by George Polley

 

Reading and Writing

I grew up surrounded by books. My parents were avid readers I’ve been an avid reader since childhood, especially adventure, humor and historical fiction. My mother had a whole shelf of historical novels by Louise Muhlbach (Born: Jan. 2, 1814 - Neubrandenburg, Germany, Died: Sep. 26, 1873 - Berlin) that I devoured. Grand novels about Frederick the Great of Prussia, Napoleon and Josephine, the Austrian Imperial Court, Henry VIII that I’ve never forgott...

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As I've been working on Wayfarer recently, I've noticed that I'm actually progressing backwards, both through the linear time of the novel itself, and through my own personal time. I have been editing and rewriting drafts of progressively earlier stories because they now, in the redefined context of my characters' lives, seem to be the missing puzzle-pieces. It is possible that much of the work I am doing now will never make it into the finished book, but by filling in all these blanks I am g...
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A (relatively) short list of books that provide information about magic, weapons, culture, and clothing, amongst other things, along with a couple that provide hints of how best to weave all of this together to craft a 'realistic' fictional milieu. 

 
Inspiration 
 
Alberto Manguel & Gianni Guadalupi, The Dictionary of Imaginary Places, Harcourt Brace, 2000
— a traveller's guide to the imaginary places on Earth, taken from the literature of the world. A great book to inspire the imagination.


Book...
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