I wound up studying art and design, got a job at Lonely Planet Publications as a designer, cartographer and illustrator.

The first rule of world-building is available physics, which basically means that if you want it to feel real, it has to follow the same rules as this world, from gravity to how human behaviour works. If you have a fantasy element that doesnt obey the laws of physics, make sure that it has a fantasy explanation.

Akkarin: I watched the first woman I loved die. I dont think I can survive losing the second. Sonea: I love you too.

Tayend nodded. “I know it won’t. I admit I was worried about you, but you are still your old self, underneath.” Dannyl straightened in protest. “Underneath what?” The Elyne stood up, waving one hand in Dannyl’s direction. “All…that.” “I’m reeling at your descriptive clarity,” Dannyl told him.

Unquestioning obedience is for slaves, the uneducated and the pathetic.

I always love writing the third book in a series because you get to tie up all the threads that you put out in the first two books. You finally let people know what really happens and reveal all the secrets and bring certain characters together.

If your appearance is all people see, they have no respect for your mind.