? Christina had blondish-brown hair—a much closer match to Leroux’s original description of a blond Christine than the dark brunette version inspired by Hollywood and Broadway.
? Christina’s talent flourished at a young age, and a civil servant became her patron, enabling her to have vocal training despite her peasant background. Leroux’s heroine was also lower class and beneath Raul’s station in the story; her patron, who appeared out of nowhere and offered the vocal guidance she needed to rise to her full potential, was a mysterious and elusive voice from behind the mirrors and walls—aka her Angel of Music, the Phantom.
? Christine’s father played a violin in the novel; in real life Ms. Nilsson herself was a violinist.
As I began looking into Christina Nilsson’s timeline from birth to death, I found it can easily run parallel with Leroux’s Phantom, with only a couple of minor discrepancies. Her birth was in 1843, and Erik’s is calculated to be somewhere in 1831, according to his age in The Phantom of the Opera. That would make Ms. Nilsson only twelve years younger than the Phantom, as opposed to twenty-some years younger like Leroux’s Christine. Also, some phans have estimated that the bulk of the book, when the Phantom and Christine meet and interact at the opera house, took place between 1863 and 1864. Since Ms. Nilsson did in fact have her debut in 1864, that’s the ideal span of time for them to meet and for her to receive his musical guidance. However, the renowned soprano never once performed at the Palais Garnier—the opera house said to have inspired Leroux’s Opéra Populaire. Her debut took place in another Parisian opera house called Théatre Lyrique. Furthermore, if Erik indeed “died” in 1882, as some have estimated, that would be the perfect time for him to fake his death and lure Christine to his side (which was pivotal to RoseBlood’s plot)—especially considering Christina Nilsson’s first husband died that same year, so she was between the only two marriages recorded in her personal history.
Upon learning all of this, I knew I had my “real-life” Christine Daaé counterpart. I simply needed a way to explain the discrepancies and weave the Swedish soprano into Erik’s history. That’s where Leroux’s original serialization of the Phantom tale in a French newspaper—prior to his writing and publishing the novel—comes into play, as you’ve seen in my story.
To give the incubus/succubus element even more depth, I found another historical figure to tie into Rune’s family. Any online search for Comte de Saint-Germain will turn up fascinating and unsettling rumors from the 1700s of a man suspected of being a vampire and having great talents and intellect, along with a knack for alchemy and black magic.
While trying to uncover a more mystical and powerful term than soulmate, because what Erik and Christine shared was beyond anything cliché or traditional, I stumbled upon the concept of twin flames. It’s inspired by Aristotle’s philosophy of love: one soul inhabiting two bodies. The concept is beautiful and empowering, yet in some ways tragic and overwhelming—the perfect summation of their relationship. As I researched twin flames, auras and chakras kept surfacing, which gave me the idea to weave them into my succubus and incubus canon.
Of course, as a writer, I exaggerated and embellished the details to fit my story line. So, if any of these concepts or histories captured your imagination while reading RoseBlood, be sure to do your own research and seek the truth behind the fiction. The only thing better than visiting fictional worlds is realizing how interesting and colorful the one you already live in actually is.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Gratitude to my husband and children: Vince, Nicole, and Ryan. It takes special people to coexist with a writer. Your patience over the years each time I’ve had deadlines and you’re left eating TV dinners in a dusty house while wearing the “least” dirty of your neglected laundry has gone above and beyond. Let there be no doubt: You are the heroes of my life story. Also, thank you to other family members who offer constant support from the sidelines.
Grateful hugs to my #goatposse for their uplifting witticisms, heartfelt posts, and unwavering devotion to “the herd.” And to my critique partners: Jennifer Archer, Linda Castillo, April Redmon, Marcy McKay, Jessica Nelson, and Bethany Crandell. Without your writerly wisdom, business savvy, and faith in my work, I would still be writing under a rock somewhere, afraid to show my words to anyone.