The Fleeing Company follows a drifter who is being hunted by an evil lord and must rally his friends to stop him. What was the inspiration for the setup to this exciting story?

I would have to say that I have always liked stories as a pastime, particularly imaginative and fantastical ones where one can venture to places unlike the real world. The biggest inspiration for my story would come from Tolkien, who I consider to a masterful storyteller, and I think it would not be difficult at all for anyone who reads The Fleeing Company to see any influence from him. There are certainly similar creatures from folklore in my story that were in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Among other influences, Hans Christian Andersen is one author I would note, though his influence does not come so much from the themes in his fairy tales, but rather some ideas here and there. George MacDonald is another author that I like, and there is some similarity between his narrative style from The Princess and the Goblin and that in my story. Then finally, I go to a lot of old European myths and epics. The Eddas are unquestionable a place of influence, particularly the Prose Edda.

Now, as for where the idea for The Drifters’ Road as a series, well, I never quite got up one day and then just decided that I was going to write books. I suppose it was a more gradual process, where I got an idea in my head, then that idea grew, then it became a story, then suddenly I decided that I was going to write a book. The next thing I knew was that I was planning out chapters and writing, and then here I am suddenly as an author. I suppose one cannot predict that such things will happen! Perhaps other authors know early on that they want to write books, though I certainly was not one that planned on doing so from an early age. Here I am though writing books.

Adroegen is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind his character development?

Well, I must be careful about how much I say, as there is still more in store for him. To start though, there was an idea of a young man who had been through some terrible things in his past and had lost far more than anyone should ever have to lose. The name Adroegen I found years ago, though I daresay that I had trouble finding it again until recently. The word is an old European one, though the original spelling was different, and the name I first found years ago was either of Old English or Gaelic. However, recently and by chance, I found the name in Old English, or at the very least an Old English variant of the word, being spelled ‘Adreogan,’ meaning ‘to bear, suffer.’ The meaning fits him quite well. Adroegen carries a great burden of grief and has suffered much, and he will have an enormous burden to carry in the long term as he discovers his path, or purpose, in the story.

This will be easier to answer as the tale carries on, but I can say now that, at least over the first two books, Adroegen’s story is of one regaining faith in a greater power after losing it. This aspect though will be easier to go into after the second book is out, which should not be too long from now.

What were some themes that you wanted to explore in this novel?

In the long run for this story, I aim to capture the more timeless themes like courage, friendship, selflessness, good against evil, and not giving up in the face of great adversity. I am of the philosophy that these simple and general themes are what ultimately make a great story, as well as what makes an epic and what moves the reader and makes them pull for the characters. In addition, in The Drifters’ Road as a whole, there will be themes of discovering one’s path, or rather their purpose, and finding their roots, or their family.

These themes though are more for the long run, and The Fleeing Company, being the first book, is planting the seeds for these themes. As for the first book individually, I do have some religious themes regarding faith in a higher power that watches over us, a theme that will carry over into the second book. The world in which the tale takes place has a creator named Enilundar, who was put in to help give that world a level of myth. I also have a main character, Adroegen, who has lost all in his family one by one when younger. Out of this, I felt it would only make sense for him to believe that there is either no such greater power watching over him, or that such a power exists but has forsaken him. And from this there comes a Christian theme injected into the tale. I will say that there will be more of this theme in the second book for Adroegen, and while the plot is of a war against an evil lord, the overarching story is of someone regaining their faith in a greater power after having lost it, and of someone who carries such a heavy heart that he wonders at times why he still lives. In time Adroegen will find such answers.

This is part one in The Drifters’ Road series. What can readers expect in book two?

The clearest difference with the second book is that while The Fleeing Company was told entirely from Adroegen’s point of view, the second book will instead be told from the points of view of all six characters. While I would say that Adroegen is still the main character, I would say that, in the long run, I intend to have stories for all six characters, and that the reader will learn more about Caitren, Edelbir, Kattalin, Gleowan, and Vaenn. In book two, the story will begin to shift towards the other characters as well.

The other difference for the next book is that the plot will be larger in scale. The Fleeing Company was more fairy tale in its tone, I think. The second book will be more of an epic. It will still have its ‘fairy tale’ sort of moments, but at the same time I think it to be darker and larger in scale in comparison to The Fleeing Company. In the first book the main antagonist was the goblin chief, who was a mere servant to a dark lord named Vyroun. In the next book, Vyroun himself will be the main antagonist. I look forward to readers meeting him. Vyroun is not at all a ‘gray’ villain, but rather a ‘pure evil’ kind, or a devil of sorts, and a villain that I think will be considered quite terrifying when readers see him.

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