'Dollhouse' and a Bohemian Legend

I ran across the legend of the Knights of Blanik Mountain while researching something else for another book (can't remember the actual book, but I do remember getting happily sidetracked by this). I love the idea of mythical guardians of a country staying hidden and dormant until roused by a threat. In the case of the Knights of Blanik Mountain, it would be the call of the patron saint of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), Wenceslaus I. 

The sleeping Knights of Blanik Mountain

So one thing led to another the more I read up on it, and eventually I came up with the idea of supernatural guardians specific to different countries who are locked in a perpetual tug-of-war over human souls against another figure from legend: Viduus, a minor Roman god who is responsible for separating the human soul from the body. In the case of the AU Europe I chose for the setting, Viduus appears in a variety of disguises to desperate mortals, and he tricks them into a bargain over a cursed artifact or object that reflects the victim's deepest desire.

In Dollhouse, we're looking at an orphan boy who's always wished for a family, and he's separated from his older sister one day and is enticed into a mysterious toy store. For poor little Arthur, his desire for a family is turned into a deadly bargain over a dollhouse. 

Wenceslaus I

It's this use of a cursed object that's also spawned the collection's name: Curiosities. Curiosities were previously associated with a collection of oddities housed in a display cabinet, but that idea evolved into its current form the farther I got writing Dollhouse. So Arthur's cursed object is different from Alexej's (Automata) and from Emerick's mother (Eidolon). 

I was tempted to write more for this collection but found myself losing steam with Eidolon, which is a shame because there's really so much more potential for this collection. I'm open to possible future books but in long novella form (see: Ghosts and Tea), but as always, it'll all depend on time, energy, and inspiration. All the same, I'm happy with what I've managed to accomplish with just three books for this collection and don't regret leaving the collection as is. 

Dollhouse is part of February's Backlist Bonanza 50% off sale, and you can get a copy of the book over here.