When Ellen called me and invited me to work on Tremontaine, I have to admit, I was a little star-struck. I’d first read Swordspoint at sixteen, which is, I’d contend, the perfect age to fall madly in love with both Richard and Alec, with the intensity of them, their black humor and utter willingness to destroy others, destroy themselves, for the sake of love.At sixteen, I hadn’t yet realized I was bi, but there was still something about them that spoke to me, in a similar way to Lackey’s Vanyel and Tylendel. They possessed (or were possessed by) a love that was taboo, that broke across societal boundaries. I had been born in Sri Lanka, had been raised in America by immigrant parents who expected me to have an arranged marriage, and had forbidden me to date. I still thought I was straight, but I knew something of forbidden desires, the kind that start as a seed in your heart and grow, sometimes almost unnoticed. Grow until they explode, shattering your life in the process.I ended up not just bi, but poly – I was in a threesome for three years, so when I started reading Tremontaine, I was delighted to see the warmth between Tess and Kaab and Vincent. I didn’t know at first what exactly would happen between them, but as I wrote, it became clear that they were so comfortable together, so casually affectionate, that it would be natural for them to fall into bed together, at least once.That scene was a pleasure to write, especially because in the process, I spent more time with Tess, sensible, practical Tess, who was fast becoming my favorite character. In Season 1, Tess was the girlfriend, the object of intense Kaab’s affection; in Season 2, I feel like Tess has come into her own, so that you can see more clearly how strong she is, living as she does enmeshed in her society, in a network of friends and family. Tess knows exactly who she is, and what her place is. For me, Tess is the beating heart of Riverside, and maybe that’s why Kaab is drawn to her – she embodies what Kaab herself desires, what Kaab fears she has lost.I was also lucky enough to introduce a new character, Esha Jayasuriya, and if she’s a bit of a Mary Sue, I hope you’ll forgive me. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to write a little of myself into the world of Tremontaine, and so here you have a woman who has come across the seas. Her land has been ravaged by war, and her family, what remains of it, is far beyond her reach. But Esha has made a home for herself in the City, has learned to adapt to it, while retaining the core of who she is.There is something about this City that speaks to her – the flash of a blade, the kiss of skin to skin. I think Esha belongs here, that she was always on a trajectory in her journey that would bring her to rest here. And when she meets the fabulous Diane, Duchess Tremontaine – well.
