Thorough – Being all that is needed; complete.  Doing all that should be done and slighting nothing; painstaking.

Epic fantasy tales can often be very liberal on the hows, whens and whys of the world they exist in.  The author is free to create something from nothing, mold objects, buildings and people as necessity presents itself.

When writing epic Historical fantasy, however, an author must take greater pangs to fashion the world and the characters with believable tools and knowledge.  The author must dig into subject matter they never imagined ever having to research.

Personally, I have never been to Italy, never stepped on the European continent.  And yet, here I am, trying to write a series of books based in Medieval Europe, touching upon other locales in Europe.

Currently I am working on one of my female leads, ANTHEA MANIKOS, who hails from Greece.  Her father, Nikitas, owns mines in Laurion.  If I were to be lazy, I could simply leave it at that.  But I prefer to be thorough.  I’m going to explore Anthea’s home, a place I’ve named Ilios Spiti (Sun House).  I’m researching ancient mining in order to learn things I believe these two characters would know.  There life was mining, so they should think and use words that identify with the particular way they were raised.  In other words, they will possess knowledge of things most people would not know, and at times, this knowledge can be used to help them or aid them when faced with a crisis.

So far, in the course of writing THE CRYSTAL CRUX, I’ve had to learn about Italy and Spain and indigenous plants and animals, the Appenine Mountains, Capua, Naples, Capri and Penafiel.  I’ve had to research emperors and kings, princes and popes.  I’ve studied concords, treaties, religion, mythology, magic, medicine, weapons design and war.

I find I would be disingenuous to simply make too many things up and call it “Historical”.

My goal, I believe, is to present to you, the reader, an epic fantasy tale filled with wonderful characters and places that appear to fit seamlessly into history.  I want the reader to believe that this work of fiction could have been true.

Be sure to check out THE CRYSTAL CRUX series for yourself and recommend it to friends, family and acquaintances.  When you do read it, please write up a review on Amazon and other sites.  These reviews are an author’s lifeblood.

The first book – BETRAYAL – is available in every format, paperback, ebook, audiobook as well as a special YA EDITION.

The second book – BLUE GROTTO – should be released before the end of the year, hopefully in October 2016.