⚫㊐✨Heather Mc Erlean❦㈦㊏ asked Casey Sutton:

Do you think your years of tabletop roleplaying influence how you write? Our DM wrote books for himself, not that were published, for us to read. He wrote them based on the characters that we played in his games. It was interesting to see how he wrote our characters (like he played them himself) versus how we played them. Did you use your sessions to influence the character generation in your books as well?

Casey Sutton Great question! I was actually just on a podcast and mentioned this. I think it absolutely did. I started playing D&D in the 6th grade and my friends always forced me to be the DM usually. I always wanted to be a player and make a cool class to play. But I saw how happy being a DM made my friends and enjoyed creating worlds and stories for them. So I think that's probably where my writing/storytelling career actually started!

I actually haven't based Malfus or any of this on any previous characters or sessions. I like the idea of that, but I had some pretty specific ideas, at least for this story anyway!

But, I did really want a grimdark/adult version of some of the D&D novels I read as a kid like Drizzt and the Dragonlance series. I loved novels like that as a kid, but haven't seen any that have the dark grittiness of Joe Abercrombie that I love. SO I wrote my own!

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Casey Sutton I'm back!!

I haven't played Call of Cthulu, but I looked through one of the books. I've always liked the idea of some of this giant ancient evil being ...more
Jul 26, 2023 05:12AM · flag

⚫㊐✨Heather Mc Erlean❦㈦㊏ I wish I could upload photos to comments because you would see my little 4" Cthulhu statue sitting at the base of my monitor, watching my every keystr I wish I could upload photos to comments because you would see my little 4" Cthulhu statue sitting at the base of my monitor, watching my every keystroke. It was a birthday gift. H.P. Lovecraft was one of my favorite authors, as was E.A. Poe. When we had to memorize a poem for English Lit. class, I chose "The Raven." Wow, I had never seen a teacher get so angry over someone doing what they asked. lol My poetry has been likened to Lovecraft/Poe, at least in style, even if not technical merit.

At least I was not the only one who went through a goth phase. Admittedly, I'm still a goth at heart even if I ditched the emo attitude and dress code lol

I find your choice in necromancy to be brilliant. You had legitimate questions and ones that others might have or would have had. Turning them into a way to create the answers would open up a new world and I'm excited to read about it soon in your book. I believe that even if a book is a work of fiction, it should read like it was as real as possible. Doing a necromantic book from the POV of the necromancer would read better than someone viewing it from the outside, which leaves unanswered questions. Great idea!

I will stick with making changes like that. I never thought we could get used to making those kinds of changes. That's why I write for myself instead of marketing my work. Friends and family read some of my work but are too close to the church to enjoy some of my writing. I stick with darker love poetry instead of my short stories. They are only a bit disturbed but never insulted or cross their religious lines. I try to respect all people's walks of life. I am happy you said that you eventually got used to it. It gives me hope, so thank you for that.

Ha ha! I am the same way when it comes to lyrics and trying to write. Music inspires and helps me write, but lyrics do not. I can write and have written lyrics for songs but never did it while listening to music. I find that a little contradictory, but there it is. I listen to so many different types of music that I could spend an hour just trying to choose what to listen to. One of the things that I felt helped inspire me to write something written in a different time, such as ancient times was playing Yo-Yo Ma or some John Williams. Others have played ancient styles of music that I love listening to. When playing a game, if it's modern, we listen to modern music. If the game is set in a certain period, we try to keep the music in keeping with the game.

For instance, during our 1890s Cthulhu campaign, we listened to George J. Gaskin, George Washington Johnson, and Len Spencer. When we played Cthulhu in the 1920s we switched to music from that decade. It feels like it lends an air of authenticity to the game. I can see how it would inspire you when writing too.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. It shows me how much you love doing what you do and that makes me want to read your books even more. On the first or second, you can count on me to order one of the red and black if you're ready for it! I also hope others read and get a great sense of the kind of author you are and hope to do the same. ...more
Jul 26, 2023 09:09AM · flag

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