An Introduction to Elphaba Nishi by Author Sarah Baethge

Sarah lives in Salado, Texas, on a donkey ranch.

She states “ I’ve always been a fan of Science fiction, and I write Sci-fi/Fantasy.  I’ve done little more than read and write for most of my adult life.”

Her books include (Click on the titles to see more details):

Panoptemitry, First Impressions (Breaking Away part 1), Unforeseen Help (Breaking Away part 2) and Right Now

Sarah writes about her book Panoptemitry

The higher up S.Y.M.A.C.1 commander/operative in my book Panoptemitry, Miss Elphaba Nishi is really almost something of a joke. I knew I needed a strong force on the technological side of the conflict that wasn’t exactly working hand and hand with the main group, so I created the childhood rival of my researcher Emilija Lithuan to fill the roll.

Nishi didn’t exactly start off as anything more than the idea of someone who was unlikable or bad. I wanted a name that didn’t quite sound normal, because Elphaba is supposed to have lived all of her life in space stations alongside my almost main character Emilija. My step-mother loves the movie The Wizard of Oz, so as I watched it with her one day I stayed on the lookout for a good name.

I was in luck! At one point I think it was the good witch calls the wicked witch of the west Elphaba. It was the perfect name that almost sounds normal but isn’t quite. It was the perfect source of a name for someone who’s not very nice. The last name didn’t take me long as I remembered that nishi is Japanese for west when I tried to remember the Spanish word.

Elphaba didn’t really turn out how I had planned after all, in fact I’m starting to find out that is true for nearly all of my characters who can live through my writing for any length of time. When I started writing Panoptemitry, I wouldn’t have believed it if you told me that her story leads where it does.

I don’t regret it though, there is just something fun about getting into the story so deeply I almost lose control of where my people go. And I wouldn’t change it now; after seeing where spur of the moment changes left me, I wouldn’t change a moment of it

Find out more about Sarah and all her books at the following links:

Amazon