Ten Things You Didn’t Know About The Stars That Fall Pt. 1 | The Making of Kingdoms of Yah

When I embarked on writing this series, I wasn’t sure what I would have gotten out of it. I knew I wanted to tell a story about gods and angels because I really loved books like Hush, Hush and Fallen.

At the same time, I wanted to explore character arcs, worldbuilding, and epic journeys. I wanted to create this ‘new world’ vibes within my novels. Books like The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe helped me to realize that the sort of books I wanted to create would have fantasy elements with a hint of magic.

Then, there were books like A Court of Thorns and Roses that inspired the way I manipulated my characters as they navigated the world. At the same time, I knew that I didn’t want to be trapped in creating this ‘medieval old world’ and I certainly didn’t want my books to fade into the abyss of fantasy tropes. So, without further ado, here are ten things you probably didn’t know about Kingdoms of Yah, with the first five being discussed today.

It Is a Multi-POV Book

Multi-POVs are difficult to write, so when I started writing The Stars That Fall (formerly, The Bloodlust Power) I had no knowledge that books could even be written that way.

In 2019/2020, I only ever came across dual-POV books, so I started with it in first-person, then third-person POV. Later, I realized that writing an entire book from Bry’s perspective would be tremendously difficult because unfortunately Bry wasn’t there to witness the events that took place in my book (characters can have a mind of their own sometimes).

The book was better told with multiple MCs, all who recount a version of events that is *slightly* reminiscent of what really happened.

The thing is, I was writing from the perspective of three main characters, three supporting characters, and five minor characters (each with a maximum of two chapters). That made a total of eleven POVs that needed to be carefully balanced. It managed to get easily confusing due to the introduction of so many characters, but I made it my mission to solidify that Kireh and Yugi were the main MCs of the book.

All the Characters Are Morally-Gray

All the characters have personal motives, biased beliefs, and skewed storylines, including the antagonists of the story.

Each person lives in a world governed by a triad known as the Asayli. While the world seemingly is at peace, with a near-utopic setting, it is understood from the very beginning that the inhabitants of the realm do not necessarily trust the government. We see through Yugi’s POV that the inhabitants owe their lives to the Asayli who saved them from a war in the realm’s history, but it is also clear that due to the war these same inhabitants no longer trust gods—and this distrust extends to the Asayli.

There is Off-Screen Romance

We all know about on-screen romance. That’s when two main characters fall in love and the reader gets to journey through the romance, the heartbreaks, the love, and the first kiss! It’s a riveting moment for any reader to experience love within the pages of a book (and I love me a good romantic subplot). But to be honest, it is not always my favorite to write.

And some readers are in it for the story (not the love). Off-screen romance alludes to the fact that the characters are in love, but nothing really shows up on the pages. A few of my characters (namely Kireh, Bry, and Eros) have lovers, who motivate them throughout the course of the novel.

Kireh and Bry’s status is prominently displayed, with Kireh’s own story being introduced within the first fifteen chapters! Bry’s love life serves as a major plot twist (and a spoiler) and so does Eros’s.

I want to believe that the love that each of my characters felt is what truly motivated their decision (although one could argue that greed and desire for power also played a key role).

The Book is Set in the Very Distant Past

It is set way into our universe’s past—in the first million years of Earth’s creation. At this stage, Earth was still in its prime, and lifeform hadn’t existed yet, though Yugi notes that there were ‘small animals’ and undiscovered ‘sea creatures’.

Plant life was thriving, but animals both prehistoric and modern did not exist. The book also tells you that the Zamŷni Wars was fought centuries ago, before Earth was created, alluding to the fact that the wars was fought around the time the universe was birthed. Our universe is a sub-realm or a regency in Ịtoba, known as Kotak, and it is a hotspot for resources necessary for the immortals. A war was fought over who could control the regency.

The World is Inspired By Ancient Hebrew and Ancient African Tales

A mixture of Hebrew and West African stories have majorly influenced the world of this book. For the storyline, I got inspiration from Biblical legends, in particular, the fall of Luce, the Book of Enoch, and Revelation. The culture of the world is inspired by ancient West African culture, in particular Asante, Yoruba, and Berber. There are others that made their way in the book.

Creating the language took some time, especially with the words that appear (often on italics) during speech. Many of the words find its inspiration and source in the Swahili, Yoruba, and Igbo languages with a few from Shona and Sudanese.

Conclusion

Next week, we will go about the next five things you didn’t know. And there will be some spoilers, but I will let you know ahead of time so that you can skip it.

Happy Writing!