All about the novel Mistress of Amber and Flame

What is Mistress of Amber and Flame about?

Interview

What was your inspiration for Mistress of Amber and Flame?
The whole story started because two German authors in my Instagram network were looking for submissions for an anthology around rituals. That topic interested me, so I looked some rituals up and found a couple to work with for a story – and came up with a short story centering around Tábala and Lar. 

Additionally, a huge influence for me is music. Bands like Saltatio Mortis, Schandmaul (both German medieval rock), Nightwish, Ghost, and Powerwolf inspire me and influence my work.

What drew you to writing?
I always liked stories and doing something with them. As a child I would sit on the floor in my room or in the garden and replay stories I liked (they sure involved horses every time), I also started to change them, add bits, and bring in my own ideas (which mostly involved more horses). I loved doing that. However, when you reach a certain age, you are told that you shouldn’t play like this anymore and it would be weird now for you to sit on the floor and play with figurines. Yet, the stories were still in my mind. I can’t exactly nail down when, but eventually, I simply started to write them down.

What are your favourite parts of writing fantasy?
How limitless it is because I don’t have to work with historical facts. Don’t get me wrong, as a high fantasy writer I still do my research. For example, I look up how a castle would have been designed, what general customs and foods were, which dresses were common, and things like that (that I had medieval German literature at university helps quite a bit). But I can take these facts and work with them. They are a basis I can mould for my story, but I don’t have to stick to them word for word; I can customise the basis for the world I am creating. I like that, that I am not bound to a certain historic event, or something that was or wasn’t possible at a given time.

How did you choose which character to centre the story around?
To be honest, that has – so far – never been a decision I sit down for and actively make. When I have an idea for a story, it generally already centres around a character. And these characters have always turned out to be the main characters of my stories.

What was your process for writing Mistress of Amber and Flame?
After I submitted the short story and it got published, I felt like there was still something in there, that Tábala and Lar had more to tell. I then tried to figure out how their story could proceed from where I left them in the short story and what the challenges and developments along the way could be, how their backstories are.
Once I have a rough outline in my mind I normally just start writing to see if the story works. I like having a plan but I also get a lot of ideas in my writing process. I try not to overthink a story from the get-go.

What is your approach to world and character building?
I aim to create vivid and varied worlds in which readers can immerse themselves. Being out and about in nature inspires me and the worlds I create. The big medieval markets in Germany also always were a good source for ideas (now more so the memory).
I like using visuals to kickstart my imagination and then try to really convey onto paper what I have in my mind so it is an intriguing world for my readers.

How would you describe the Mistress of Amber and Flame in five words?
Torn between light and darkness.

Did you have a favourite moment in the book to write?
That’s a tough question. I think as author, I sometimes like little moments which might not even stand out to the reader that much. For example, there is a scene where a creature emerges out of fog which I like a lot; then there is a moment in which my characters fool around a bit with theatre utensils which was heaps of fun to write. I also liked to create Tábala’s rituals, as I looked into actual rituals and what you would use for them and then took it from there. I love researching, so if I can weave something that bears some actual truth in it into my stories, that is always heaps of fun

What was your favourite book growing up?
That’s actually two books. The Mist of Avalon was really important for me as a young woman and it kind of just stayed with me (that reminds me, I need to re-read it). I love the story and the world-building. During my university time and reading some actual medieval novels, especially Pose Lancelot, my admiration for Marion Zimmer-Bradley grew even more when I discovered how much of those medieval texts she knew and used for her story.
The other book is The Lord of the Rings, which I think I read about 7 times – and still seem to discover new things every time.
Both books are impressive in the way of how they use legends, myths, medieval and classical texts, and plays (it’s too much to name it all here) and draw elements form these to create a unique story.
And if I can name one more, as an adult, my absolute favourite text is Milton’s Paradise Lost, especially the extremely beautiful lines Milton gave his Satan.

Do you have a favourite genre to read?
Uhm … not really. Funnily enough, I don’t read a lot of fantasy. I love Haruki Murakami because he combines realistic stories with elements of fantasy – and sometimes a bit of spookiness – just in an amazingly beautiful way. Generally, a book needs to have something intriguing that interests me and makes me want to find out what happens next. If a story has that, I don’t care who wrote it or which time it is from (the medieval Parzival and Porse Lancelot for example are extremely beautiful – although they work quite differently from novels we read nowadays).
If a story doesn’t interest me or I can’t warm up to any of the characters, I simply put the book away.