Themes? Sacrifice, academia (inquisitiveness), the joys of the gods within creation, and – especially in my third, unpublished book – those who watch events unfolding with little or no power to change them (so the reader, being primarily an observer, watches the watcher).

Inkpaws – sounds as though your themes might develop along the same lines as mine, hmm? The outsider in a foreign society…

Russ-anon, that’s taking it one step further. Funny things, one’s unconscious mind. I wonder what kind of books I would have written had I stayed in Australia?

Geographical instability in your writing is epitomised by Havenstar, the Dustel islands in Isles of Glory, and the Mirage in Mirage Makers. There are other kinds of instability too, including illusion. I woudln’t be surprised if this is closely linked to the ‘outsider’ theme. Unfamiliar worlds do feel unstable – nothing is where you expect it to be!

I must say that this instability is one of the things I love so much about your work.

Actually I’m not sure that you could call it exactly a “theme” per se, but I realised that all my characters that have parents mentioned, only have one parent (the other one is either dead or irrlevant). Mind you, you don’t have to dig very deep at all to find out where that comes from – my parents got divorced before I was a year old – I’m just surprised at myself for not noticing earlier.

A large part of it is not having any first hand experience to draw on when writing about two parents interacting from the child’s point of view, so I just avoid it.

I’ve not had any themes sneaking up behind me, as far as I know, but then only a few have read my stories 🙂 It may also be because I don’t usually sit down to write with more than one concious theme (if that much!) planned. Then I keep my eyes open and present any other themes that turn up with tea and biscuits.

I spent most of my life at secondary school as an outsider, and although I have plenty of friends at university, I sometimes wonder how we’re going to stay in touch once I move to Canada. We’re not alone! 😉 I think it’s a good thing to be something of an outsider tbh, you see things more clearly.

am always very aware of the lack of real life experience I’ve had, but I’ve had some… I’ve become an adult, I’ve created a world with philisophy, theology, individual astronomy and a ton of other detail, I’ve listened and watched people all my life, I’ve loved and it hasn’t always been at all easy, I haven’t hated but I have been hated – and that gives you an idea, I’ve been ambitious and I’ve been discouraged and disillusioned, I’ve been betrayed by people I thought were friends and delt with that and how it has changed me and still does, I’ve been on the recieving end of lifes unfairness both good and bad, I’ve been deliriously happy and I’ve wanted to make myself bleed because I’ve been hurting too much inside to bear, I’ve hurt so much physically that I’ve been unable to move and I’ve felt well again after an illness, I’ve had good times with my friends and I’ve supported them through bad patches and vice versa, I’ve lived in a different country with my bfs family for 3.5months together, 5.5months of a year and I’ve spent days pouring over immigration laws >.< I'm sure there's plenty of stuff I've missed as well, so although I'm very young for a writer, I think I have enough experience to start writing, so long as I'm aware of how much I don't know. chocolatetrudi – BMT is going to have a prequel and sequel? nice. *hopes the prequel is about the hero, as he got kinda shortchanged of hero-space in the triogy* ;p

remember that somewhere in anthony burgess’ autobiography he is in the US as a visiting lecturer and he overhears a lecture about his work as he stands outside the doors of the auditorium – and he hears thing s about his own work which had never occurred to him. will try to find the passage.

I feel like a theme that keeps hitting me, from other’s comments is the theme of loneliness and lack of self confidence… something I went through lots as a teenager…

Oh yes, and the problem of three dots… that is always an issue!