I write to better engage in the mystery that is life, to add my own singular note to the grand chorus that is creation.
I write to reignite the childlike wonder of diving into a book and not knowing where the pages will lead.
I write to pay homage to the writers that have spurred me down this wondrous road: Tom Robbins, Salman Rushdie, Lauren Groff, David Mitchell, George R.R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, Ken Liu, Hilary Mantel, Jo Walton, Benjamin Percy, Donna Tart, Jonathan Lethem, Justin Cronin, Levi Grossman, Scott Hawkins, and Zadie Smith, to name a few.
I write because I wish to play the infinite game, the one without winners and losers, the one where knowledge and art and joy are pursued for their own sake.
I write epic fantasy because I am obsessed with the intersection of history and imagination, that nebulous space where reality bleeds into legend, fact into fiction, firsthand accounts into fantastic flights of the mind. Epic fantasy is a place where Red Weddings are conjured from the ashes of medieval Scotland, and I wish to summon some of that magic for my own.
I write fantasy with a literary bent because I love it when the words on the page force you to slow down, to meditate, to relish, to savor. To read and to write are to engage in activities that manage to be both healing and indulgent at the same time.
I write because I keep trying to craft a worthy response to the many writers who have touched my soul over the years. It’s always just out of reach, but I’m in love with the trying.
I write because I believe that life is more than an exercise in misery, power, and acquisition. I write because writing is art, and art transcends.
I write to keep writing.
I write because I’m in love.
This is fantastic! Found it invigorating to read!