Dear Readers,
Happy Halloween Y’All!
A huge Thank You and a Loud Shout out to the Author J.V.Hilliard – for agreeing to participate and kind enough to send prompt response to all my questions.
J.V.Hilliard – Vorodin’s Liar (Available on Amazon)
–> A Brief Bio (As is written by the Author)
I grew up in the Pittsburgh area and took an interest in Dungeons and Dragons. My family would play it, and I loved creating stories for my characters. I grew up reading high fantasy like the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and a few others. I took a number of creative writing classes over the years, but my career took off in government and grant writing, so my writing took a back seat. When the pandemic shut everything down, I decided to try my hand at writing a fantasy series based on my campaigns in DnD.
Question 1: What inspired you to start writing? How long have you been writing?
Author’s Response: My uncle and I would write in addition to playing DnD together. I discovered The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien and was fascinated with the world, and that was a huge source of inspiration for me. My uncle gave me my own copy of The Hobbit that Christmas. After that, I wrote a bit in high school and college, but nothing too in-depth. It was in 2020 that I started to write more extensively.
Question 2: What in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing? What comes first, the plot or characters? How do you develop your plot and characters?
Author’s Response: Good writing stems from passion for the project. A passionless prose is not inspiring anyone and always falls flat. For me, the characters came first as I drew from the background I had assigned to them through my DnD campaigns (especially Sir Ritter). The plot follows afterward.
Question 3: Describe your writing space. What time of the day do you usually write?
Author’s Response: I write at any time of the day, and try to write at a nearby coffee shop when I can but most of the time it’s my den. Close your eyes and picture overstacked bookshelves and inspiring collectibles that draw me into writing moods.
Question 4: How do you do research for your books?
Author’s Response: I guess you could say that playing DnD was the main source of my research. I did need to look into different background details like how specific war machines moved for battle scenes or information on castle privy specifics.
Question 5: Recommend three of your favorite books to the readers.
Author’s Response:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Dark Elf trilogy by R.A. Salvatore
The Time Wars Series by Simon Hawke
And in truth—most, if not all of my world building takes place before I even sit down to write a sentence. I am a plotter to the core, so having direction and knowing the end before I begin are necessary for me.
Author’s Favorite Quote:
“I fear little from enemies. I fear more from friends.” – Drizzt Do’Urden of the Dark Elf Trilogy.
#Stayhungrystaybookish
Lots of love,
mrsswiftnib
Books For The Love Of Words! 