The Insider is a Silver Leaf Books sponsored feature that allows the readers to gain additional information about the authors, books, and projects. This section will consist of live interviews with the authors, and their direct responses.

Our first Insider interview is with Clifford B. Bowyer, author of The Imperium Saga: The Impending Storm:

SLB: Your book has been out for about two months now and the feedback is starting to really come back with strong reviews. What has the past two months been like for you?

BOWYER: Well, the past two months have been great. Not only is my book out, but I have also finished my graduate degree (MBA) at Babson College. The completion of school was right around the time when the book first reached my hands, and let me just say, having a book in your hands that you created, you wrote, and you developed for a number of years, it's a priceless feeling! The two things combined gave me a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

I also have started to get a lot of feedback from the people that had preordered the book, and the response is overwhelmingly positive! Even from family members who had told me that they do not read fantasy, but would try my book, they turned around and spoke to me for hours about the book, and were really excited and enthusiastic. That's great!

SLB: But you have also gotten feedback from people that are not friends and family? How has that gone?

BOWYER: We actually had one gentleman that bought the book Friday night at the Boskone 41 Convention, and then stopped by our booth on Saturday to let us know that he had started the book and loved it so far. That of course is the most recent example, but I have received quite a few e-mails as well telling me how good the book really is and how people can't wait for the next one. Readers also seem to be growing an attachment for my characters, which is great as well ~ to hear the excitement in someone else's voice about something that I am so passionate about myself makes the whole thing worthwhile.

SLB: Can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

BOWYER: Sure. Believe it or not, I was sitting in a classroom one night and my mind was wandering. I had an idea for a romantic comedy type of novel, and as I was driving home, the storyline started to unfold before me. However, I hadn't written for years, at least not stories, so I decided that I would "play around" a bit and create a Fantasy.

SLB: Play around?

BOWYER: Oh yes, play around! I figured that with Fantasy, I could create a world and just have fun with it. The power of my imagination is what would fuel it and make it go. So I started out and began writing. I had some ideas that I liked and and I just went with them. Of course, since it was just "playing around," I probably would have quit after a few weeks and tossed it aside as a meaningless hobby.

SLB: What stopped you?

BOWYER: It was an old friend of mine that I had met in my Undergraduate years at Bryant College. She had taken several classes in writing and also was working on several different manuscripts, including a Fantasy adventure and a Vampire novel. Anyway, she told me that the characters in my book were not just names and descriptions, they were living, breathing individuals. They had motivations, desires, backgrounds and reasons for doing things. Not only does the book have a story, but everyone in the book has a story.

So, I actually stopped writing. I created a template for profiles. Not just characters, but also animals, creatures, places, organizations, weapons, and more. I then took my original characters and plot outlines and expanded upon them considerably, taking each and every character and fully developing them. When the characters were done, I moved on to other things, such as the history of the realm, the different kingdoms, the creatures of the realm and more. In the end, I have thousands upon thousands of pages of profiles and support documentation.

I then purchased some map making software and began designing the Imperium, or rather the Seven Kingdoms in much more detail. As that unfolded, I updated the profiles even more to make certain that everything was consistent and connected. Things had to fit logically into my realm, based on the profiles, the ideas, and the histories. For instance, after the Race Wars ended, most of the races went into seclusion, leaving the realm dominated by the humans. Therefore, where were the creatures? They are mostly in the forests, mountains, caves and places like that. I needed to make sure that everything meshed properly.

SLB: Wow, that's a lot!

BOWYER: It is, but I didn't stop there! With everything set up and in place, I then started doing research. My father was a history teacher, so I always grew up with a fascination for history. I put that to use and started to research ancient civilizations, empires, cultures and more. I wanted the different aspects of my characters to be believable in the setting that they were in.

My research also extended beyond just history. I began examining wardrobes: royalty, peasants, warriors and knights. I have been told by one of my readers that I "really know how to dress my women." This is all part of the research as well as a discussion with another friend that was a fashion designer to take the wardrobes and the profiles and discuss what exactly people with those personalities would really wear. It's really quite accurate and detailed.

I also thoroughly researched weapons. Not only did I do historical references, but I also started to purchase medieval and oriental swords so that I could actually have the right touch and feel of the blades before I wrote about them. There is one scene with Solara and Angel that I actually practiced against a door for fifteen minutes to make sure that it would work before I wrote it!

SLB: Very thorough! Do you try to keep everything updated?

BOWYER: Of course. As I write, I update all of my profiles. They are really tools to help me with my writing and my consistency. Say for instance a character is injured in one of the books. That injury would probably leave a scar, and I need to make updates in the profiles so that the next time you see them, the scar is still there, and that I have an accurate representation of how they got it as well (there's nothing I'd hate more than having someone get cut on the right side of their face and in the next book have a scar on the left side!).

I also create "Expanded Universe" documents, which is what I call them. Basically, these documents get even more detailed and thorough with certain things. A good example here is the elves of Wild Wood. You don't meet them in the first book, but you can locate where they are on the map. The Expanded Universe profiles for them alone is 300 pages. It includes their culture, their tribes, their customs, their weapons, and more.

SLB: Will that come out in the books?

BOWYER: I think that would really overwhelm people if I tried to put that much detail into things! Like I said, these are for me. If I had some characters visiting Wild Wood, then I have this tremendous resource that really helps to differentiate that particular elven location.

An example that people might be able to relate to more easily is the Council of Elders. This group leads the Mage's Council. They are some of the most developed characters in my entire world with profiles that span almost a dozen pages long each. However, when Karleena goes to meet them in the book, readers only get a little taste for the characters. The profiles that I have to fall back upon helps me to bring out their personalities and motivations, but the depth of their development isn't necessary to enjoy the book.

And again, unless we're releasing an encyclopedia of my realm, there is no real need to have this much revealed ~ it isn't pivotal to the main plotline and story development.

SLB: Would you ever consider creating an encyclopedia of all of these materials?

BOWYER: A Complete Guide to the Imperium Saga? If people want it, sure, why not? I remember growing up and reading the old Marvel Universe books for comics. They had pictures of the characters and their histories and things like that. Even if I didn't know who a character was, I could create adventures in my mind. If one day people want something like that for The Imperium Saga, I think I would have a lot of fun putting it together.

SLB: Getting back to the trilogy, how are the books currently scheduled for release doing?

BOWYER: Well, book two, The Changing Tides is already written. I'm very proud of this one. It is a very quick paced novel that keeps the adventurers moving from beginning to end. It also picks up right where The Impending Storm ends, so readers will be able to jump right back into the story (and from the feedback I have received of people anxious to know what happens, this will be just what they are looking for!). I can't wait to start getting feedback from the test market to hear what they think! I'm also about 2/3 of the way done with Book three right now, so things are progressing quite nicely.

SLB: What about the teen series?

BOWYER: The teen series is a spin-off of the main trilogy. After finishing The Impending Storm, I wanted to have an additional series for younger audiences to follow the adventures of Kyria, the 12 year old girl that is prophesized to save the realm. I was concerned though that kids may not read the full length novel, so I started the teen series before you actually meet Kyria, follow it through the first book, and then beyond what happens in the first book.

Also, to help bring the personality, desires and attitudes of kids into the series, I got together with my niece and nephew one weekend and went over the books I had plotted and what I was thinking. We then talked at length and really brought the characters to life. I also had them and their friends read the first four books, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive!

SLB: After you finish the trilogy, what do you have planned next?

BOWYER: That's a good question. Whenever I get ideas for books, I start a document and type the ideas out. I put these all in a folder as potential future projects. One of these is a Science Fiction storyline that is remarkably detailed already with profiles, plot lines, militrary structures and more. Some of the ideas are far more developed than others, but once I'm done with The Imperium Saga, I'll probably look at some of these and try to develop them more.

SLB: How long do you think that will take?

BOWYER: Probably six years, just like the development for The Imperium Saga! That's still a long way off though. Right now, I wake up every day and the first thought that enters my mind is what is happening to my characters and what I'll be working on that day. I'm very passionate about this current Fantasy realm, and am pretty much putting my heart and soul into it.

SLB: Sounds like you are really enjoying this.

BOWYER: I am. I can't tell you how happy I have been being able to work on my novels, the profiles, and development things. It's great. Also, like I said before, hearing the feedback from the readers is very inspiring.

SLB: Good luck with finishing up Book three! Is there anything else you would like to add?

BOWYER: I would like to thank all of my family and friends who have listened to me over the past few years and talked about the books. I get so passionate about it that I simply love to talk about it, and most of them have had hours of discussions about what was happening and what was going to happen. Your support, as always, is appreciated and invaluable!

I would also like to thank all of the people that have visited me at the two conventions I attended this year, and the early readers that have sent me commentary about the books. Seeing joy, excitement and pleasure about something I created makes this whole adventure a reward in itself. Thank you all!

May all of your adventures be magical!