It’s been three weeks since the release of Death and the Maiden, and I thought it would be a good idea to get some readers’ questions answered. So here goes:
Questions about the characters
Why does Alysia keep using Earthly words for things that are specific to Sor or Fer?
She feels lost and misses the familiarity home. Using Earthly words for alien things gives her a sense of “sameness”. Even though deep down she knows she’s only deceiving herself, it brings her some much-needed comfort.
How can Garth sit down on the floor if he has mobility issues?
That’s an easy question for me to answer. Garth’s condition, Colins-V, is strikingly similar to the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome that put me in a wheelchair. I can get out of my chair and sit on the floor easily because I’m… wait for it… flexible. 😆
Other questions answered
Is Twickenham a real place on Earth?
Twickenham is a suburb of London. More importantly, it’s the place where I used to live many years ago. That’s the main reason why Alysia grew up in Twickenham. Because I know the Twickenham, Richmond, and London of all these years ago, it gave me a clearer idea of what her life had been like before she ended up in my novel.
Do you have cats on all your worlds? And are they in any way different from the cats we know?
I’m not sure. So far, I have only explored three of the seven worlds in my All, and although I have some very rudimentary knowledge of the other four worlds, I don’t really know all that much about them. To be honest, I’m not even sure that there are cats on Thorf.
The cats on Sor and Fer, however, are extremely similar to the cats we know here on Earth. So similar, in fact, that I haven’t been able to spot any differences yet.
Why is Sor so similar to Earth?
The seven worlds in my All are very diverse, and Sor just happens to be the one that’s incredibly similar to Earth. In some ways, Sor technology is more advanced than our current technology, but in other aspects Sor’s technological level seems to be pre-industrial. That is because, with magic being such an integral aspect of Sor society, the people of Sor had other priorities. Hence, science followed a different path. So, while they have the equivalent of our computer, they also still use sun dials and quills.
