Category: Behind the Scenes

I asked readers for some questions, and then I answered them. 

Who is your inspiration for Hess? 
I actually don’t have a conscious inspiration for Hess. I think Hess is a collective of my mom friends.
What real-life places inspired the lands in your universe? 
Oh, great question! Daiesen Bay is roughly inspired by Greece. We visited on our honeymoon, and the feel of the land and trees inspired the terrain for the Bay area.

Other parts of the world are inspired by other parts of the world. The badlands in the Badlands Job are inspired by the badlands in North Dakota, and also the plateaus west of the Rockies, while the City at Naiyn was inspired in some ways by the Morocco, in others by the delightfully colorful images of Cinque Terre in Italy.

I can’t wait to introduce you to other parts of the world. We’ll be going someplace new in the next story.
Who to you talk to for details on things you aren’t super familiar with (or do you do library research)?

…Google…

Most of Zare’s fighting is from my own training in martial arts. Her horsemanship is shaped by my own study of the techniques of Monty Roberts and Buck Brannaman. Food, medicine and other more mundane things are fueled by creative license (the glories of writing fantasy), personal experience, extensive reading, and a little research into regional remedies, wildlife, herbs and their uses, and other such things.

Though, I did text a few friends for information on pregnancy and childbirth to make sure that Hesperide’s experience was fairly realistic (if on the uncomplicated side).

And, while I have never been stabbed, I have a vivid imagination and sliced my finger open with a paring knife once by accident.

How many stories will there be?

The current plan is five. Three “jobs” bracketed by two rather different stories. However, stories have this way of getting loose and ballooning much bigger than I expect. Each story will find its way to paperback and hardcover eventually. And yes, ebook also.

Which story should you read first?

My goal with each “job” is for someone to be able to start with whatever story is currently running, have a good time, and want to read more. Obviously, if you read the story in order, you’ll have a totally different experience. Hopefully an even more amazing one.

When can we expect a physical book or ebook?

That’s a great question. My goal would be to launch a book in a year. There are a lot of factors in play, not the least of which being time.

In a year, maybe? What?

There are a couple things you can do to help that happen. First, if you enjoy reading Zare, tell your friends. Send them the link, bug them till they’ve read it. The River Rebellion is all here, and now they can read straight through like a novel.

Second, consider supporting Zare on Patreon. The more I can earn through the web series, the more time the web series gets. The sad reality of needing money to live.

Third, take a moment to comment on the blog. Tell me about your reactions, your favorite lines, your favorite moments…comments inspire me to write more, write faster. Even when I should be doing other things, like sleeping…