And now for something completely different — a little piece I wrote for George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards about the origins of Natya, my Sri Lankan bharata natyam-dancing superhero. She isn’t based on me. Not at all. Not even a little…
“This isn’t going to be a normal superhero origin story. It’s Wild Cards, so you already know how Natya got her powers – she was first Kavita Kandiah, a dancer who contracted the virus, and came out the other side with ace powers, the ability to channel the energy of her dance into forcefields that could be solid enough to dance on, to form into shimmering elements for her performances. They could also, it turned out, be slung forcefully into bad guys, especially the ones that kidnap her daughter…but that’s another story…”