Interview with F Stephan, Author of Torkal’s Wars: A Besieged Neighbor

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Torkal’s wars #1 : A besieged neighbor?

The story started from the War of the Gauls by Caesar and a game of Small World (the board game) with my son. How would that story transfer to a fantasy setup? I chose the viewpoint of the master of scouts of the Legion (to be able to view more of the world than a centurion would), enhancing the role of scouts compared to the original roman structure. Then, the characters began to twist the story to their own end. And it’s going farther away from the original day by day…

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Torkal’s wars #1 : A besieged neighbor, what would they be?

Somehow the one song which comes out is Empire State of Mind 2 by Alicia Keys. We are not in Antiago (the Rome of my world) but there is this sense of wonder, this sense that the hero can do anything, and also the sense of a melting pot, of so many things to discover.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

Fantasy and SF. It’s the same for what I like to read and write. I used to read a lot across genres when I was younger.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

James Lovegrove’s Sherlock Holmes Series.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

Such a hard question. There’s a lot of travel and meetings. But there’s a certain dwarf lady the hero will meet in the city of Trelian which moved the story into directions I wasn’t expecting. This is a story of the roman legions but also of personal discovery and growth going far beyond the military.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

Not that much. I write to balance my life between an engineering structured day job and all the dreams of a strange world I’d like to share

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

I love to go and see what’s beyond the next hill. I even went to live down under, in Australia, to see what was there.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

The gleaming lake of Trelian between the mountains. You’ll love that place. I do.

F Stephan is the author of the new book Torkal’s wars #1 : A besieged neighbor

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