Eastlanders’ Fall is a tale of ancient evil rising again, powerful cults seeking domination, and unlikely heroes trying to stop the world from crumbling—literally. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I drew inspiration from the real world and used my fantasy setting as a safe space for an unbiased reflection on current issues.

I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from and how did it change as you were writing?

In the 90s, I served in the Brazilian military. When cartel violence spiraled out of control, Rio’s governor requested federal troops, and my unit was one of those deployed to assist.

For several months, in between missions, to avoid dwelling in the violence and bleakness, my mind took off. Fantasy books and role-playing games came to the rescue, and the continent of Ananthia was born.

To be in a place where evil and injustice could be fought and defeated—unlike in the real world—was like a drug, so I never left. All the mind space I could spare went into world-building, and seventeen years later, with no plan or ambition, I began laying it down.

The RPG campaign setting I wrote had such an elaborate backstory that I was entreated to tell it all. Eastlanders’ Fall began taking form, and a decade—and eight countries—later, A Drying World trilogy was completed.

Ananthia was so deeply developed in my head that it needed no change to accommodate the story – it was the story.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

Bias, hubris, and blind ambition—and how to beat them.

Where does the story go in the next book, and where do you see it going in the future?

Eastlanders’ Fall is the first book of a trilogy. In book 2 (Two Storms), the children of the protagonists, born at the end of the book, take the lead, assisting their whistleblower uncle who’s on to Darvis Talsdrums second phase plans but struggles for decades to prove it. In book 3, the heroes take the fight to the lich.

In the future trilogy, I take the reader to Central Ananthia – the region where the desertification started, now under the sand. It will be told in two parallel timelines: the present, featuring the surviving protagonists, and the past, telling the story of how it all began.

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