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Aegras is on the print copy, so look closely.

The development of the main cast of Destruction came about from an effort to make the fantasy genre as accessible to the masses as humanly possible. While some of my reasoning for it may have been based around profitability, I think that one aspect of fantasy that puts people off of it is the fact that it is often based around an enormous main cast. For instance, I like Game of Thrones as a show, but it represents a prime example of a saga where a vast cast can be detrimental to the story. Some of the characters may be relatable to the audience because we spend a lot of time with them, but others are of questionable importance because they are given scant side stories or plots that are completely dropped out of nowhere.

When crafting Destruction, I felt that the best solution to get around this problem and bring in new fans would be to think small. I wanted to build a small, intimate, and very personal story that is based around a tight cast. Therefore, I developed the concept of a diary that dealt with the lives of our two main characters: Helisah and Aegras Almari.

Like almost every character, Helisah and Aegras emerged primarily from my desire to be challenged when it comes to writing a story, but that is not the only reason why they exist. Since Helisah is our point-of-view character, it made sense to me to develop their relationship as the cornerstone of the novel because we are often defined by our associations with family and friends in the real world. One such example that came to mind for me was how most people may bicker with their siblings, but you know that they will always care about one another through hell and high water. By taking that and mixing it up with a little bit of telepathy, I’d like to think that I created a fantasy version of something that is all too familiar in our day-to-day lives, which helps to reduce the need to suspend disbelief and enjoy the story. Now, as for the supporting cast, that is another story for another time…

To Be Continued in Part 4.

Crossposted from ericmrozek.com.

Now that Destruction has been released to the world, I thought I would take the time to remark on the project and how it came to be. The concept for this novel came about from a wide variety of sources that offered pieces of inspiration, ranging from related books and movies to readings about history to discussions with friends and family about said subjects. In the beginning of 2014, the story began to take form around the concept of a fantasy environment that was shown through the eyes of a single protagonist in the form of a diary. However, I wanted to do something different because I felt that sword-and-sorcery had become a bit too mundane, mainly because we see it everywhere we look in stories like Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, and so on. Therefore, I had to consider other avenues that keep the same epic feel, but offer different elements that I can have fun with and that you can enjoy reading.

What About Gun And Sorcery?

WCTD — It’s as legendary a setting as you could ask for.

My initial thought about how to change things up would be to move it forward to a fantasy equivalent of the early modern era, which would allow it to be removed from the sword-and-sorcery staple by a sufficient degree. In addition, the telling of a story that would be set in a period from the English Civil War to the Industrial Revolution opened up a whole new set of ideas to play with. Over the course of my research and consideration about the novel, I began to think about the various trials, terrors, and triumphs that were developed in that era and found too many to list.

In my opinion, the 17th to 19th centuries are a gold mine for themes that allow a writer to deeply connect with the audience and build up a richly developed world. The period created the rise of the nation-state as we know it, but also brought about new moral questions with each and every war, colonial conquest, revolution, and new invention that came our way. Rather than focusing on one (and risking the wrath of an audience that thinks that I ripped off a history book), I decided to follow a more generalized approach that connected the sword-and-sorcery of old to this new world, namely…

The Clash Of Ideologies

Oh, France. You and your obsession with epic titti... er... I mean paintings. — Oh, France. You and your obsession with epic paintings.

The late 18th to mid 19th Century was my inevitable choice for a setting because it marked the perfect crossroads between the two genres. As the world developed in the shadow of the American and French Revolutions, it was a time when people began to question the traditions that had overrun the world up until then, especially with the clashes between the rising democracies that we know and the absolute monarchies that were still entrenched into positions of power in Europe. In an era with a magic all its’ own, I began to develop a world that is filled with fantasy elements that are new and old, but it soon coalesced around a villain that is known by the name of Thrakoth.

He’s powerful, he’s dangerous, and he has a plan…

To Be Continued in Part 2.

Tag: Game of Thrones

Inside Destruction – Part Three – Brothers and Sisters.

Inside Destruction – Part One – In The Beginning…