Are the bats in Silverwing based on real types of bats?
Yes. All my characters are based on real species of bats — even Goth and Throbb! Shade’s a silver-haired bat; Marina’s a red bat, Goth is something called a spear-nosed bat, also known as the Vampyrum Spectrum. Cama Zotz is based on a real Mayan bat deity of the same name. I also wanted to pick names that seemed appropriate for flying creatures. So I used the names of some angels (Cassiel, Ariel), the names of special winds (Zephyr, Chinook, Scirocco — you can look them up!) and mythic heroes (Icarus). As for Shade, his name just reminded me of shadows and twilight. Marina means “of the sea” — she lives on an island as the story begins. And Goth is kind of shorthand for the word “gothic” — which conjured up all sorts of images of vampires and dungeons.
