Creating a World of Bats: Part 1 of the Story Behind Kingdom of Bats

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Multiple desires and inspirations led to me writing Kingdom of Bats.

One was a short story I wrote for a school project (yes, school can be inspiring!). The short story featured a tortoise and a swallow discussing the history of a ruined temple. I got the idea for the tale from my school trip to Europe, where we toured various Roman and Greek ruins, and where I encountered many swallows flitting about the ancient sites – and yes, a tortoise that I followed around on its relaxed stroll.

Kingdom of Bats also featured character and location ideas stemming from a series of four books I wrote at about age 12. That’s right, I wrote books back then too: though I must say my writing has developed substantially since those days!

And, of course, bats – an interest of mine since my childhood days – played a key role.

Bats get a bad rep. Most of people’s complaints or fears concerning bats stem from misinformation. If you want to know more about the myths versus facts about bats, watch a video here  or read about them here .

One thing I find really cool about bats is how diverse they are. Instinctively, you may expect different bat species to be mostly alike: bony wings, furry bodies, and beady black eyes. But did you know:

-          There’s a species of bat that’s active during the day and sleeps at night?

-          Only 3 of over 1,300 bat species drink blood?

-          More species of bats roost in trees than in caves – and some species are cave-phobic?

-          Some bats cannot echolocate: they eat fruit, sniffing it out with big noses on puppy-like faces?

There are bats that live on the ground, bats with suction cups on their wrists, and bats that hunt mice. It’s easy to determine what is a bat and what isn’t, but that doesn’t mean they’re all the same!

And that was the largest influencing factor regarding how I wrote Kingdom of Bats. I wanted to explore a world of varying bats, and I wanted a story where bats are represented as heroes (though a few villainous bats show up as well).

 

Which animal do you feel gets a bad reputation, but deserves to be the hero in a story?