Hey! I picked up A Taste of Gold and Iron after I saw we got it at our library (I work there so I get first pick of new stuff lol) and it's literally the first book I've read in YEARS that I finished in less than a day... I just wanted to say THANK YOU for writing this!! I'm constantly looking for fantasy novels that have a gay male protag and AN ACTUAL PLOT with worldbuilding, and you novel scratched every single itch!! I'm an aspiring author myself, and I wanted to know, what inspired you to write this book? Also, what kind of research did you do to construct your world? Thanks again for writing this book, I'm gonna start looking for the rest of your novels next, lol
Aw, thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it :)
Re: What inspired me to write this book -- I decided to write the most eat-an-entire-chocolate-cake-by-myself self-indulgent book of my heart that I possibly could. So I sat down and started thinking of all the things I love best (character dynamics, tropes, plot beats, themes, relationships) and I tried to pack as many of them into one book as I could. When you write something that you love that much, the work is never a burden and your patience for the process becomes almost limitless. Re: What kind of research I did -- All of my fantasy books are set in the same world, so listing all the bits and pieces would be almost impossible. To put it in terms that would be useful for an aspiring author... Notice the world around you, ask questions about it, have lots of experiences, meet lots of different people, try lots of crafts and hobbies and foods. Look at pictures of faraway places (and visit them one day when you're able!). Watch documentaries, go to museums. Watch fantasy movies made by and for people besides English-speakers and notice things about the costumes, the hair, the jewelry, the food, the music, the background details. Read lots of random Wikipedia articles. Read lots of really niche history books, the more specific the better -- read more general history too. Understand how people works, how power works, what communities are FOR.
Be fascinated with the world. Be a sponge, and soak up as many interesting and beautiful ideas as you can. Be a magpie and collect all the prettiest baubles into a pile.
Then anything you make up will have all that wealth and depth and texture of experience and knowledge behind it, and any further research you do will be a lot easier and more straightforward -- more about checking the details rather than establishing an entire foundation. :)
