What was your inspiration for H.D.W?

Hi Louise!

Inspiration is always a tricky thing to talk about. Generally it comes in dribs and drabs and the rest is a lot of hard work and contemplation. The idea came initially as the setting - a world ruined by a collossal war. I had to solidify this world before I could put my characters in it, because people are shaped by their environment.

Eventually I decided that people without luxuries would revert to a more practical outlook, that some skills would become more valued in this new world than others, and that people would band together to form smaller groups few and far between. This naturally creates in-groups and out-groups, if you know your pop psychology, and this defensive society generally becomes more protective (and therefore more aggressive – and prejudiced) than before. This was how the idea of Shianti, also known as “Hermeticia”, came about; how Gabel got his need-him-but-hate-him status; how religion changed from a cultural throwback to a necessary part of life; and how groups like the Luxers and the Caballeros de la Muerte grew in size and strength.

Many of the actual events and set-pieces are the result of just plain old hard thinking, trying to come up with something exciting that might not have been seen before, and naturally trying to push the boundaries of the traditional fantasy genre. I’m not a fan of “hard fantasy” and believe that we should all be moving away from the Tolkeinesque second worlds that have proliferated in recent years. Hopefully my particular mixture of fantasy and speculative fiction is more interesting and original than some.

I hope this answers your question! Hope you enjoy the book, be sure to let me know what you think!