Favorite UNDER THE NEVER SKY Scene

This week’s assigned topic is tough—rather like choosing your favorite child. I think if you do your job well as a writer, then almost every scene should be your favorite. At least, that’s the hope.

Having said that, there is a scene in UNDER THE NEVER SKY that comes to mind. Without giving too much away, it’s a scene that occurs on a high rooftop surrounded by a pine forest. Aria, my female protagonist, and Peregrine, my male protagonist, are alone up there, talking after a very tense situation. The scene itself is a quiet scene, relaxed, and very private. 

It’s the private part that gets me every time I read it. I always feel like an intruder when I get to those pages in the story. It makes me want to tiptoe away and sneak closer. That scene is special to me because it’s special to them in ways I can describe and in ways I cannot. It’s their moment, and I feel like I was lucky enough to be there to see it and try to capture it on the page.


What inspired the scene? Perry happens to share more than his name with the falcon. He likes space, preferably elevated where he can see for miles. He found his way to the roof, where a real peregrine would be. From there it was all feel. The result of combining the setting and the characters and the situation. Of mixing exhaustion, surrender, the quiet of the mountains and the smell of pine. A poor answer, but I'm standing by it. It's the truth.