Ask the Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Answered Questions (40)
Cinda Williams Chima
TBH, the magical world of Ohio was pretty easy--maps already existed! I made up the town of Trinity, situated it on Lake Erie, and I was off to the races. Many of the surnames of the characters in the Heir series came from my family tree--Swift, Childers, Downey. The Seven Realms was my first secondary world fantasy--I drew the first maps myself (poorly.) I needed maps to remember where I put things. Fortunately, Disney/Hyperion hired a cartographer to redraw them for publication. For magical terms, I drew heavily on Old English, because the world was a quasi Northern European setting. And Han's street slang came from 18th century British thieves' cant. For Runestone Saga, the maps were a challenge, because I wanted to incorporate places mentioned in the Poetic Eddas on a flat map. Again, I relied on Old Norse/English dictionaries and sources for terminology. One of the most difficult issues was pronunciation for the audiobooks, since only scholars speak Old Norse these days.
Cinda Williams Chima
I started writing in third grade and published my first novel at 56. So, from a commercial standpoint, I probably have had the longest fallow period of anyone. Do note: I was doing a lot of other things in the meantime--things that fueled me in a different way. I've been a dietitian, researcher, health care administrator, college professor, parent of sons. But I never stopped writing--personal essays, scientific papers, newspaper and magazine articles and many of those were published. The great advantage of a day job is that it gives you a place to be successful when everyone is saying no to you as a writer. The downside is exhaustion, of course. It did occur to me that I was competing with people who were not falling asleep on the keyboard.
A writer is someone who writes, and by that measure I was not an imposter and neither are you.
A writer is someone who writes, and by that measure I was not an imposter and neither are you.
Cinda Williams Chima
There was some method in the madness, but not always. I started out with some common High Fantasy naming tropes, e.g. ana' to indicate kinship among the nobility. One of my greatest sources for jargon was 18th century thieves' slang in Britain. There are online dictionaries for it, so I would pepper it in here and there. Too much would make it unintelligible. But terms like "blue ruin" for gin, and "slide-hand" for pick-pocketing came from there.
Cinda Williams Chima
I have not. I'll have to check it out. Having trouble keeping up !
Cinda Williams Chima
I'll never say never.
Cinda Williams Chima
Email me privately cindawilliamschima at gmail dot com . My publisher printed some replacement book jackets for Flamecaster at my request.
Cinda Williams Chima
Yes. He was an adult figure, in a time frame similar to The Shattered Realms.
Cinda Williams Chima
Born and raised in Ohio; currently living in North Carolina.
my advice would be that if you are writing a novel, to develop your own characters. Writers always learn from everything they read, and then create their own stories from their experiences in fiction and in real life.
my advice would be that if you are writing a novel, to develop your own characters. Writers always learn from everything they read, and then create their own stories from their experiences in fiction and in real life.
Cinda Williams Chima
I'll be doing a release event for Children of Ragnarok at Malaprops in Asheville NC. You can preorder signed copies of it, or any of my other books in print. Don't know where else I'll be at this point. If interested, consider subscribing to my substack here https://www.cindachima.substack.com
Cinda Williams Chima
Hi, Kirsten, looks like you are near Austin. I have been to Austin several times, but not in recent years. If you want to keep up with where I'll be, consider signing up for my newsletter here http://eepurl.com/bdifnT
Cinda Williams Chima
It's unlikely, given that the two series were released by two different publishers. Would be cool, though, huh?
Cinda Williams Chima
Yes--coming fall 2022. Norse mythology after Ragnarok. Stay tuned, or sign up for my newsletter--link on my website https://cindachima.com
Cinda Williams Chima
Because "clean" is so much in the eye of the beholder, I always suggest that parents who are concerned read the book themselves to judge how it fits with their standards. I believe that "content" should be judged in the context of story.
Cinda Williams Chima
Norse witches in the times after Ragnarok.
Cinda Williams Chima
One way to see what I recommend is to visit my bookshelf and see what I've read and rated. That said, for high fantasy, I am very fond of Leigh Bardugo, Holly Black, Mary Pearson, and Megan Whalen Turner.
Cinda Williams Chima
Yes! Working on a new fantasy series, but not ready to make an announcement yet. Stay tuned, or sign up for my newsletter at cindachima.com
Cinda Williams Chima
Chronologically, the Seven Realms stories come first. If you read The Shattered Realms first, there will be some spoilers for Seven Realms. That said, the series were structured so that they could be read independently of one another, e.g. you don't have to have read The Seven Realms to enjoy and feel at home in The Shattered Realms.
Cinda Williams Chima
Oh, my, yes. As Thomas Edison said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Great accomplishments depend not so much on ingenuity as on hard work." Mind, I'm not claiming to be a genius, but people often overlook the persistence it takes to finish something.
Cinda Williams Chima
The Heir Chronicles are totally separate from the two series set in the Seven Realms, so one does not rely on the other. Of the Seven Realms series (The Demon King, et al) and The Shattered Realms series (Flamecaster) the series are set in the same world but stand alone. The Seven Realms comes first in time.
Cinda Williams Chima
It's been a long time since I was a teen, too, but I write the kinds of stories I've liked to read since before there was a division between YA and adult lit. Have you read The Seven Realms and The Shattered Realms series? I have another contemporary fantasy series set in the American midwest--the Heir series. And I'm working on a Norse fantasy series that should make you feel very much at home.
I love the Western Isles, BTW. Such a challenging and magical place.
I love the Western Isles, BTW. Such a challenging and magical place.
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