It takes dedication to find this page hidden deep within the Tagonist Knights Website.
Congratulations!
When the lines between our world and fiction begin to blur, one must wonder, what is real and what is the stuff of dreams? You will be introduced to individuals who explore these possibilities. Learn of heartfelt quotes and insight into their thoughts. Explore the behind the scenes story behind its creation. Be entertained with artwork and memes related to this narrative. Like the mysterious man hidden in Kimberly's comic books, there is a multitude of Easter Eggs and secret knowledge that will be revealed along your journey on this page.
“To give her a proper name would limit her somehow, confine her perfection. The word sunset does not begin to encompass the beauty of what nature provides us each day.” – Logan
Say Hello - The Cast of Eye of the Beholder
“I pledge my mind, body, and soul to you for eternity if you should so grace me with the blessing of your presence. I am yours if you would have me.”
Logan
Art Gallery Painter
Where he could have indulged in the pleasures of her body, he chose to embrace her soul.
Kimberly
Comic Book Artist
“He is handsome, cute in a sweet, innocent sort of way. Obviously deeply loyal to you… Marry him right now, today, before you lose him.”
Penelope
Comic Book Writer
“You are dollar signs to me. I couldn’t care less if you work yourself to death. It just means whatever you have left will make me a fortune.”
Rebecca
Artist Agent
“She is like air in my lungs. Without her I would suffocate. She is my heartbeat. My body would grow cold to the touch without her presence within me. She is the light of my day and the soft glow of the moon at night.” – Logan
Relevant Artwork/Memes
“If an angel leaves the blessed light of heaven to pursue vengeance upon the devil, all she does is bring a divine being into the darkness, possibly never to return, becoming just another lost soul. I would sooner take your place in an eternity of damnation then to see you face such a fate.” – Logan
Origin Story:
Artistic Inspiration
An original concept was a woman drawing a man she didn't know existed in the privacy of her home. A sister ridiculing her in thinking she was weird to draw this mystery man so often. One of many small elements that were later used as inspiration for the final concept.
Alex Ross, an artist well known for his lifelike versions of comic book characters greatly inspired Logan. His work on Marvels being highly influential to the author concerning the possibilities of artwork. It is because of his style of artwork related to comic book characters that helped create the basis of the plot. Alex has done series where he did the artwork for the cover while another artist create the content for the interior of the mini-series which create the core idea of the story.
Kimberly being a comic book artist was greatly inspired by the author's own interest in that form of storytelling. He has been interested in them since he was a kid. The idea of her including "the mystery man" was an ideal way to link the pair together. Being exposed to conventions and cosplay was also sources of ideas derived from the author's own life in that he's dressed up as Batman at Comicon.
There was consideration to end the story with them meeting, but the author wanted a more realistic reaction from Kimberly. Her questioning the fairy tale created a better sense of what it would be like to be exposed to a scenario like this. The ending is left ambiguous and left open to interpretation until you read the novel: Dryad's Dream.
Origin Story:
The Real World
A real-world event when the team behind a Batgirl redesign created a new approach to her appearance in 2014 inspired the core of the plot when it came to the events taking place within the fictional comic book industry, Tagonist Comics.. They moved away from the spandex, form fitting costume to something more realistic. A leather jacket instead of a skintight top. A cape that visibly clasped onto the shoulders. Little details like this caught the attention of the author who was a cosplayer, someone who creates costumes of their favorite characters, could more easily recreate. That's when it hit him, what if an entire comic book company went for a redesign like that. He knew it would lead the two people together with her comic book involvement and his realistic drawings.
When the author first began writing the book, there was no connection to what was then the stand alone novel, Heart of Ice. He realized that Penelope was acting a lot like a female version of Mitch, from what would eventually develop into the Noble Souls Trilogy. That's when he had the idea that this book was set in that reality, and that the pair were siblings. It wasn't until the development of Queen's Court that he fully committed to this concept of Mitch and Penelope being brother and sister. The group from this novel make an appearance in the final book of the trilogy, Dearly Beloved, for those who want to revisit the cast.
The original draft was too short for what the author felt to be a full length novel. There was a leap from Logan disappearing to him coming back again. The scene at the convention with the woman dressed in a Sparkle uniform, the pair of women at the restaurant, and the idea of the artist disappearing into the comics, all of that came about in a later draft after originally completing the book.
“A touch of a single fingertip upon a woman’s skin should be treated with as much care and concern for perfection as a stroke of a paintbrush upon an empty canvas.” – Logan
Easter Eggs and Inspiration
Kimberly and Penelope work for a comic book company called Tagonist Productions. This a reference to Tagonist Knights Publishing, the same company you are now visiting the website of. In an early draft it was "Paradox Productions" but after creating Tagonist Knights Publishing, the author made the change in the book in honor of this.
“The greatest wonders of this world began with faith in the impossible, a creation from the depths of one’s imagination, something truly beautiful from nothing.” – Logan
Want to revisit the book page?
Click the image:
Are you ready to return home?
Click the logo:
