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Action, Adventure, Location, Medieval, Michael Dellert, The Romance of Eowain, Tips on location for writers, Writing Locations
Michael. Writer, editor, consultant.
Before I answer, let me say what a great honor it is to be interviewed by—uhm—hamsters. I can’t say I ever imagined this glorious day would come.
As to your question: Is there such a thing as a petty hamster? I wouldn’t have thought that so grand and magnificent a creature as a hamster might have lesser cousins?
But a petty hedge-king, that’s a king over a very small territory, a mere tribe of some 3000 souls. The “hedge” of such a kingdom might be the shrubberies we know today, or stone walls, or even a hedge of spears.
The word “hedge” is used in the sense of a form of protection (“a hedge against a loss”) and also in the Samuel Johnson sense of “something mean, vile, of the lowest class.” So a hedge king is a king of the lowest class, responsible for the protection of his people. Ancient Ireland (the inspiration for my stories) had several ranks of king, from the 150 or so merely tribal kings up to the High King of All Ireland himself, so to avoid confusion, I use “hedge king” to denote the lowest rank of those kings. Rather a lot like a Scottish Laird or an English Baron, only before the days when the kings of Scotland and England could claim any real authority over such lesser lords and they could still put on grand airs and call themselves “kings.”
MICHAEL.
I think location is at least as important to a hamster as it is to a writer. A Syrian Hamster in the arctic wouldn’t last very long, I expect. Hamsters spend most of their time during the day in underground locations to avoid being caught by predators. So a hamster in an above-ground location at high noon is at much more risk than a hamster abroad at twilight. So it seems location should be very important to a hamster.
In the same way, location is important to a writer.
Location can help develop a character’s backstory, for one thing. A character raised in New York City or Edinburgh has a very different set of environmental influences on his character development than one raised in remote monastery of the Himalayas, for example. Different religious influences, different linguistic influences, different historical influences, and so, different characters.
Location in a story can also be important because it can be used to establish the “character” of the story in terms of tone, suspense, and the opportunities for conflict and action. My own stories are set in a small kingdom surrounded by potential enemies who provide lots of opportunities for storytelling, and who limit in a way what kinds of stories I can tell, as well as the way I tell those stories. A peaceful suburban subdivision would provide a much different set of storytelling opportunities, and require a much different kind of a story-telling style.
Another reason why location is important is because it can be used to drive the story forward toward its conclusion. The use of the light, darkness, weather, and climate in a location can determine the tone of the story at different points and help to reinforce the emotions that the writer seeks to elicit from the reader in those story moments. When the hero is facing his most desperate moment in the story, a dark and stormy night on a desolate, rocky, wave-swept isle can be just the right location to reinforce the dark night of the soul that the hero (and by extension, the reader) is experiencing.
So location is important to a writer because it influences the behavior of the story, just as location can influence the behavior of hamsters.
Michael
I would have to say both. For one thing, you can never separate the character from the setting in which he was raised. Even if you physically pick him up and plop him in another setting, he will—at least initially—behave as if he were still in his original setting. This is why the “stranger in a strange land” archetype is such a popular one in literature.
However, the setting of the story might be very different than the setting from which the characters originate, or it might be the very same setting. Which to choose depends on what kind of story one wants to tell. In my recent book, the main character and the antagonist are both native to the setting of the first act of the story, while the romantic interest is a stranger in their land. In the second and third acts of the story, all of the characters travel to yet another setting that is similar to their own, but more hostile to them because they’re strangers in it.
By varying the setting like that, I was able to heighten the tension for all of the characters involved, and limit the resources available to them in resolving their conflict.
In comparison, the main character of my second book was a complete stranger from a far distant country, with a different language and a different culture. Placing him into a setting with which the other characters were already familiar allowed me to highlight elements of the setting to which the other characters were blind. This allowed me to bring a sense of wonder to that story that might not otherwise have existed if the main character were a native to that setting.
Michael.
I would have to say harder, although I enjoy the challenge. My fantasy world is very “low fantasy,” in the sense that it’s grounded very much in the historical realities of our own world. That being said though, we moderns are still a long way removed from the medieval agricultural society in which my stories are set. In some ways, describing “Earth” from such a far distant past is as difficult as describing Mars today. One has to set up the context for occupations like “harrower” for a modern audience. He’s the fellow who follows along behind the sower of seeds and closes the furrows in the soil where the seeds have fallen, so that birds—and hamsters—don’t steal them. As well, one has to know that such an occupation ever existed in the first place. So a lot of research goes into the “everyday life” part of my fantasy world.
On top of that, the fantasy part requires at least as much research (how have other fantasy storytellers handled magic and dragons,
for example) and then some imagination (what new element can I add to that wider genre discussion about magic and dragons?) as well as a fair bit of logic (if magic can do anything with the wave of a wand, why do we need harrowers?).
By comparison, a more contemporary story in a non-fantasy setting doesn’t need to explain who the plumber is, what the sink is, or why the crack of the plumber’s bum is showing. That’s just the way our real world is.
Michael.
I definitely mapped out my medieval setting, and not just the Celtic part of it either. Because I wanted a deep sense of realism in my story, I mapped out a whole continent. But that scale of mapping is not necessarily very detailed. The smallest-scale map I had when I started writing the stories was about 1/3rd mile per 1/4 inch, and covers about 300 square miles, showing all the villages, settlements, rivers, streams, roads, and trails in the hedge-kingdom of Droma.
But as I’m writing the stories, I often find myself mapping out much smaller areas (a battlefield, a village) in greater detail. I’m a very visual person, and these maps help me to visualize the setting in greater detail.
“Oh, look, that part of the hill is really more like a cliff. Guess the hero’s army can’t go charging up that way. But what if the hero and a small band of warriors scaled that cliff? Would the villain at the top be expecting that? Especially if the hero had the rest of his army mounting a diversion on the other side of the hill, where the going is less steep?”
And so on like that. By visualizing the setting, I can find limits and opportunities for the story-telling.
Michael.
In a way, I have already set my books in the Greater New York City area. I grew up in a very rural community on the far northwestern fringe of the New York area, and that location has influenced my writing immensely already, with its slower pace of life, its farmlands, and its large swathes of wilderness to explore.
But yes, I’ve considered stories set in a more urban contemporary setting. I have a work-in-progress that I turn back to now and again called “Last New Jersey Exit” that is set in New Jersey and New York City during our own modern period. Of course, that’s a very different kind of a story than those I’m currently publishing. No wild-eyed warriors charging over the hills with spears and chariots (more’s the pity, really).
Michael.
I think some writers sometimes make the mistake of plopping very contemporary attitudes down in a location that can’t support them. For example, in my medieval setting, literacy isn’t common, and the number zero hasn’t been introduced yet, so one has to imagine a middle-class adult merchant who has maybe a modern six or seven year old’s education, trying to do basic arithmetic without using a base-10 math system or the number zero. I’ve seen other writers in similar settings who make it seem like the modern developed-country literacy rate of 90%+ would be common in such a setting, and it just isn’t so.
One also has to be careful about cultural artifacts. We have this idea that Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table were running about the English countryside in full suits of plate mail armor. In fact, the stories from which those images derive were written during the later medieval period, whereas Arthur himself would have existed (if at all) during the late Antiquity period, centuries before such suits of armor were invented. So one has to do one’s research and be careful about the kinds of technology that are available in the time and place of one’s setting. One can’t bring a gun to a knife fight if gunpowder hasn’t been invented yet.
Another common mistake writers make with location is that they tell us about it (“look, a cherry tree”) rather than showing it to us (“the drooping branches of the pink-coated cherry blossom swayed in the wind”), and fail to engage all of the senses (“I saw a kitchen,” versus “the kitchen smelled of cold chicken broth, rotting bones, wilting lettuce, and the desperate sweat of many generations of misfortunate cooks”).
While people are generally very visual creatures, smell (as one example) is particularly acute and strongly associated with memory. And a raunchy, lustful scene will seem very flat without the touch of silk, leather, and latex that might be present in that location.
I highly recommend spending time in the sort of locations in which one expects to set a story. Take the time to notice the feel of the air at different times of day and year, and how people move and behave in that setting.
New Yorkers on the streets of the city move very differently in June than in January, and they move very differently on the streets of Los Angeles than native Angelenos do—LA natives actually wait for traffic lights to change before they cross the street, even if there’s no traffic; New Yorkers don’t.
Notice the smells and the sounds. Taste all the foods, and even things that aren’t food. Learn to describe the feel of things: smooth, rough, bumpy, and so on.
If one has the opportunity, travel broadly, to settings quite different from familiar ones, and try to know them as intimately as possible. Get a sense for the scope of the world we live in, and the scope of the world in one’s story, and appreciate how setting and location influence attitudes and behaviors.
Takes notes of all of this, and keep those notes handy and dip into them liberally while writing. This will lend a deeper sense of realism to one’s stories, which will draw readers in and have them believing in the world of the story as deeply as they believe in their own world (which is really just a different kind of story, after all).
Michael
The Romance of Eowain is a novel that questions the nature of love. The two primary characters have been maneuvered into an arranged marriage for political reasons, and this arrangement has been sanctified by their religious order for its own mysterious reasons, but the two characters are very concerned that “love” (whatever that is) should be a part of their decision to marry. This is especially important to the female character, who has the right to refuse the arranged marriage, but also wants to do right by her family and her kingdom.
So the two characters struggle to understand what love is and whether they can find it in each other. They are opposed by the rival cousin of the hero, who wants both the bride and the kingdom for himself, and questions about loyalty, trust, pride, honor, respect, and family obligations are all raised.
It’s also an adventure story, so the characters find themselves carried from one harrowing threat to the next in their quest for an answer to the question: “Can two people in an arranged marriage find love?”
Michael
I’ve just started working on the fourth book in the series, I already have a draft written for the fifth book in the series that needs rewriting, and I have material for another half-dozen books beyond that. So a resounding yes, the Matter of Manred Saga will definitely continue.
Beyond that, I also write creative advice that I publish on my Adventures in Indie Publishing blog at mdellert.com. I’m also developing a soon-to-be-released novel-writing course. And of course, I’m always dabbling with other stories—both in this setting and beyond—as the mood strikes me. I try to stretch the limits of my craft to bring my readers the best stories I know how to write, and readers can keep up with news and information about my projects through my Adventures in Indie Publishing newsletter.
“I would not sell myself so cheap as to be nothing more than a pawn in such a fickle game. If peace and goodwill are to come of our marriage, then peace and goodwill must go into it first. And so I tell you true, and may the Gods and the Ancestors punish me if I prevaricate: I do not yet know my own heart and mind in this matter.” – Lady Eithne of Dolgallu
The Hedge King’s family has feuded with hers for a generation. Marriage between their two clans would bring peace.
But the Lady Eithne of Dolgallu has a right to refuse his marriage suit, and withholds her decision from him like a badge of honor.
Meanwhile, his cousin Tnúthgal jealously covets his throne, a renewed threat of banditry endangers his people, and rival heroes emerge to challenge his reign.
And what interest do the mysterious priests of the Order of the Drymyn have in Eowain’s wedding plans?
Can young King Eowain hold his kingdom together?
Can he convince the Lady Eithne to be his bride?
Can two people in an arranged marriage find love?
Find out in this exciting, new, full-length adventure novel, The Romance of Eowain!
The Romance of Eowain is the third installment in The Matter of Manred, a new cycle of medieval romances, action adventures, heroic fantasies, mysterious priests and their dark and forgetful gods, brought to you from the fantasy fiction workshop of Michael E. Dellert.
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shehanne moore 
‘A Syrian hamster in the artic’…clincher for me…best of good fortune with your endeavours Mr Dellert, success clearly deserved. As to ‘a cage’ and ‘a piano’ this drifting mind of mine travels to all sorts of places. Jolly fine stuff Ms S (and the catalogue of hamsters of course).
Poor Michael has just told me he is in the middle of moving. (I hope not to get away from the hamsters, that he just likes diff locations so much) I mighta guessed the cage and the piano and you Mr Steeden. I loved a lot of the points Michael made. I kinda knew he would through a certain mutual friend of ours and his Jean Lee.
Thank you very much, Mr. Steeden! And to Shey for standing in as I moved houses today. Not a big move, but I do enjoy changing locations fairly often. Bit of a gypsy vagabond at heart. 🙂
Best of luck with the move Sir…the worst part of moving is the move itself, a tad boring I’ve always found!
Well then you will be well and truly settled Michael D. No like me who has spent the morning trying to finally hang the new hall lampshades over 25 feet drops. I was thinking about your post at the time believe it or not, saying to myself, you climb mountains, they shape you, you can do this. It’s only a 25 foot drop. But then I thought yeah and that floor down there will sure shape me too, the bannisters the spindles as I go wallop, wallop, wallop. Hope the move all went well you gypsy you
Thanks for the good wishes. Finally feeling unpacked. 🙂
Je suis IMPRESSED . Well done.
Thanks. I’m getting too old for this!
NEVER!!!
😉
Interesting interview and great advice. As a reader, I appreciate both the research and the details of location in the story that contribute to credibility. Great to learn that Ancient Ireland inspires your stories, Michael. Thank you again for the interview, well done to all the involved 🙂
Inese we certainly know it sometimes inspires you. AND HOW with that last gorgeous post on the Hawthorne Fairy. I thought Michael had great advice re location too. Lovely to see you my darling. xxxxxx
Thank you! 🙂 Love your interviews, the Dudes are the stars! xxxxxx
Aw Inese, you are so kind. They are monkeys pure and simple. I must say between Mike Steeden writing them a poem and Michael Dellert mentioning hamsters everywhere, they are doing very well right now in terms of getting spoilt. xxxx
Thank you, Inese. And I have to say, love your photography. Your Anne Valley series was very inspiring. I haven’t had nearly enough opportunity to feel the grace of the Auld Sod beneath my soles, so I have to rely in part on wonderful photographers like you to help me see the places I dream so often about. 🙂
I adore Inese’s photography. Such talent. Places to dream about indeed.
Hope you visit the land of your dreams some day 🙂 I will do my best taking more pictures of old castles and abbeys – some of them are on my schedule for August-September.
Your books are on my reading list! Wishing you best of Irish luck! 🙂
Inese, you are a gem. Michael’s books look and sound fabulous, You also have me dreaming of more abbeys and castles now I know you will photograph them
I had the rare opportunity to be in Ireland in September 2015: Dublin, Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford, and Tara. It was like I’d finally come home. I’ve never seen a more beautiful place.
An interesting and thoughtful article with important observations about how location affects character. I believe location can almost be a character in its own right; in fact, particular locations have inspired several of my stories. Thanks for sharing your insights, Michael.
Cheers, Susanne Bellamy
I’m glad you liked it, Susanne. I agree with your observation: What would Star Trek be without the “character” of the Enterprise? Or Camus’ “The Stranger” without the “character” of colonial Algeria? Or Middle-Earth without the “character” of the Shire? Location can be essential for deepening that connection between the reader and the work, if used well. Thanks for reading! 🙂
SO right Susanne—in fact the idea for Bindarra Creek is a wonderful one and the business of having authors add to that series was the icing on that cake. Michael, absolutely. The Enterprise was a character. I remember seeing this program about Lost and how they had written the pilot but it was not working at all and then they decided the island must be a character and it changed the entire premise. Location is vital I may start with a spark of a piece of dialogue or a scene but when I get into it I need to know exactly what my characters surroundings are. It’s vital. Often I have squirreled away a place I’ve visited for future ref. no idea at that stage what to do with it but hey..
Shey, the Bindarra Creek series has been amazing! Lots of comments have ranged around how real it seems, and it’s been fascinating to see what each author has done with it.
Michael … Location: the Silent Character. A great way of using it. Cheers!
Bindarra Creek–I know. Wonderful to see what each author has done xx
I recently set up a Facebook group, the Tribe of Droma (Droma being the setting of my stories) and some of the writers who follow my work started posting their own freewrites into it, using the setting I’d developed and some characters that I assigned to them (I detailed the entire population of my little hedge-kingdom). It’s been jaw-dropping to see what the location has inspired in them, and how that in turn is now inspiring me. 🙂
Wonderful Michael, What a great idea AND knock on affect too.
I am constantly in awe of the genius works of the great author and master, Hamstah Dickens. His map could only be created by his perfectly executed skill in such a way that he has taken illiteracy by the scruff of the neck and enhanced it into realms unreachable by the unwashed authors of our time. I do hope that both you Shey and Michael have taken notes and are humbled by such an experience. 😀 ❤
It was my deep privilege to study at the feet (paws?) of the Mastah Hamstah. 🙂
Oh not only are we humbled–I will just speak for Michael here– Hamstah Dickens is of course humbled by your magnificent understanding and awe of his skill Ralpha, although he may now expect no less than for that map to appear beside the Mona Lisa. Lovely to see you my friend x
Humbled and honored, and you can speak for me anytime, Shey. 🙂
Lol… Now I am humbled and honoured x
Awesome post.
Thank you! 🙂
Thank you Dilkash, I thought Michael would be brilliant to kick these posts off and he is x
Always Ur Welcome.
Aw Dilkash you always make my day x
(blush)
I enjoyed this so, so thoroughly–not just because I consider you two dear friends, but because I love seeing this kind of writing dialogue with a touch of power-hungry hamsters. 🙂 Seriously, though, the impact of place upon writing has always been a subject dear to me. I’ve noted before I could never write in an urban setting because I’ve never felt comfortable in it. The rural setting is what I know, and where I can breathe, and so that is where my characters will breathe, too. 🙂 Hugs and smiles to you both! xxxxxx
Awww, thanks, Jean, for the kind words and the gracious introduction to Mistress Shey. 🙂
But of course, Good Sir. It’s fun to watch one’s friends become friends themselves. 🙂
Aw thank you Jean, It is such a pleasure to know you. AND those you know too. I would never have met Michael otherwise. Setting is very important to me. I’ve just started writing a new book that it is basically a battle over a house and I am really enjoying writing how the two protagonists see this house so differently, it is becoming a character in its own right. I also love rural settings as you know. I love thinking of the kind of people who would be shaped by that setting.
Oh, fun! Is this house itself in a rural setting? As a kid, I used to wonder why people named their houses in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Now I think part of that is, well, as you said: the home is a living entity. It needs to be nurtured and loved as any other member of the family. It is a character of no less importance than the human beings of the story. Come to think, it may be even MORE important, as it does help shape the people present. Well, I’ll have to stay hooked onto your site for more information about this up-and-coming bit of fun… 🙂
xxxxxx
This house has a coastal setting. This is vital to the story as the hero who is not bent on any kind of revenge…to start with… (this is a different take on this ) despite the treatment meted out by the heroine’s family when he was growing up, wants the house for his ‘business’ (smuggling). The LOCATION is ideal. But for my Writer and rake book, this was the inspiration for Killaine House where the hero had been reduced to the status of caretaker http://www.newsner.com/…/the-castle-was-abandoned-after-a-fire-in-1932-83-years-later-w...
Really interesting to read your thoughts on this, Michael. I agree that location is crucial in shaping the characters and the story. I mean, where would Bobby Bub be without his house? I wish your book great success. Thanks, Shey, for another great start to me day. x
Kate, wonderful to see you. I know all your books have been set in far flung and amazing locations. In your last you created a town that was so real I wanted to visit it. As for Bobby Bub? yeah I think he is well and truly with the gingerbread house now and this time he won’t mess it up either.
Thank you, Kate. 🙂
Reblogged this on Incy Black.
Incy thank you so much. Popping over to see once I answer your other comment xxxx
Thanks for the reblog! 🙂
Setting, one of my pet phobias…I have never been able to move past the fear that if I share the setting too generously I will lose a part of my soul…yes, that is a lie, I’m just plain hopeless at grounding/setting. Michael, your words of wisdom will make me work harder.
Incy your books never seem to suffer from what you say. I mean that. God, lassie, yir anything but hopeless at setting. I think of the kind of homes you give your characters for example, so come on. You also don’t get a lot of words to play with in terms of word count. But I think Michael’s post is brilliant for any who feel that they might not look at that enough. It is another layer to a story that does reflect your characters.
Spot on. I get frankly scunnered wi books that start with the weather or the setting and they dribble on and on and on until I could paint the sodding sunset or whatever. . All very nice but going nowhere. I always think in terms of a manuscript being a life boat,only keep what you need to stay afloat.
I agree with Shey, Incy, your setting seems quite developed. The trick with writing setting that I had to learn for myself was to only include that which advances the story. I used to have these long, flowery passages about the trees, and the wind, and the flowers, and the smell of the sea, and the waves crashing upon the shore, a consequence, I suppose, of my early focus in poetry and the Imagists. It took me a while to realize that I was bringing my stories to a dead stop as I went on like that. Now my own first rule is that nothing gets into the story that doesn’t serve the story. For setting, that means using locations and physical conditions to paint the atmosphere and tone of the scene and to reflect the state of the viewpoint character. The same sunrise can seem hopeful and serene in Act One, yet be a miserable reminder of yet another day’s toil in Act Two, depending on the state of the character witnessing it and the needs of the story at those two different points. 🙂
Fascinating post, Michael. I agree about the importance of setting, whatever the genre of the story. I look forward to reading your stories.
Hi Jane my darling. I look forward too. It’s obvious whole worlds are being created in them. I know you now write some very diff genres and create worlds in each one so I thought you’d find this post interesting.
Thank you, Jane. Setting is very important, lest one leaves one’s reader facing a blank white featureless horizon. 🙂
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What a fabulous interview with Michael. Some great info here about writing settings, and his books look fab! If only the dudes didn’t keep interrupting him, they may possibly have learned something, LOL 🙂 xo
Lol….to quote Donovan the guitar playing hamster. ‘That’ll be the day’. I guess that is why they yack, cos they think they know it all. But Michael did a great job with this post. He even fitted them in. x
I know! Really a fabulous post! 🙂 xo
DG. I reckon you are their friend for life. (Assuredly I ain’t gonna ever look at them squintways ) Seriously xxxxx I loved this interview. Mike was brilliant
Ah, the dudes are darlings. (I hope they remember I said so when our hamster overlords achieve their nefarious goals of world domination.) 🙂
I reckon I am for the treadmill ‘longside Catherine Cavendish and Noelle lark . I am sure they like you thought Michael.
Another great blog post as usual. I love sharing these posts!!!
Aw you are such a darling to me. I am thrilled for Michael to see so many shares here and on facebook xxx
Thanks very kindly, Lydia! 🙂
Lol… Brilliant! Hamster dudes are really coming up in the world! 😉
Noo Kev, if we dinnae whisper this, they will say they aye were AND believe me, we really all could suffer xxxx
Lmao! 😀
The wee lads would no doubt say it’s we coming up in the world to them. 😉
Lmao… Hey, I like that… So very true! 😁
LOL…. How they look at the world is quite diff from how we do
Reblogged this on Kate McClelland.
Kate thank you so much. I hope you are feeling better. You have no idea how much I appreciate this xxx
What’s not to like? Great post and the dudes behaved well I thought! Feeling a lot better still wearing dark glasses outside the house and eyes a bit sore, but a lot better thank you for asking Shey xx
My dear, you have been floored obviously. Have a quiet weekend and don’t be overdoing things. Thank you again and for your kind comment xxxx
Kind words, thank you Kate! The dudes were the very soul of graciousness, and the bite marks are nearly healed. 😉
Hahaha glad to hear it
Yeah. I am so glad the magic cream worked. (Tries to look as if the dudes ain’t mine)
Great post. I found myself nodding in agreement all the way through. I think it is so important to research your location thoroughly – from every angel. The sights, smells, sounds, behaviour of the inhabitants and in as many different seasons as you expect to use in your story. Fro my own life, I know that Vienna is a very different city in December – with the Christmas markets, mingled aromas of mulled wine, hot potatoes and roasting chestnuts – than in June, when life is more leisurely, the parks and gardens are awash with colour and the subtle fragrances of the season’s new leaves and flowers spread a feeling of peace and harmony. And you can always tell the tourists from the Viennese!
Cat you always do locations brilliantly. I remember you showing me piccies of that scary tree which you said WILL be a book one day before it ever was. Personally I think if the location is badly done a story will soon fall flat.
Ps it is lovely to see you here and may I say that earlier piccie on facebook now your treatment is over…you looked just young and triumphant xxxxxxxxx Wel done lady
Firstly: Vienna? Jealous! But secondly, you’ve absolutely hit it on the head. If one’s reader always sees the same location described the same way every time it appears in the story, no matter what else has happened (changes of weather, season, story development), the one has done a disservice to the reader. Vienna in the spring before WWII would have been a much different place from Vienna in the winter of the war years, and is a much different place today from both of those time-places. And that brings up my third point: space and time are relative to one another (thanks, Einstein!). When one is describing a place, that place is always relative to a particular time. All of the weight of that time then have an effect on the place: the political environment, the technology available, and so on. So describing the same place at two different times is effectively describing two different places. 🙂
Exactly. Brill put too Michael
Very informative interview. Michael shared some thoughts that apply even for contemporary settings/contemporary stories. And love the songs hamster-dude selected as accompaniment. Thanks for sharing this interview, Shey!
I’m hoping to have a lot of folks along talking about diff aspects of writing Ann and the ‘field’ is open. So how about you coming along too? Let me know x