I definitely had a rough master plan when I began Magelands Epic, but I did not properly plan out Eternal Siege until I was working on Soulwitch Rises (i.e. close to the end of Epic). Similarly, I planned out Magelands Empire while I was close to the end of Eternal Siege – round about Holdfast Imperium, I think.

From a hundred small things, which are then melded together. Little insights that arise from the premise of the story or world. I am very ‘top-down’ in my approach – I think of the beginning and the end of the entire arc, and then gradually drill down into the detail of how I am going to get from one to the other. Before I begin each book, I write down a few lines as a guide for each chapter, then I expand upon that a week or so before I write that chapter, and then, usually on the night before I write the chapter, I fill an entire page in a notebook with the detailed breakdown on everything that will happen. But this is only half of it, because as soon as I start actually writing the chapter, all sorts of unforeseen things happen. For instance, I might need to add a new character to develop some point, and then that character takes on a life of their own. Lucius Cardova is a good example. In City of Salve, I needed a Banner officer to talk to Montieth, and, lo, Lucius Cardova came into being. I had no idea at that point what Lucius would go on to achieve. Other characters are far from incidental. Arrosa was very deliberately introduced at a stage when I knew exactly who she was going to become.

I use a spreadsheet to catalogue and document many aspects of the Magelands. This includes the calendars of the various worlds, the POV structures, and every chapter title, to make sure there are no duplications. I plan out the dates of every chapter in advance, and keep a track of it that way. In the earlier books of the Magelands, the biggest factor affecting the dates was the time it took for a character to move from one location to another; this no longer applied once Quadrants were introduced.

As mentioned above, I use spreadsheets to document some of the information, but my main resource consists of large, hardback notebooks, into which I write all of the world-building, plots, characters etc. I have filled many of these over the years for the Magelands, and I am now doing the same thing for Masters & Makers and Mithersea.

If I were to go back and attempt to revise the Magelands from the very beginning, then I have no doubt that I might reword a sentence or two, but I wouldn’t change anything substantial. However, there is one small but infamous continuity error in Dragon Eyre Ashfall that I would fix (if you know, you know).

It is fairly easy to keep track of characters who are appearing frequently, like Cael or Karalyn; but it can be much harder to return to characters who haven’t been seen in a long time. I usually have to go back and do my research, by reading about their last appearances; then I have to grab a notebook, and write down everything they have been doing off-camera for the intervening period. No peoples are based entirely on any real world group, though, of course, I designed the Kellach Brigdomin to sound Scottish, as I wanted Scottish-sounding characters in my books!

No. There are no characters based upon actual people. Keira reminded me of a few women I knew as a child, but she wasn’t based on anyone in particular.

I have several! Sable, Karalyn and Kelsey are a trio close to my heart, as are Lahnos, Corthie and Cael. Daphne was always a joy to write, as I always knew exactly what she would do or say in any given situation. I also had a soft spot for Jade, and the way her character developed after she left Greylin Palace. One thing that slightly baffled me was the reception to Thorn as a character. When I was writing about Thorn, I loved her as a character, and I was surprised that readers seemed to dislike her. Poor old Thorn, misunderstood to the end!

Even the wicked characters serve a purpose, so I find it hard to dislike any of them.

I am not sure how to answer this one. I suppose I try to place myself into their heads. When I am writing any particular Point of View, each one has a different ‘feel’ to it, as though I know how, say, Sable or Lahnos will react in a certain situation. I also have to remember to gradually develop each character, so that they do not remain static and unchanged by their experiences. Karalyn presented a different set of challenges, as I needed to mould her personality according to the identity of the host body that she was in at the time. Karalyn needed to have an inner core, upon which aspects of the host’s personality would sit. Lisa will always point out if she feels that I am not being true to any of the characters.

I can regret some deaths on an emotional level, while understanding that it served the story in some important way. Belinda’s death was the worst for me to write; I felt emotionally drained by the time I had finished that chapter in Holdfast Imperium, and I was also worried about the reception from readers her death would provoke. The other deaths that had a big impact on me were those of Keira, Badblood, Daphne and Corthie. The theme of self-sacrifice recurs in many of these deaths – Daphne died to save Cael; Corthie died to save Blackrose (and, arguably, Maddie, Rosie, Cole and Cael); and Belinda died to save Sable.

Sable, I think.

Belinda definitely deserved more. In a parallel universe, she is living in peace on Dragon Eyre with Austin and Ashfall, with Sable and Badblood as their neighbours.

It varies from book to book. Most characters have their moments when writing them is fun, but those same characters are then subjected to all kinds of torments.

No, not really. There were the older covers down for Eternal Siege, which depicted several of the main characters, many of whom were from the Star Continent. While the quality of the art was not in question, I didn’t necessarily agree with how all of these characters looked. As the writer, though, I try not to meddle in these things. I often shy away from explicitly describing how people look, preferring to leave it up to the readers’ imaginations.

It is hard to select any of them in particular, but here are a few that hold a special place in my heart: from Epic – Storm Mage; from Eternal Siege – God Restrainer; and, from Empire – Immortal Empire.

It would have to be the Kellach Brigdomin, followed by the Holdings.

I like Dragon Eyre, but I would live in Kell.

I have no plans to write any Magelands prequels. My head is now full of Masters & Makers and the new series – Mithersea.

That is not up to me, unless anyone wants to loan me a few hundred million pounds!

I knew from the beginning that there would be no dragons in Magelands Epic, and, in fact, I introduced winged gaien as a cruder substitute – dragons with the intelligence of horses. From Eternal Siege onwards, I knew that dragons would begin to play a major role. I would guess that my intention to include dragons in The Mortal Blade occurred to me when I was planning Eternal Siege; in other words, while I was drafting Soulwitch Rises.

Will dragons appear in Masters & Makers? I will not reveal anything just now, but the clue is already there, in Suffer the Heir.

As for the new series, the first book I am planning to write will likely be called The Last Dragons of Mithersea, so ,yes, there will be dragons. 

Very much! We are a 50/50 partnership, and each part depends on the other. Lisa gets all of the spoilers in advance, as I usually talk about the big plot decisions with her before I write them down, so she always knows what’s coming next.

In some senses, I feel a tremendous amount of relief that I managed to get it all over the line. I did everything I could to avoid repeating storylines and character arcs over the course of the thirty-nine books, but, by the end, I was keeping dozens of different threads in my mind at the same time, while trying to bring it all to a satisfactory conclusion. With the publication of Immortal Empire, that weight has been lifted, and I can fill up my head with other ideas. In another sense, though, I am already missing the Magelands. I know it exists, but I also know that I will not be returning to write any more books about it. It occupied ten years of my life, but it is time to move on. There is also the feeling that everything I write from now on will be compared to the Magelands, by me, at least. One of the reasons that Masters & Makers feels different is that I was deliberately trying not to repeat the Magelands.