Why angels?
As much as I love the urban fantasy/paranormal genre of books, they're overrun with vampires, werewolves, witches, and wizards. I love those, and some fantastic authors write about all those I listed. I wanted something different. Since my last name is Angel in Italian, I figured why not a protagonist who has angelic blood. Perhaps a Nephilim. I did have to take some creative license as it seems all the Nephilim appeared to be giants. I couldn't very well have an 8ft private investigator running around.
Part of my inspiration for portraying the main character came from the book, Angelology by Danielle Trussoni. I recommend reading it as it's a fascinating book. Her portrayal of the Catholic Church and angels was spectacular. At least to me, it was.
While my background isn't hardcore Catholic, the idea of Angelology as a field of study was a lot more in-depth than I realized. I knew there was some New Age stuff out there but never really ventured into Christian doctrine about angels. So, I started, and that has sent me down a rabbit hole of crazy things.
What is Angelology?
It's merely studying angelic beings through the Bible's pages along with Jewish and Pagan mythologies. It was popular in the Middle Ages and has seen popularity come and go like everything in the supernatural realm. You have the Seraphim, the Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, the ever-popular Archangels, and regular angels.
Some are referred to as the Watchers in the Bible, especially the Book of Enoch, which goes into almost clinical detail. Don't worry; I'll spare you that as it can be a bit dry. In all this, I figured this would be an excellent base to start my series. So, I created Rian MacCaren as the protagonist. His mother was human, and his father an angel as to what kind, you'll have to continue reading the books.
Since a private investigator has more freedom than a detective or a cop, I created the Midnight Agency as Rian's place of work. He also needed a look and personality, so as a writer, I put a lot of myself in that character. The sarcasm, the dirty mind, and the struggle to do good even if he wants to ignore it all and go back to bed.
Like most myths, the Nephilim were strong, and even angels had a lot of power. So did many other supernatural beings and creatures. For Rian, I wanted to start small. He has psychometry and can heal faster than most people, but only because I wanted to drag him through the mud. He is a bit prideful, which will take him through some humbling due to his actions and abilities that will eventually increase throughout the series.
Most of all, I want him to do good. Help people in ways no one else could. That's part of why I made him an investigator. I wanted him to be clever and willing to get dirty to get the job done. Rian needed to do the job no matter what, even if the costs were higher than he initially considered. While he is a bit proud, I tried to temper that with selflessness.
He loves helping people and is always down to make sure the bad guys don't get away. All this is the start of the Midnight Agency and the main character, Rian MacCaren. As I write more, you'll see him developing more into the man he needs to be. He may fall in love, bring the bad guys to justice, and even learn about why he is on the Earth and if he can indeed find the salvation he desires and fears.
The next blog will be a fun intro to some of the other characters that make up the series and give hints about where the series will be going… besides forward.
