Line #19 Creator/NancyACollins


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nancy_collins.jpg]]
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3	Nancy A. Collins (b 1959) is an American author of {{horror}} fiction and comic books. She is best known for her Sonja Blue series of vampire novels, starting with the MediaNotes/BramStokerAward-winning ''Sunglasses After Dark'', and for her association with the [[ParodyReligion Church of the Subgenius]], where she is known as "Nanzi Regalia".
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5	In the world of comics, she is best known for her work on ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' and ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}''.
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7	She was nominated for the MediaNotes/JohnWCampbellAwardForBestNewWriter in 1990 and 1991.
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9	!! Works with a page on this Wiki:
10	* The ''Literature/SonjaBlue'' series
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13	!! Tropes in her other works:
14	* EvilSmellsBad: Thanks to the entire species having individual {{Signature Scent}}s—which can be altered for the worse by spiritual corruption or even negative emotions—the worst of the worst [[MageSpecies Kymerans]] in the ''Golgotham'' trilogy tend to eventually acquire burnt, acrid, or sulfurous odors.
15	* MageSpecies: The ''Golgotham'' trilogy has both supernaturally-gifted humans [[spoiler:like the latent [[ExtraOreDinary ferromancer]] heroine]] ''and'' a distinct species called [[TheFairFolk Kymerans]], who are the descendants of the last survivors of {{Atlantis}}-by-any-other-name. Their distinguishing traits are as follows:
16	** Look more-or-less like attractive humans, but have [[AnimalEyes cat eyes]], jewel-toned hair (it used to be [[FantasticCasteSystem rigidly]] [[FantasticRacism segregated]] along [[PeopleOfHairColor primary]] lines, but that's since been relaxed...if mainly out of [[RacialRemnant necessity]]), and [[ExtraDigits six fingers on each hand]]. [[{{Fingore}} Loss of their sixth fingers]] will DePower a Kymeran[[spoiler:, although it's ''specifically'' those fingers which are essential; the loss of an entire hand or even ''[[AnArmAndALeg arm]]'' can be remedied, with no significant impairment to magical ability, by a {{magitek}} [[ArtificialLimbs prosthesis]]]].
17	** There is no apparent gender imbalance, in any direction, within their species. The term "warlock" ''is'' used in reference to their men, but "witch" is also used as a gender-neutral term.
18	** Morality varies by individual, and runs the gamut from heroic to unmitigably vile.
19	** Interfertile with humans[[spoiler: (in fact, hormonal contraceptives [[ButWeUsedACondom lose some degree of reliability]] for [[InterspeciesRomance interspecies couples]] if only formulated for one partner's species), although their [[ExpressDelivery approximately six-month gestation]] tends to make for high-risk pregnancies in such cases]]. Any resulting child will probably be a "[[MuggleBornOfMages norlock]]."
20	** Oh: and they, ''to a person'', have [[SignatureScent unusual natural body odor]] (although not unpleasantly so unless the Kymeran is either an [[EvilSmellsBad unpleasant]] ''[[ObviouslyEvil individual]]'' or [[DespairEventHorizon at a particularly low point emotionally]]) and [[BizarreTasteInFood adventurous]] [[ForeignQueasine palates]].
21	* MonsterClown: "The Dreamclown", a short story. The titular clown, rather than being a garish and grotesque creature, is portrayed as a graceful mime-acrobat, in the style of the French Pierrot. It spends evenings on the street outside the house of two boys (the narrator and his brother), entertaining them with its enchanting, almost ''seductive'' performance. [[spoiler: The narrator's brother is drawn in by the Clown's act, and loses his soul.]]
22	* MuggleBornOfMages: "Norlocks" are sometimes born to the Kymeran MageSpecies in the ''Golgotham'' trilogy; they generally [[ExtraDigits have five fingers per hand instead of the usual six]], and are considered disabled by other Kymerans due to the species' focus on magic. Kymeran [[HalfHumanHybrids Half-Human Hybrids]] are likely to be norlocks[[spoiler:; explicit mention is made of Tymm—son of the protagonist and deuteragonist in the series—having five-fingered hands like his (human) mother, although one ''does'' wonder how her being a [[ExtraOreDinary ferromancer]] would affect him]].
23	* PeopleOfHairColor: Plays into the history of the Kymeran MageSpecies in the UrbanFantasy trilogy ''Golgotham'': Before [[{{Atlantis}} Kymera]] sank into the ocean, their hair was exclusively in primary colors and rigidly coded to [[FantasticCasteSystem caste]]: blue for aristocrats, yellow for artisans, and red for peons. While the RacialRemnant who survived the crisis intermarried out of necessity (adding secondary colors to the range of possibilities), traditionalists still tend to hold [[FantasticRacism some degree of bias]] against anyone with warm-toned hair[[spoiler:, (although even most of ''them'' only consider it all that important that the heir to the throne have SupernaturalGoldEyes)]]. The only mentions made of Kymeran skin tones are in reference to specific individuals; therefore, it's probably safe to say that the same variations (or lack thereof) exist among all three castes and their descendants.
24	* RatKing: In the UrbanFantasy novel ''Left Hand Magic'', a supernatural [[SwarmOfRats conglomeration of twelve New York street rats]] tries to eat the heroine's puppy. [[spoiler:Luckily, her witchy boyfriend's {{familiar}} instead ends up eating the rat king.]]
25	* SignatureScent: [[MageSpecies Kymerans]] in the UrbanFantasy series ''Golgotham'' each have a very distinct individual scent. Good or neutral Kymerans tend to have herbal or floral scents (although SupremeChef Lafo instead smells like Bananas Foster and corn dogs); [[EvilSmellsBad evil Kymerans tend more towards sulfur, fish oil, scorched metal]], and other similarly [[SarcasmMode delightful]] things. Additionally, a change in scent can be a warning flag: [[spoiler:Erys]]—who later turns out to be [[spoiler:Nina's [[GrandTheftMe comatose body hijacked]] by an astral-projecting [[BigBad Esau]]]]—has an "unnatural" mix of molasses and dill; [[spoiler:Dori]]'s scent goes from bergamot and orchids (when she's a [[StealthPun garden-variety]] [[FantasticRacism bigoted]] {{yandere}} ''[[JerkAss annoyance]]'') to ashes and black pepper (when she starts [[spoiler:committing assault and being an accessory to worse crimes]]); and even [[spoiler:Hexe]]'s usual chypre/citrus/leather sours and picks up a hint of mold [[spoiler:when he's being corupted against his will by an ArtifactOfDoom]] and is [[spoiler:on the verge of irreparably alienating his pregnant consort]].

Context Creator / NancyACollins