1. Are there any books or authors that inspired you to become a writer?
The first six Oz books by Frank L. Baum when I was young; W. Somerset Maugham’s Complete Short Stories and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier when I was a teenager; Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and Robot series, and of course, the first three books of Frank Herbert’s Dune series.
2. Have you ever traveled as research for your book?
Not exactly but the seed for The City of the Magicians series was planted when I was nine years old and living in France. I stood in the middle of the Normandy War Memorial site surrounded by little white crosses as far as the eye could see, utterly dumbfounded by the profound waste of human life. I never forgot it and it became a principle premise for the series. Once I started writing, I knew this had to get published.
3. How did you come up with the title for your book?
My partner Robert was hosting a live interview at the Vancouver Writers’ Festival with five mystery writers, three of whom whose protagonists were based in specific cities (Mexico City, Berlin and New York). He asked them how the city was a character in their books. The answers were illuminating but the question dazzled me and gave me the series title of The City of the Magicians. However, as the book grew longer and longer, the title became the series title after the book underwent a literary mitosis into the three books of the first trilogy.
4.How do you come up with character names for your stories?
I love languages and have many foreign language dictionaries. The main male protagonist’s name, Sas, came from the casual browsing a Greek-English dictionary where “sas” the plural word for “your” was the name that suddenly fit. The name, Shoan (from an unfinished novel), had waited for years for me to find a fresh place for him. The other protagonist was extremely reluctant to emerge or reveal their name or gender. Slowly, they revealed that they were female––but her name? No. I was patient with her and tried a few names but they were placeholders––none of them suited. Months later, coming from nowhere, the name Lalya finally clicked and the rest of her plot arc unfolded beautifully with striking surprises. No obvious decision of mine: Gleswea, a major character, knew who she was, name and all and was fully formed from the outset, waiting strong and confident for me to write her into the series. Naming characters is a fascinating process. It must be similar to expectant parents, who having decided on the baby’s name, are startled after the baby is born that a new and different name has claimed the newborn!
In writing, a name, once found, can initiate, define, mark and substantiate an entire plot arc, if not an entire life . . . as if a destiny has been mapped and chosen.
5. What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book?
Develop consistent writing habits, whether it’s a specific word count or writing for a fixed number of hours every day. Whatever works for you. Whatever allows you to think of yourself as a writer. Stick to your writing habits and make them a necessity. If something you’re writing grinds to a halt, work on another part of the work. If it really freezes up, take a break and read a book––preferably outside of your genre. I’ve heard it said that too many hopeful young writers these days don’t read enough. As much as possible, at all costs: keep writing. Journaling or keeping a diary is not “writing.”
6. What books did you grow up reading?
A few Hardy Boys, a few Agatha Christie, a few Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. As mentioned above: Isaac Asimov’s Robot and Foundation series, Frank Hebert’s Dune. All of these I read several times. As I got older: Olivia Manning’s The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy (known collectively as Fortunes of War) and ambitiously: George Elliot’s Middlemarch come to mind. Non-fiction, history and biography became passions after reading Amy Kelly’s brilliant Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings.
7. What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?
The premise came first: What does a pacifist, non-violent city-state do to prepare for a barbarian invasion coming in six months? It was the two protagonists who, trying to answer the question in their individual ways, configured the plot outline and co-evolved with it. It’s the old, ‘Which came first: the chicken or the egg?’ question. Character was dependent on plot and vice versa. Observing the dependencies shift between plot and character as each evolved was absorbing but it can’t disturb the writing. Occasionally a character would suddenly pop up and clearly state, “This is where I come in!” and there is no choice but for the author to agree. Thus the plot not only advances but deepens.
I write more happily to endings including chapter endings. If I know the chapter’s last line or paragraph, the writing is easier even though I might not know how to get there. That’s half the fun and half the mystery. Sometimes, sneakily, it is the character(s), not the author, who decides.
Affecting both character and plot, though, were the images or events in my head (sometimes waiting years to be written) that were the magnets drawing characters and the milestones that unexpectedly pivoted plot arcs.
My biggest surprise came at the ending (now the last chapter in book 3 – Quickening), where what I had planned was coming off a little tame. After sketching out a vague outline of it, my little writing voice said, “Okay, you’ve got that out of the way; now write this!” It was shocking. I was suddenly possessed and wrote furiously for ten non-stop hours ending up with a wow-finish wildly superior to anything I could have imagined. It was intact, complete and required no editing. On some thrilling level, I had taken dictation.
After writing that last chapter, the book was far from done. It took another five years of constant, continuous editing and rewriting to bring the rest of the manuscript up to the standard of that final chapter!
Writing can be a marvellously dynamic shape-shifting experience! Reading the results: equally so!
8. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Gardening. I used to grow vegetables and raise bees. The garden gradually became a pollinator garden but over five years my bee hives suffered complete colony collapse. They all died. My garden is mostly pollinator now, which has allowed the many wild native bees and butterflies to thrive.
I also wrote monthly columns for two publications over ten years, which was fun but also an excellent writing discipline with a strict word count and a non-negotiable deadline.
9. What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
That’s a tricky question. If something resists the writing, I’ve learned enough to leave it alone. With a series of this scope, I can usually work on another section or chapter. If all else fails, which was rare, I give it a rest for a day or so and read something entirely unrelated. Gardening columns were a break from the five to eight hour daily writing routine and would freshen the writing when I returned to the City.
10. Which of the characters do you relate to the most and why?
Initially, I felt closest to Sas and his conundrum but as Lalya’s struggles grew more desperate, my intrigue and empathy with her intensified. Purdu, the barbarian leader’s character was a little trickier. I mean, how many barbarians do I know, let alone their leaders? None. So I read biographies of invaders, such as Alexander, the Great, Babur, the Tiger and Napoleon, but this initially didn’t seem to help much for what I felt was needed. Then gradually, through dialogue, Purdu revealed himself over several chapters. The research had surreptitiously given him a voice and I got to know his innermost motivations, which significantly boosted the plot arc. In general, as each character grew, it was a pleasure to understand and sympathize with each one of them.