Today, we welcome Thorium! He’s releasing a new novel today, called The Wrold of Algratha. It’s a fantasy novel, so if you like a story with action, drama, and hints of comedy, you can check out the first five chapters here!
Grandia sat down with him for an interview about his newest release!
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Welcome Thorium! So when you told me about your story for the first time, I asked you about the misspelling of “world” in your title. Could you repeat the story for our readers today?
Oh, yeah! My friends and I were 12 or so when we first thought of the idea for this world. The first file (of many) that we made with the details of our world building, which started my whole writing journey for this novel – we accidentally saved it as the book title I’m using, which is The Wrold of Algratha. So, in reality, it holds sentimental value, even though it may sound dumb, haha.
Aww, that’s really cute. So, tell us about how you joined Creative Novels.
I found Creative Novels while looking for books to read, to be honest with you. I’ll personally read just about anything that I can get my hands on, from required college textbooks to comics and manga. It’s just whatever piques my interest at that moment in time.
Ah, a reader I see! Have any recommendations for your readers?
I’ve loved reading good books ever since I was little. For me, it was always a good way to separate myself from the outside world. I personally have bookshelves upon bookshelves of books that I have read over the years. Some of my favorite books would have to be the Jack Ryan series from Tom Clancy, the Eragon series by Christopher Paolini, and Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris.
Oh man, I remember reading Eragon back in the day. Anyways, back to your novel! Tell us about The Wrold of Algratha. What is this novel like?
It is a vast world with endless possibilities and opportunities. There are unique characters, each with their own personality and perspectives about the world they are in. And their own ideas about how they will shape the world. Or if the world will shape them…
Ooh, ominous ending there. What’s your favorite thing about this novel?
My favorite part of the novel is the world it takes place in: Teteraria. While the novel itself is much like a game of DnD – one mission followed by another mission to a specific endpoint – the world itself was made from scratch by my friend and I. It’s all completely from scratch! There is a lot to see all throughout the story, from the characters to the environment around them. Since the world is the starting point of all stories, it is just as important as the main character if not more.
Ooh, world building! A favorite of mine I must say. Have any tips or tricks for creating new worlds?
I would suggest work with others. While it is fine and dandy to do a project like this by yourself, I find it easier and sometimes better to do so with others, since many times they may have an interesting idea that you would have never thought of yourself.
For example, in my book, the Wrold of Algratha, there is a place called the Sea of Sands that my friend came up with. Instead of just your typical desert, he suggested making the sand into a “sea” with flow patterns and currents, much like an actual ocean. From there, you can create the backstory of a world by creating a reason why or how something happened.
Sometimes it’s also good to look at examples from video games, books, movies or even TV show, and then modify it to suit your liking and the look of your world. So that’s my advice on worldbuilding!
Wow! Very thought out. What about your characters?
I can’t speak for other writers, but when I write a story with multiple characters, I try to make them all a unique part of the story. In other words, they should all give something to the story and not just be a common face on the street walking by. Because of this, I try to put myself into their shoes and decide how this person would try to solve a particular problem or continue a conversation.
So, in reality, I can see myself in many of the characters that I include in this story.
That kinds of reminds me of the way method actors work. What inspired the idea for your novel?
The idea of the novel actually came from an old DnD world my friends and I made a long time ago. When we were looking over some old files and clearing out our old school account, we found the old doc’s we made. They had everything, from our first sample creations of the world to specific characters in it. From that we built the world back up, along with people and places. After that, I took it and started writing about it until a story unfolded before our very eyes.
Now that sounds like a collective effort. It’s amazing you’ve been able to take an idea and create an entire novel out of it. Now, we’re wrapping up, so let me ask you the question I ask all of the authors I interview:
Finish this sentence: When I looked up, the night sky was full of stars but no moon, and I knew…
That every once in awhile even the night sky will change and so must we.
Wow, that’s rather profound. Thanks so much for talking with me! Is there anything you’d like to say to your readers?
I would like to say that I am not a perfect writer like Lewis Carroll or a fancy poet like Robert Frost. But nevertheless, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the experience while writing it.
What a lovely way to end the interview! Everyone, I hope you learned a little bit about our new author after this and that his tips on world building were useful to you. Please do check out The Wrold of Algratha here!