Before anything else existed in Mirror Me, there was the land.
When I began building Sam’s world, I imagined a place that was open, vast, and untouched by human hands. Here in Charlotte, North Carolina, we live among the history of many Indigenous peoples. Long before modern neighborhoods and roads, tribes walked these hills, lived in these forests, and cared for this land. Their history became the foundation for the story.
A Gathering Place
In Mirror Me, the land where Sam’s house now stands was once a gathering place for women. I imagined women from different tribes and different communities coming together simply to be with one another. It was a place to hold ceremonies for young women entering adulthood.
One idea shaped this part of the story from the beginning. The women believed the earth held something deeper, something worth listening to.
Throughout the world of Mirror Me, vibration sites exist like the one hidden in Sam’s backyard. At these places, the earth responds to the women who gather there. During ceremonies, elders present young women with gifts formed from the land itself—a necklace of stone or a necklace of shell. Those gifts symbolize a lifelong connection to the earth beneath their feet. Different cultures may practice differently, but the purpose remains the same: to ground a young woman as she enters a new stage of life.
Ancient Stones
Massive stones mark each vibration site. Lava formed them more than 400 million years ago. North Carolina is home to remarkable stone formations, and you can still find them along the roads around Concord. Some seem to rise directly out of the earth.
Those formations inspired the sacred site at the center of Sam’s land. In the novel, the stones do more than mark a location. They connect to other vibration sites across the world, suggesting that the land remembers something humanity has forgotten.
Listening
Vibration is more than something you hear. It moves through you. It changes you. At the same time, it grounds you.
In Mirror Me, that power doesn’t belong to Sam alone, nor does it belong to one particular tribe. It belongs to the relationship between people and the land itself.
If we’re willing to listen, the land remembers.
Mirror Me launches February 2027.