Unearthly

Though the series features a paranormal lead, Cynthia Hand has stated that Unearthly is primarily "a human story" centered on personal matters. "My story is about a girl who wants to understand her purpose on this earth. Her situation is a metaphor, I think, for a basic question all human beings ask themselves at some point: Why am I here? Clara isn’t trying to find her place in some epic struggle between good and evil. She is trying to find herself," Hand said.[2] Hand was partly inspired by events in her own life prior to writing the tale: "I’d just had a baby, my husband had a new job, and we’d moved to a town where I didn’t know anybody, and I really had to stop and ask myself, Who am I? What am I doing here?"[2] These experiences gradually lent themselves to the development of Clara's character.

In creating her male leads, Hand gave Tucker and Christian numerous similarities, believing that doing so would make for a challenging love triangle. "I think one reason why I created Christian Prescott and Tucker Avery to both essentially be good, decent people, was because I wanted Clara to have to make a real choice. It would have been easier, I think, if when she came to her big decision, one guy was kind of a jerk and one wasn't," she said.[3] Despite the commonalities, Hand feels that the characters are distinguished by their flaws, with Christian being overly privileged, and Tucker, at times, being stubborn and prideful. The author took a similar approach in creating her protagonist. "Clara is flawed, but I think that gives her room to grow as a person throughout the series."[3]

In a 2010 interview, Hand expressed fondness for Clara's friend Wendy, noting that her material was reduced for the first novel, but could be expanded afterward. She has described the character as "that kind of steadfast friend who's always there for you, who tells you the truth when you need to hear it, who stands by your side when you need backup, and who doesn't take herself too seriously. Clara needs a friend like that."[4]

Hand has noted Angela as one of her favorite characters to write, citing her complex nature and the occasional rivalry between Angela and Clara. "I think Angela means well, for the most part, but she's so focused on discovering all she can about herself and the angel-bloods that she brings trouble down on herself at times, which often enough brings trouble down on Clara, too," she said.[5]

Throughout the first novel, Clara's mother Maggie is largely presented as a loving but secretive figure. Following the book's release, Hand indicated that Maggie's knowledge and purpose would serve to move the story forward as the series progressed.[3]

In creating the world of Unearthly, Hand researched a variety of angel mythologies and combined them with ideas of her own. "I didn’t want to base my novel’s world on any one text, but I did find some ideas that I latched on to from a host of different sources. Then I did what all writers do: I made stuff up. I released myself from having to be true to one particular mythology and made up my own, which was really fun."[2]