Twitter (or X as it’s now called) Q&A and why I’m taking a break

It’s been two years since my last Q&A session on Twitter so I decided to it was time to host a new one. I have close to 6000 followers on there, almost twice the amount I had back then. A lot of my followers are authors too. Yet despite this, only a few people asked questions. With the recent changes made to Twitter recently, this may be the last time I host one of these. I’m taking a break from the platform and I’m not sure when I’ll return to it.

Here are the questions and my replies.

@JayVBatista asked:

1. Where (and when) to you like to write?

I write whenever inspiration strikes me but I don’t always have the time due to my day job. I mostly write in the evenings, in my living room at home.

2. Do you listen to music when you write?

Yes, I listen to heavy metal and industrial music when writing. It really depends on the story. E.g. for the ones featuring the Enai clans
I often listen to neofolk music such as Faun and Wardruna. With the action-packed stories like ‘A War of Blood, Mountains and Sand’, and ‘Fereidun and the Pit of Snakes’ I normally have some power metal playing in the background such as Powerwolf and Sabaton. With ‘Tiriyanin’s Riddles’, it was Gothic rock and synthpop.

3. Who is your favorite author?

My favorite author is J.R.R. Tolkien.

4. What do you like most about where you live? Is it inspirational?

I love the Finnish landscape with all the lakes and forests plus the long winters. Yes, the forests and Finnish folklore have been a inspiration for some of my stories.

@DanFitzWrites asked:

Did you take inspiration from any real-world spiritual/cultural hunting traditions for your hunting story?

Good question. Yes, the idea of leaving an offering for the deity of the forest and the hunting is present in various mythologies. Lord Silyan is inspired by the Finnish forest god Tapio who was also a hunter.

@MBlackrane asked:

Are the people/setting based on any real-world cultures?

The setting is fictional, but Gragiyan Empire is inspired by ancient Rome. The military province of Arhia is based on Greek Sparta and Arabic nations such as Iran with their patriarchal society. Their neighbours, the Northern nation of Misoa is inspired by Viking-era Scandinavia.

Though part of Gragiyan empire, the desert province of Niralis has it’s own distinctive culture inspired by ancient Egypt and various African and Arabic nations. E.g the custom of drinking mint tea after a meal comes from Morocco, their funeral rituals are ancient Egyptian.

@JessSFrankel asked:

What do you think stands out most about your stories? Would it be the narrative, the characters, the pace, action…or something else?

Good question. I think it’s the characters and the elaborate world building. I put a lot of effort into creating the different regions that make up my fictional universe. Each area has its own distinctive look and culture.

@allensonarmory asked:

What would you say is the percentage difference in your writing between ‘write what you know’ (personal knowledge, experiences) and inspiration/researching for the story(ies)?

That’s a tough one. I’d say it’s about 40%. Me writing what I know,
I’m a mother and a wife, so a lot of my stories feature families and several
characters have aspects of my personality. I spend a lot of time researching various myths, ancient history, inspiration from other fantasy books and other things. For example, the scenes at the military academy and the hunts in ‘A War of Blood, Mountains and Sand’, were influenced by my husband’s military training and his experiences as a hunter.

That’s all the questions. With regards to my newest projects, I planned to resume writing my short story ‘Fereidun and the Pit of Snakes’ during my summer holiday. Sadly things didn’t turn out the way I hoped. I made very little progress on the story, which I discovered will need some restructuring and rewriting. Finding the inspiration has also been a struggle. Instead I wasted far too much time on social media especially Twitter. I’ve stopped this in attempt to control my social media addiction and spend more time with my family. Some days, there was simply no time for any writing. I think that it might be best to have a break from writing for while and resume once I have both the time and inspiration.