My Obsession With Wings

I have been hard at work on the sequel to Earth and Sky, and while doing that I've spent WAY too much time on Pinterest.  I like to create inspiration boards where I post pictures that remind me of the story I'm working on--some in obvious ways and some more subtle.

One of the themes in the boards for Earth and Sky and it's sequel is wings. One of the races in my books are Fallen, a vampiric, magic-using race who boast massive wings.

I love the thought of having wings. From as early as I remember, I've had re-occurring dreams about being able to fly.  In my dreams, if I flap my arms hard enough and run to get up some momentum, I can fly! I am always amazed and exhilarated by this discovery, and am always trying to show someone else- a disbeliever who thinks I'm crazy. Now, I'm a very vivid dreamer, so I confess, I look forward to these dreams where I get to soar around in the air under my own power.

Why am I so obsessed with wings and flying?

I think it's a natural and common thing for humans to dream of flying. After all, it's something we land-based creatures can't do. And there is some great symbolism there. I never set out to write morals or symbolism or deep ideas into my novels, but sometimes they get in there all on their own. Here is what my winged characters represent to me.

--Human potential: We are amazing in our ability to dream, and our ability to follow those dreams to crazy heights. More often than not, my winged characters end up being the ones who dream up impossible things, or encourage those around them to follow their dreams or live up to their full potential.
--Sometimes our wings fail us: Even though we have this amazing potential inside us, sometimes we fail. Sometimes we fall, our wings fail us, they get wet or the magic fades. It's what we do then that shows our true nature. My winged characters are bereft without the use of their wings, but they end up dealing with it anyway and carrying on with their adventures--because in the end it was never the wings that let them fly in the first place, it was something inside them.
--None of us are whole alone: In Earth and Sky, my characters find out that amazing as each race of creatures is, none of them are as powerful alone as they could be together. Who is there for you when your wings give out and you've lost the will to fly? Who would you carry, even when your wings are tired and you feel like you can't stay airborne one more second?

"We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another."
  Luciano De Crescenzo

Check out my pinterest boards for some cool pics of all things winged, as well as lots of other really beautiful pics that remind me of my novels.