Right away, tell us about the name. What does it mean? How did you pick it?
I’m a huge fan of Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen. The character of the Bard, Fisher, especially. When I was looking for a pseudonym, I wanted to channel that energy! Also, as a teacher from the Midlands in England, no higher calling than wanting to be known as the Bard!
What got you into LitRPG?
I accidentally signed up for Kindle Unlimited a few years back and came across all these books that weren’t like anything else I’d read before. I quickly blitzed through all the big names – DCC, DoftF, HWTWM, PH – and then spiralled out into everything and anything else. I really enjoyed the idea of System that ordinary people could use to get access to incredible powers.
How has the experience of writing on Royal Road been? Pros and cons?
As someone who has always tinkered away with stories for an audience of one, the idea of this massive potential audience you can out your work into simply blows me away. The fact that I have people that come back three times a week to see how my thing is going is a huge buzz. Cons? As with everywhere on the internet, there are Trolls at there and people who enjoy causing drama. Such closeness with the audience is an amazing privilege, but it can get pretty raw when someone wants to give you a kicking.
Daine Darkhelm is an awesome character. Her no nonsense attitude and witty inner dialogue are certainly fan favorites of the series. What was her inspiration?
There are far too few older women in fantasy literature and LITRPG especially. I didn’t think the world needed anymore socially awkward, young male powerhouses tearing up the landscape. I was interested in what the end of that hero journey looked like. When you’ve been kick-ass for too long and you don’t really want to keep going. There’s a Bill Hick’s routine I love which he starts with “I've been on the road doing comedy for ten years now, so bear with me while I plaster on a fake smile and plough through this shit one more time.” That’s the stage where we meet Daine.
