How does an author create their world? - June Competition Winner Announcement.

Congratulations Laura

Her question was - how do you create your worlds?  Do you base them on periods of history or a mixture of existing cultures?

I found writing Prophecy of the Kings came very naturally - although over a long period of time (4-5 years!). In my book I created the Eldric. They were a very advanced race who had mastered sorcery. They came from across the ocean and helped stabilise the world, which at the time was in conflict. The Eldric sorcerers used the spirit world for their power - mainly using elementals for minor spells such as healing. However, in Prophecy of the Kings the Eldric as a race have mysteriously vanished and so too has sorcery, leaving the people vulnerable against future demon attacks.

The Eldric legacy was very much like the Roman legacy is to us, today. There are ruined Roman cities that tell of a dominant race of people who ruled at a time when most other societies lived in wooden buildings. I wanted to create a sense of wonder and of superstition, fuelled by the Eldric's disappearance and the demon threat. The latter was a cyclic event with demon attacks occurring every 500 years. This made the superstitions real, but vague. That was based on our Saxon heritage where people were much more likely to believe in imps, fairies and dragons. I liked that sense of naivety. We have a huge sense of wonder in our childhood and I wanted to capture that in an adult world.

There were two other entrants.

Janet asked where I got my inspiration? That's easy - it was from reading fantasy books and being sucked into a world of fairies, elves, goblins etc. I love imagination so I guess that is what inspired me. Tolkien has a lot to answer for, of course. I particularly liked the Silmarillion.

Lastly, Chris asked where do you start your research? For fantasy, that's coming up with an idea. I'm not sure you can research that, but I would recommend reading yourself and trying to find an idea that stands out and that you can build on.

Thanks all for entering the competition.

David