main story.
Chris (with 27 IMDb credits) shredded my screenplay outline and taught me a thing or two about writing a story. The original Machinima videos are flawed in that the antagonists are the Dragons; therefore, the whole story of the undead is incorrect. It took almost two months to rewrite that outline and make the story work because I wanted the Humans to work with the Dragons, as they'll need them to fight the Necromancers in the Necropolis.
Melissa, who wanted to play the part of Lozen in my anticipated indy film, and inspired Lozen to be the baddest bitch around.
Joss Wheadon, though I never met him, I drew a lot of inspiration from his TV show Firefly.
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