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From time to time, questions come up about worldbuilding in The Wall Of Night series and one of the perennial favourites is why I chose a setting that is reminiscent of medieval Western Europe.

The answer is that I deliberately set out to write a book that was very ‘classic epic’ in its initial form, so that drove the Western European medieval-style setting, as did the mythological basis to the work which draws on the Greco-Roman, Norse, and Celtic traditions.

Another reason for choosing “classic epic” was not just because I love it, but because I wanted the focus of the books to be on the exploration of character, the world building, and telling a damn fine story (to the best of my humble abilities, at any rate.) I wanted to explore how the Derai, who believe themselves to be champions of good, are in fact divided by prejudice, suspicion, and fear.

I also wanted to address the notion that it is what people actually do, rather than what they believe about themselves, that really makes for “good guys” or “bad guys” – as well as how circumstances may have a bearing on that equation.

I hoped that contrasting this exploration against the “classic epic” setting would provide fresh insight into what at first appeared familiar. So I suppose I have been trying to take something that may appear familiar on the surface and then heed Emily Dickinson’s exhortation to “tell it slant.”