Author Interview: Diana L. Wicker
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About the Author:
Diana lives in the balmy climate of the southern United States with her husband, two children, two dogs, two cats, and a cantakerous rabbit. She enjoys reading, sewing, genealogy research, and RPG games. (She comes from the old school paper/pencil style of gaming, but has transitioned happily to the interactive world of video games.)
The idea for Feyron started with a map, a place for her daughter and her friends to tell stories and live adventures. The lore grew around the map, for every world needs lore. The stories and adventures grew from there, and are continuing to grow through the ages of history for Feyron and the Worlds Beyond it touches. Currently book two, The Guardian Child’s Return, is in the editorial stage and book 3 is in the drafting stage.
She does not keep a blog, but there is a Facebook fan page for the Tales from Feyron series where updates are periodically posted: https://www.facebook.com/
Interview:
What made you want to become a writer?
I think I have always been a storyteller. I can remember making up magical lands and grand adventures as a small child. I think writing stories down in notebooks when I was a child was just a natural progression from story telling.
Now, what made me want to publish is a separate question. My daughter and her friends are very active interactive story telling roll players, and I wanted to create a little world where they could develop stories. After much urging by the girls and a few of my friends, I decided to put the book on Amazon.
Where do you get your inspirations from?
I find inspiration in many places. Many times my stories start out as dreams, or daydreams, or sort of visions that play through my half asleep mind like a movie, or more likely an anime or RPG style CGI video game. They tend to grow and weave over several days or weeks before I can grasp them tightly enough to tie to paper, and often they have to be set aside and picked up several times before they form themselves into a coherent tale. Sometimes they have to jump back and forth between one another before the entire tale appears, spread between many different short stories that may someday form a complete whole.
I often find that my writing takes on the feel of whatever I am absorbed in while I’m writing a particular tale. Sometimes certain plots or characters even have theme songs that play through my mind as I write them, and these become very important to holding on to the flavor of that plot or character when I return to it after visiting another tale.
I love a good story no matter what form it is presented in - tales told by grandparents on a leisurely Saturday afternoon; myths, fables, and legends from around the world; anime, music, and movies (most of my television viewing tends to be in the children’s categories); and role-playing games (both old school and video game), and I’m certain these things influence my writing as well.
Other than writing books, what else do you do in your free time?
As a mom, much of my non-work time is spent with my children and their activities; but, when I have time in the evenings, I have an exercise bike I am very fond of. I have made a little makeshift desk out of the handlebars and put my laptop there and read or write or sometimes sew while I ride. When there are very engaging, high interactive story content RPG games out, I play video games.
If you could work with another author, who would it be?
I do enjoy co-writing stories with writers that I know well and have a good feel for the characters and world the story is set in. I have had the pleasure of co-writing short scenes and stories with another Goodreads Indie Author, Alexandra Butcher, in the past and would gladly do so again.
What are major themes of your work?
I think at the heart of many of my stories are the ties that bind us, the value of Kith and Kin and the acts of caring for those people, be they the family we were born with, or the family we have chosen for ourselves in the friends we have made throughout our lives. In Dreamweaver, we see the ties of family and friendship as the adventurers work together to care for one another during very unexpected circumstances. I hope that future tales will continue to explore the ties that bind the clans of Faie together and their value of Kith and Kin.
What do you think people look for in a book?
I suppose that different people look for different things when choosing a book to read. I would hazard a guess that someone choosing a work of fantasy might be looking for a bit of escape from the every day, a bit of magic and the fantastical to make their day a little more exciting. I know that is one of my greatest joys in reading, to be transported to another place and time and live life through someone else’s eyes for a brief moment in time until I have to return to the hustle and bustle of the real world.
Are there any recent works that you admire?
I am horribly behind in reading in that I don’t tend to rush out and buy books from the best sellers list. I have authors I like, and genres I enjoy, and I tend to hang out in those. I love the works of Michael Jecks. I have not caught up my reading to his most recent releases, but he never fails to offer an enjoyable tale that both teaches me about medieval British history, and has me taking notes trying to gather and piece together clues right along with his main characters.
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