From Darkness Won - Jill Williamson [225]
And to my readers, thanks for reading Achan and Vrell’s story.
Q&A with Jill Williamson
The following is part one of a two-part interview of questions sent in by readers. The second half of the interview can be heard online. See the end of the interview for details on the podcast.
Q: What made you decide to write the Blood of Kings trilogy?
I saw a tree in the front yard of a burned-down house. The part of the tree that hung over the fence and above the street was leafy green, rocking and rustling in the wind. But the branches of the tree inside the yard were charred and stiff. I couldn’t wait to write a story about a land that was partially cursed in darkness and went home and Photoshopped the image of the tree on my author website.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for bloodvoices?
I needed a way that my girl character could learn that my boy character had royal blood. I thought it would be cool if those with royal blood had some telepathic ability to sense others like them. I first called it Blood Vision. Then I changed the name to Qoldam, which is Hebrew for bloodvoices (qowl—voices, and daum—blood). But Qoldam was difficult to pronounce, so I ended up calling it bloodvoicing.
Q: Why did you use Hebrew instead of inventing words like so many fantasy writers?
I stole the idea from J.K. Rowling. She used Latin for many of her character names and most of her magic spells in the Harry Potter books. I thought that was clever, so when I was brainstorming this book, I looked on my bookshelf and saw a French dictionary and a Hebrew/Greek concordance. I thought Hebrew/Greek sounded more like a fantasy novel. Plus, I liked the idea of using words from the Bible.
Q: The whole “storming” idea is very similar to Native American shamanistic beliefs, where if someone was sick, the shaman had to leave his body and go find their spirit. Did you get the idea from a similar source or invent it?
I know nothing about Native American shamanistic beliefs. Storming came about as a natural progression of the magic of bloodvoicing. In each book, characters proclaimed a bit more about how the magic worked, then I had to work out the details.
Q: Why is Vrell fair when so many others are tan? What is her lineage? It’s not Kinsman, right?
Vrell’s heritage is part Kinsman, part Poroo. I created five races of people for this series. Native to Er’Rets are the Poroo (white skin), who inhabited the north, and giants, who lived in the south. Kinsmen (brown skin) came to Er’Rets from the southeast, the Chuma (olive skin) came from the southwest, and the Otherlings (grey skin) came from the northwest.
Q: Is Er’Rets an island in the middle of a huge ocean? Are its inhabitants aware of any lands beyond?
Yes and yes. At first I thought of Er’Rets as more like a continent, but based on my map scale, the land is only a bit larger than the state of Nevada. Some Er’Retians know there is land beyond since King Echâd came to Er’Rets from elsewhere almost 600 almost years before the story takes place. I never really thought about what else is out there, but I suspect the pirates in Hamonah could tell you.
Q: How is Achan such a nice person when he was abused and neglected in his childhood?
Achan’s friendship with Gren Fenny had an incredible influence on his life. She rescued him from being alone. She taught him to swim and was kind to him. Told him that he should be treated well. That he was worth more. And that inspired him. He wanted to be to others what she had been to him. Plus, he saw her parents interact and how they loved each other and hoped that he might have such a family someday. Agape love is a powerful thing.
Q: There is so much detail in your world, how do you keep track of it all?
I have a large, 3-ring binder in which I keep everything important. I have maps, a timeline, family trees, sketches, character charts, city charts, lists of herbs