Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the moms who appear in my fiction. In a very real way, I owe my start as a novelist to my mom. In 1993, I read The Magic Journey by John Nichols. One of the characters was a woman who grew up in a small New Mexico town, but left to make her own life elsewhere. Elements of the story reminded me of the stories my mom told about growing up on a homestead near Raton, New Mexico and moving out to California with her cousin in the 1940s. The confluence of ideas made me think I could tell a generational story set on an alien world. That story became The Pirates of Sufiro.
As it turns out, there are several moms throughout the Space Pirates’ Legacy series. Suki Mori’s mom appears in Firebrandt’s Legacy and storms off to Epsilon Indi 2 to rescue her daughter from a crime boss. The Pirates of Sufiro opens with Ellison Firebrandt’s mother appearing for the first time in years. She’s on a quest to end piracy and while she could have taken him off to trial and possible prison time, she chooses to maroon him in space with just enough fuel to reach an uninhabited planet where he can make a home. Once they reach Sufiro, Suki becomes a mom. Her arc echoes my grandmother’s story. Like my grandmother, Suki was portrayed as a strong woman who helped build a homestead, but sadly died far too young. Despite that, Suki’s daughter Fire grows up to become a historian and also raises a son. Fire continues as an integral character in Children of the Old Stars and Heirs of the New Earth. You can learn more about the Space Pirates’ Legacy books at: http://davidleesummers.com/books.html#pirate_legacy
As a parent, one of the scariest things to imagine is harm coming to one of our children. For most of us, the last thing we can imagine is deliberately hurting one of our children. This is one reason the legend of La Llorona here in the Southwestern United States is so terrifying. It tells the story of a mother who drowns her own children, then immediately regrets it and drowns herself. The legend inspired the vampire Mercy in my Scarlet Order vampire novels. In this case, Mercy fed on her children when she became a vampire. In an attempt to make peace with her conscience, she becomes a mentor to two younger vampires. I’m planning to explore Mercy’s character more in the third Scarlet Order novel, which I’ve been working on. You can learn more about the Scarlet Order vampire novels at: http://davidleesummers.com/books.html#scarlet_order
Three moms make prominent appearances in the Clockwork Legion novels. The first is Ramon’s mom, Sofia Morales who appears at the end of Owl Dance and the beginning of Lightning Wolves. Ramon inherits his wisdom and compassion from her. Later, in Owl Riders, once Fatemeh Karimi has married Ramon, she becomes mom to a precocious daughter named Alethea. Among other things, Fatemeh passes along her ability to listen to owls and understand what their verbal and nonverbal communications mean. In the final act of Owl Riders, we meet Fatemeh’s mom in Persia and learn where Fatemeh gained many of her healing gifts. I’m in the process of proofreading the new edition of Owl Riders and have been enjoying spending time with Fatemeh and her family again. You can learn more about the Clockwork Legion novels at http://davidleesummers.com/books.html#clockwork_legion
Even my horror novel, The Astronomer’s Crypt has a mom. Astronomer Dr. Bethany Teter is a mom-to-be. She’ll do everything she can to protect her unborn child, which is a challenge when the storm of the century blows up on the mountain where she’s observing, drug traffickers arrive, and a monster from the dawn of time appears. She does a good job looking out for herself, but she also has allies in her husband and a friendly ghost who watches out for the mountain’s astronomers. You can learn more about the novel and watch a short film based on the novel at: http://davidleesummers.com/Astronomers-Crypt.html
Since this is the day before Mother’s Day, I suspect you already have any gifts for the moms in your life. However, I’m sure many moms out there would love more ebooks on their readers. Following the links will tell you how to find them. I hope you’re able to celebrate Mother’s Day with a special mom. I’ll be celebrating with my wife and remembering my mom.
David Lee Summers' Web Journal 