Welcome to our first interview for this month! We are with this talented author, rosiethebard , who penned the story, Empire of Shadows .

Dark Fantasy Team: What was your inspiration for this story?

rosiethebard: The inspiration for this story was actually a dream. I don't remember much of the dream now, but the line "there were no gallows in Greenwater" really stuck out with me upon waking. I started writing as soon as I woke up and came up with the character of Jameson and the situation of his imprisonment. Things have definitely changed from this original vision, but it all started with a random dream.

DF: Under which circumstances and when did you start writing this story?

R: It was back in the spring of 2019 and I was already stressed out about school so I just started writing my frustrations with professors and work into characters. This is one reason some of them are so messed up, but eh, it makes for a great backstory, right?

DF: Tell us something about your characters and their development.

R: The characters often have a mind of their own. I began this story with a clear-cut plan to write about one particular character (Jameson) and his escape from prison into this band of terrible rogues with cruel and often uncontrollable powers. Anubis immediately pushed into the story and demanded that she not be sidelined, offering a tragic backstory and a curious heritage as tribute. And so the story evolved again, focusing on her relationship with the town as a sort of revered but feared necromancer and a planned Six of Crows type heist. Ketil was originally not able to speak in the common tongue and was supposed to play a minuscule role as someone who cared for the horses, but as I began to flesh him out, I discovered that perhaps he was one of the more interesting characters and the book began to shift to tell his story. Fleshing out Ketil was quite fun, including adding the cultural aspects of Polaria and the language into his development. Now he's my MC and I am mildly in love with his development throughout the story and afterward.Developing characters is probably my favorite part of writing if you couldn't tell. It's just so fun to see these tiny, albeit imaginary, people come to life.

DF: What was your biggest obstacle while writing this story?

R: I was writing a good chunk of the middle during the time of Covid-19 during the craziness that is the end of semester, so the lag was real. I had mileposts of where I wanted the story to go, but at the same time, connecting the dots felt messy and unmotivated at points. At one point I had completely banished it to the barren wasteland that is my Folder of Unfinished WIPs. Turns out I found some of my original trash writing scavengable and began to rework the original ideas.

DF: When and why did you start writing in Dark Fantasy? What caught your interest?

R: I began writing fantasy in general maybe six years ago and that eventually evolved into the darker side of things as my reading preference changed from sci-fi to fantasy (don't get me wrong, I still love a good dystopian book but fantasy stole my heart). The biggest influences that drove me into writing dark fantasy was V.E. Schwab's Shades of Magic series, Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book, and Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle series (although it is not the typical dark fantasy book, there's murder, a raven, and a magic talking forest so that's dark fantasy enough, right?). I recommend these books and authors just because their stye, character development, and plots are all so amazing. Then getting into Dungeons and Dragons influenced me too as my wonderful DM began to add darker aspects into our campaign. (If you're a writer or a reader, I definitely recommend playing D&D just because it is such a fun way to immerse yourself into a fantasy world. And what other game allows you to start a tavern brawl by stealing socks and playing Piano Man on the harmonica?)

Anyways, I just enjoyed exploring the darker aspects and morally gray areas, especially with magic that has a cost.

DF: What other genres do you enjoy writing other than Dark Fantasy? How would you compare it with Dark Fantasy?

R: I enjoy writing dystopian (my first love in writing, so to speak), which is honestly like the dark fantasy of the sci-fi world now that I think about it. But they are very similar, both delving into darker aspects of society and the main characters. There are more constraints writing dystopian though, just because you have to actually follow most laws of physics and can't blame it on magic (gross, I know).I also enjoy writing regular fantasy with gothic twists. It's fun and completely compliments the dark fantasy subgenre while allowing you to play with a bit more in the horror genre. Fantasy in general is just my chosen genre just because it is so flexible, I mean, you can make your character a superhero with a tragic backstory, or a fairy attempting to escape a magical contract, or some random guy named Steve who has inherited a sentient book—it is the most flexible genre and allows for endless possibilities.

DF: How was your experience in writing Dark fantasy? What do you think about it as a genre?

R: As a genre, it is incredibly fun to write. You get to dig beneath the layer of topsoil that is the fantasy genre and expose the crooked and twisted roots. Everything is gritty or gilded and chipping away. Things are rarely what they seem in dark fantasy. Your characters feel deeper, with motivations and pasts that they want to hide or escape. Eventually, they become like tiny chunks of you set loose in the world—the good, bad, and ugly parts of you. I enjoy this deep writing, which is completely attainable with other genres, but it feels so natural in dark fantasy. It's just a fun genre to write in and I hope I explored some of it in Empire of Shadows.

DF: A war has occured between two mythical creatures. How would you tackle the situation?

R: It all depends on what kind of creatures we're talking about. If we're talking about the humanoid creatures, then I feel that we can solve this with some diplomatic resolve. And if that fails, I am definitely sending in a D&D style party to deal with things in whatever way they see fit—they may not be a proficient group, but they are usually efficient.But if it's dragons we're talking about here...you don't interfere in the affairs of dragons unless you enjoy death (or are a certain hobbit named Bilbo Baggins in the company of a certain Thorin Oakenshield).

DF: What are your future plans with this book? Be it on Wattpad or in general.

R: Right now, I'm hoping to edit a bit more just to get rid of some sloppy errors I didn't catch on my first round of editing. After that, I might write a short novella explaining what happens to the group at the end of Empire of Shadows, but who knows? I've been thinking about their futures afterward and it seems appropriate to give them an extra bit of writing.In the future, maybe I'll gain some more views or likes for this project—maybe an award even? Like many authors, my end goal is to be published, even if it isn't with Empire of Shadows. I certainly won't stop writing and refining my craft with every sentence.I don't know exactly what is to come, but I'm glad that this project I originally hated has entertained and maybe brought a smile to someone's face. As a writer, that's what I'm most happy about.

Thank you so much, rosiethebard, for being with us and agreeing to our interview. Check out the story, Empire of Shadows, to support our author!

- The Dark Fantasy Team