Chimera Falls started out as a fictitious backdrop for the abortive novel I was writing on behalf of Frontier Publishing, Onyx Revolver. A fishing town that had experienced a catastrophic accident that cut itself off from the rest of the world, it became this siren's call for all manners of bizarre and strange figures. My intent when I pitched this novel was to create 'an anime on paper,' which is why you had a human insect and the unofficial sheriff of this lawless town-gone-mad, a man in a silver, black and red luchador mask called El Vengedore de Sangre. El Vengedore became one of the first heroes of the Chimera Falls Universe, and some of the others like Elsa Dawn will appear in slightly altered fashion soon.
Even though Onyx Revolver bled away, I had decided that I could return to Chimera Falls and started setting up the idea that the Falls had a tradition of attracting heroes who reflected the way the city changed throughout the decades. Only one of these stories ever got published, thanks to Curt fernlund's website www.carnaj.com, introducing readers to the roguish Gawain Knight.
In the last few years, Chimera Falls became a true universe thanks to the people at Pulpworks Press. When Russ Anderson approached me about contributing to the first How The West Was Weird volume, I reached back to a concept I played around with as far back as my fanfic days and wrote 'Don Cuevo's Curative,' the first official story featuring the seemingly immortal frontier exorcist and his sexy Chicano assistant, Dolores. I created him with two ideas in mind--one, that he could move back and forth through time to appear in a number of different stories, and two, that he could be connected to Chimera Falls at a later date. When the second volume of How The West Was Weird came along--and I struggled with writing the El Cuevo follow-up I had initially proposed--I got to add another hero to this burgeoning world, the great steampunk inventor Doctor Elias Thunder. And stories explaining the connection between these characters and the ones in The Falls is still sitting here on my hard drive in partial form, which explains a strange relationship between Cuevo and El Vengedore.
And soon, the biggest expression of The Chimera Falls Universe will be ready to be placed in your hands. The Shadow Legion (named by the Captain of Airship 27, Ron Fortier) is a series of books beginning with New Roads To Hell that will chronicle the adventures of a confederation of adventurers devoted to protecting the city of Nocturne.
Nocturne, The City That Lives By Night, is like many cities that appeared in super-hero comics a fictitious metropolis based on a real one. It's a city that for some reason is infused with magical energy, which makes it a hotspot for mystical personages. Some of them have malevolent designs on this historic city, prompting others to form their own defense force...a Shadow Legion to keep this place safe.
In the coming weeks and months as we approach the release of New Roads To Hell, this blog will introduce you to key personages in the Chimera Falls Universe, tell you more about how this parallel world works, and share with you some behind the scenes stuff--some from me, some from my pal Michelle Scuito and, if I can swing it, some from other people who have played a part in shaping some of these characters--that'll get you all ready for this brave new world.
So keep watching this space. Your itinerary is in hand, and your visit to The City That Lives By Night and many of the cities of this world--Chimera Falls, The City of Empire, Jotun, San Cristobal and more (something we'll get into soon, I promise)--is waiting!
