Five Key Ways I Built My Indigo World

Guest Blogger: Jordan Dane

The inspiration behind Indigo Awakening (book #1 in the Hunted Series, Harlequin Teen) came from researching Indigo children. Query “Indigo Child” on the Internet and you’ll get over 8 million hits. Real life and headlines often inspire my books and this time is no exception. Conspiracy theorists have linked the CIA, the UN, and the Pentagon to the phenomenon known as Indigo or Crystal children. For the purposes of fiction, I took liberties in my portrayal, but Indigo kids are generally described as highly intelligent, gifted teen psychics with a bright “indigo” aura and a mission to save the world. They have high IQs, see angels and commune with the dead. Because they are often misunderstood, they’re diagnosed by doctors as having attention deficit or behavioral disorders and are often medicated.

Are Indigo children real or are they manipulated by adults to believe they’re special? Are they dysfunctional misfits or mankind’s evolutionary savior? You decide, but I find the notion of man’s evolution intriguing. Here is the synopsis to Indigo Awakening.

 Because of what you are, the Believers will hunt you down.

Voices told Lucas Darby to run. Voices no one else can hear. He’s warned his sister not to look for him, but Rayne refuses to let her troubled brother vanish on the streets of LA. In her desperate search, she meets Gabriel Stewart, a runaway with mysterious powers and far too many secrets. Rayne can’t explain her crazy need to trust the strange yet compelling boy—to touch him—to protect him even though he scares her.

A fanatical church secretly hunts psychic kids—gifted “Indigo” teens feared to be the next evolution of mankind—for reasons only “the Believers” know. Now Rayne’s only hope is Gabe, who is haunted by an awakening power—a force darker than either of them imagine—that could doom them all.

They are our future—if they survive…

 Five Key Ways I Built my Indigo World

1.)  I triggered my premise with a “What If…” question that had conflict – The most important question in a writer’s arsenal is “what if.” What if Indigo kids are the next evolution and their psychic abilities are evolving and escalating? Who would fear this and feel threatened? I had to have a larger than life villain with a universal reach to terrorize these children. (Yeah, that’s how authors think.)

2.) I created conflict through a powerful enemy – The Church of Spiritual Freedom (specifically, a covert operation of overzealous “Believers”) use their faith as justification to persecute those they fear, believing God is on their side. They fear that Indigos and Crystal children threaten humanity’s existence with their “unnatural” superiority. That’s the basic conflict, a David versus Goliath storyline with an abundance of potentially evocative themes.

3.)  I did research to add depth and dimension –I blended my research on Indigo kids with the topic of psychic powers to create a different kind of world that wouldn’t be formulaic. I wanted the reader to “feel” these powers and how they erupt or evolve within each character. I didn’t want to simply describe traditional psychic abilities. I wanted readers to understand how these kids feel as their power explodes or how their gifts morph into something far greater after they make contact with the “hive mind.”

4.) I provided a cultural context and hierarchy to my world that added to internal conflict for my characters – There is a hierarchy of Indigo Children/Indigo Warriors/Crystal Child. I made Indigo kids the base level with the status of a Crystal child more unique, powerful, and elite. Indigos are highly intelligent intuitive teens who “feel” their way through life, trust their instincts above all else, and can often see angels and the dead. Some Indigos are warriors with a fierce fighting spirit and a rebellious nature. This difference fuels future conflict between the cultures as Crystal children tend to be more peace loving and innocent. They are our future, if they survive, but what kind of world will they build?

5.)  I built in consequences for wielding power – There is a dark side to having these powers—a duty and responsibility—and when the Believers tamper with science and human nature, they battle something they should have respected more. In book #2, Crystal Storm, There are consequences on both sides when power (of any kind) becomes abusive.

If you could have a secret Indigo power, what would that be?

Have you ever experienced a psychic moment or do you know anyone who you think is a real psychic?eHe

Do you think the young mind is more receptive to psychic suggestions or can adults develop this ability if they open their minds to it?

 HarperCollins launched Jordan Dane’s suspense novels back to back in 2008 after the 3-book series sold in auction. Ripped from the headlines, Jordan’s gritty plots weave a tapestry of vivid settings, intrigue, and dark humor. Publishers Weekly compared her intense thrillers to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner, and Tami Hoag. This national best selling, critically acclaimed author’s debut novel NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM was named Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2008. Dane writes her Sweet Justice adult thriller series for HarperCollins. Her young adult novels, IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS and ON A DARK WING, are with Harlequin Teen. Currently, she is writing a new series for Harlequin Teen – THE HUNTED – slated for release in 2012-2013. Formerly an energy sales manager, she now writes full time. Jordan and her husband share their Texas residence with two cats of highborn lineage and two very lucky rescue dogs. You can find Jordan at her website, on Twitter, at The Kill Zone Blog and at the Adr3nalin3 YA Blog.

5 Comments:

  1. Book birthdays are always special. Thanks for featuring mine on your amazing writers blog, Janice. Happy writing!

  2. I have heard of these children and find a book premise on this fascinating! I sure will be picking Jordan’s new book up to read. I like the “What if?” aspect of this to make it even more terrifying.

  3. What a fascinating premise. As a child and as a adult, I have occasionally had strong premonitions. It’s easy to mistake it as anxiety–hard to differentiate!

    • Loved your comment, Kelly. I had an incident that happened when I was a kid that I’ll never forget. My mom had asked me to go with her one night to run an errand. I said that I would go, but once I got in the car and she clicked on her headlights, I got hit with a strong feeling. I KNEW that if I went with her, we would both die–something would happen unless I stayed home. I got out of the car without questioning that feeling and went inside the house, without much explanation to mom. I knew she’d be upset with me, but when she came home okay after her errand, I felt good about that decision. Weird. It was the one premonition that I feel certain that I had.

      I think you’re right about this kind of thing being caused by anxiety, but that’s not how it felt at the time. It struck me so hard and fast, that I felt compelled to obey the feeling. Thanks for your comment.

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