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Writers Interview: Karver the Lorc

Tags: #Karver  #Interview 
  • Member
    May 12, 2017

    We have a different contributor to the Writers Interview series this time around, and it is my pleasure to be that contributor, for it is the turn of the interviewer to be interviewed: a friend and colleague whose writing, from blogs to lore, have been a huge inspiration to both me and many here on The Tamriel Vault.

     

    Ladies and gentlemen...

     

     

    Karver the Lorc, who are you? That is to say, tell me a few things about yourself.

     

    Well, who am I? Just a regular guy from Czech Republic who likes beer, women and his big belly. I make my living as a mechanic of lawnmovers and chainsaws. I also sell those machines and right off the bat I can tell you that I hate herds of customers. Yes, herds! Panting and slobbering...ugh! Anyway, I like writing, yeah. Been writing since high school, mostly fantasy stuff. I play tennis, I do historical combat, I play games, read a lot ( Steven Erikson over and over again mostly.) So, yeah, that’s me.

     

    I thought Orcs liked slobbering beasts? :D Or was that slobbering on breasts?

    Not a people person, then? So fantasy has been part of your life since high school, and you are a fan of Steven Erikson. I have not read any of his books. We’ll get to the historical combat and games part in a bit, but firstly what is it about Steven Erikson’s writing that has stuck with you, and does his style in any way inform your own work and style?

     

    Well, I wouldn’t say that I’m not a people person it’s just that...people piss me off. Yeah. And Steven Erikson. The thing is that I’ve read lot of fantasy books before Erikson, but when I read Malazan Book of the Fallen it blew my mind. It was one of the few stories that literally broke my heart or made me laugh out loud. The book showed me the “Show, don’t tell.” Or the slightly advanced “Don’t show, don’t tell. Hint.” It blew me off with its ridiculous humor, and incredible characters. Like... a demon bartender. Demon bartender! There’s no other sentence that defines the ridiculous but awesome aspect of Steven Erikson’s work.

     

    The “hint, don’t tell/show” approach you take is very apparent in your writing. We need only look at Decimus or Grulmar to see examples of that, as each character comes alive not through exposition, but rather through their words and actions. I think your work does that, both in terms of characters and in how you portray the setting, which is often done through the eyes of the character the paragraph or chapter focusses on. Do you actively study these advanced writing techniques, or learn as you go and from what you’ve read? The Demon Bartender seems to resonate in you. Is that another advanced writing concept or storytelling device that you follow? Or simply something that has inspired you?

     

    I have read lot of fantasy books, so these techniques as you call them are something I just catch while reading. I’ve gone through lot of writing styles, taking a little bit something from each one of them and settling with what I’m comfortable.

    And Demon Bartender. It’s a concept you know? Concept that even the most common character like a tavern owner or a maid can actually be way much more. Like a certain legionnaire at Ghost Fence giving you his Lucky Coin. People have secrets, people tend to hide something, always. It can be small, but it can be also quite big. Everyone has a past, everyone is coming from somewhere and sometimes that someone was influenced by a roll of a dice thrown by the gods. That is the concept of Demon Bartender.

     

    Ok, that makes a lot of sense. I imagine that as a writer that is quite a daunting concept. I mean, to remember that each inhabitant in the world you create is a three dimensional person must be quite overwhelming. Has there ever been a time where you have written what was supposed to be a minor character for a short scene, only to have that character become one of the main protagonists or antagonists of your story? And, to add to that, which of the characters that you have written are you proudest of, and why?

    Minor character becoming a main protagonist. Hmm. That’s tough because I pick my characters carefully. The thing is that I use PoVs of only the characters I consider to be the “main”, but in theory, I think that Erik the Slayer could be considered what you just described. He was meant to be someone who was just being used by Grulmar, a sidekick, but over the course of Chasing Aetherius he had shown a growth I didn’t expect at the beginning. Basically, just by giving him the third dimension he jumped from minor to major.

     

    And which character of mine I’m the proudest of? Man, that’s tough. They are all part of me or representing what I don’t have, they are all very important to me. But the answer should be obvious right now. Of course it’s Grulmar, it’s “his” story that is my main focus now. Yes, he’s a dickhead more often than sometimes, but still… He’s the one who’s pulling the boat against the stream for me most of the times. He’s the one who makes me write even when I feel down, because I owe it to the green bastard. His story deserves to be told.

     

    I thoroughly enjoyed your’s and Lissette’s take on Erik. As a character and follower in the game, one can do a lot worse than have Erik with you. You took his foundation of a good-hearted guy and really fleshed him out, gave him some rough challenges to overcome, yet kept him recognisably Erik. Who’s idea was it to maim the dude? :D

    So, Grulmar. A flawed character and one of the most compelling and interesting characters I have ever read - on par with Raistlin Majere in that respect. In fact, from Dragonlance to Forgotten Realms and RA Salvatore’s fight scenes, a lot of your writing evokes memories of those Wizards of the Coast and TSR books. Am I right in thinking they played a role in shaping your style? For some of the scenes Salvatore writes are very fast-paced and jaw-dropping, just like your own scenes. Is RA Salvatore an influence, or are your fight scenes more a product of your background in historical combat?

     

    Dude! Spoiler alert! Hehehe. And I maimed him. You don’t kill a legendary dragon and come out unscathed. But Erik needed to grow. When you’re young you feel immortal, most injuries are just minor ones and you can’t imagine that anything serious could happen to you. And when it happens you have no damn idea how to deal with it and everything seems hopeless. It’s about impact. When you’re writing a story it’s not just about getting the story out, but also about how the story impacts not only characters, but you as a writer and the readers too.

    And the combat. Well, let’s say it’s a culmination of both real life experience and Salvatore’s influence. Also, for the record, when I started writing Grulmar Raistlin Majere wasn’t at my mind. At all. It came much later, the realization that there are certain parallels between him and Grulmar, but here’s the deal. We live in an age where original is very hard to come by, with everything being a cliche these days. It was Shakespear I think who said something like: “No one has written anything that hasn’t been written already.”  We take inspiration from other books, other characters, even movies and tv shows and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as everything you take is changed into your own thing. I could write a rip-off of Raistlin sure, but instead I just take an inspiration from him and make the character my own.

    We all stand upon the shoulders of giants, that is true. I see shades of Raistlin, but Grulmar is definitely his own Orc. He is capable of the most surprising depth and tenderness, followed by acts of rather twisted spite. He keeps this reader thinking, so I guess that’s part of the impact you are mindful of in your work.

    So on the subject of combat, I have read in your previous interviews you have conducted that you are an archer. It is always good to meet a fellow bowman, do you still shoot? Also, your historical combat sounds interesting. Does your knowledge of how it feels to wield a weapon help you when you write?

     

    Yeah, I still shoot now and then. Don´t have the time for that as I used to, but sometimes I really need it. It is somewhat...relaxing, you know? Not only the physical excercise, but the whole breathing thing and then hearing the arrow whistle through the air to eventually hit the target with loud thud. And yes, absolutely. The fact that I know how to wield a weapon allows me to imagine every move in the fight and I remember I told to Lis once that sometimes I even pull my swords under the bed and go through the fight scene in my living room. My girlfriend always stares at me like if I lost my mind or something. I mean, it´s not like I´m swinging swords in my living room….naked for example, right?

     

    I totally hear you, almost a meditation when it’s just you and the target. “I am only going to shoot one arrow today” was a motto I have always enjoyed.

    You have swords under your bed? I thought most people hung them on the wall! :p

    I can see why that would help, being able to enact then write what you can both visualise and do (naked or not) must be very helpful, and also helps maintain that “realism” found within your work. One of the things that turned me away from the fantasy as a fiction genre was how over the top things often are. Yet when I read PoM, CT, or Memories of a Very Stupid Orc, I feel the grit and nastiness that I love about TES.

    How did you get into such an esoteric hobby as historical combat? Would you say that the genre you are drawn to as a writer compliments your other hobbies? That’s a complicated-arsed question. By that I mean: You enjoy archery, sword fighting, and TES/fantasy, and these things have been with you for a while. Are you just as likely to play something like CoD as you are to practice with a blade or make a character build? Or do you maintain a thematic consistency across the board?

     

    Well, I was that weird kid that grew up on Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, you know, so I spent lot of time outside with other kids, beating the shit out of each other with wooden swords. My mom always said something like: “I can´t imagine you running at the garden with a piano.” So, she gave a call to her friend who was in charge of this historical combat group and that´s how it started. So yes, I would definitely say that my hobbies compliment my genre, but I do enjoy some shooting here and there.

    Back in my high school days I actually wrote this mix of fantasy and sci-fi, a world with guns and all that but also with magic Dungeons and Dragons style. So yes, I can enjoy CoD, but not as much as fantasy. Or, maybe I should be more precise here, because it´s not really all about fantasy, it´s about story. Like...Mass Effect, alright? Sci-fi RPG/shooter which has rich story. Or...hm, Uncharted. Uncharted is a shooter with a linear storyline, but damn, the storyline is so good. I mean, if I have to be completely honest, I never played Uncharted, because it´s for consoles only I think, with the most recent being available for PC too. But I watched it on youtube, the story. Cool ass plot I say. Or the recent Tomb Raiders, awesome games too. But fantasy is what is the easiest to write for me, because with fantasy genre comes weird mind-fuckery and such. Sure, I could write Fallout story, but...while it is a weird universe, it is not my kind of weird. It´s not so...mystic, if you get me.

     

    I get you and I feel it. Story and character - that is definitely apparent in your work, and would you say it is accurate to think that examining characters is your favourite aspect of writing?

    It seems we have a similar taste in the books and games that speak to us. I’m gutted I didn’t get to play the last Uncharted :D

    So, you mentioned that in your teens you wrote a sci-fi/fantasy mix. Do you still read that from time to time? Obviously we get better at doing things as we practice, and our abilities evolve and change as we mature, but how much have you grown as a writer since then, do you think? Were you as prolific a writer before joining TV?

     

    I would say that my favourite aspects of writing are combat and dialogues. Examining characters is something that requires more thought, that doesn´t come as natural as I would like. Honestly, I put a lot of thought into that, thinking about it in moments when I´m not writing, like in work and such. What drives the character, what are the reasons for its actions and such.

    And because I have changed few PCs since then I eventually lost all that work. It was on a backburner for so long I literally forgot to back it up. And when I joined TV...well, let´s put it this way. Up until I joined TV I was writing exclusively in my language, getting better at writing in that particular language. When I started writing in English it was actually quite a set back, because the words didn´t and still sometimes don´t come as naturally as in your native language. I had the experience, but lacked the skill, if you get my meaning. I had to start from the scratch with the advantage of knowing what exactly I want to do.

    So the growth… there was Cursed Tribe and No Honor Among Thieves, but after that came Chasing Aetherius and both me and Lissette come out of that much better then we were before. We both had our own styles before CA, but that story made us combine them, find a compromise, and I think that shaped us into writers we are today. I learned quite a lot from her and she learned little bit something from me too I hope. She is amazing at introspection and description of feelings of characters, which isn´t exactly my strong side. So everytime I get into a situation where the introspection is crucial I´m trying to do what Lis would do. Plus I ask her if she could throw a professional look at it, hehe. But more often than not, I portray the characters´ emotions through actions and dialogue, as you said before. Sometimes that´s all that is needed.

     

    After having the pleasure of editing one or two of your chapters, I can assure you that you not only rose to the challenge of writing in a different language, but thoroughly overcame it. That is an achievement to be proud of on its own! Your combat sections do stand out, but more must be said on your dialogue. It always feels smooth and natural.

    As for Chasing Aetherius, that is indeed something special. I have said before, in chapter one so very long ago it seems now, that the tale really does seem to be you both at your very best. From the get go I recognised the fluid and snappy banter of your dialogue and the deep well of emotion that Lis taps into almost effortlessly. CA really is a masterpiece. How did your collaboration with Lissette actually happen? To work so closely with another must have its ups and downs, but you both somehow managed to remain friends throughout. Can we look forward to another story jointly written by team… Karssette? Lisarver? :D

     

    I think it all started when I began reading Lis´ Straag Rod. My memory is little bit sketchy here, but I think I gave her my opinion on a few things, regarding the realism. She took it quite well I suppose and we began chatting about it. Then came No Honor Among Thieves which she and Sisterbane edited for me and after that came the time when I felt like writing story set during Dragon Crisis. I was writing Cursed Tribe then, set roughly 20 years before the events of Skyrim, but the thing was that I actually never wanted to write about Dragonborn, you know? I was more about the common characters trying to survive in all that mess. So, here comes the bold move. I asked Lis if I could write in the universe of Straag Rod, yeah? The plan was that it would be completely separate from Albee, only having mentions of Dragonborn and his actions, sometimes even seeing him from the distance - like Grulmar and Erik watching the battle at Western Watchtower from Whiterun´s walls. And credit here goes to Lis, because honestly, not everyone would agree to this, someone jumping on their personal story train and all that. So in that time it was mostly just an agreement, I still wasn´t done with Cursed Tribe (I still am not) but not long after that we somehow got to the idea of a collaboration. And from there...you´ve seen the final product.

    It was lot of sweat, blood, tears and broken wine bottles to work with Lis but I wouldn´t change it for anything. There were times when we would kill each other, sure, but we are the same crazies, so we always got through that shit. And yes, you can definitely look forward to another collaboration story from us. We plan to use NaNo Camp in July to start working on it. Chasing Death. Has a nice ring to it, right? If Chasing Aetherius was sort of a Indiana Jones type of story then Chasing Death will be something like...Poltergeist meets Exorcist and Blade with little bit of Jack the Ripper in it.

    Also, we don´t really have a working name, but so far, you could say we are the oversoul of Daedric Prince of twists and cliffhangers.

     

    Sisterbane! It always makes me laugh to read that :D Chasing Death - hyped! I get where you’re coming from about Tribe. I found it compelling for it’s down-to-earth grit. Some deep and serious issues were touched upon in that story, without there ever being the need of a Dragonborn or any form of high fantasy beyond a little magick.

    Your history with Lis and writing in her (now your shared) world is interesting, and actually raises a point. As you say, writing in another’s universe is a very sensitive thing. For many, it is so close and personal that any attempt by people to see the “bones boiled to make the soup” is unwelcome, as is a reader’s interpretation on the story and characters. For me, I love interpretation. I like to take away my own thoughts that sometimes may not be what the author intended. Where do you sit with that? Do you take offence when I or anyone may read into something that wasn’t there, or form a conclusion you may not have intended? Further to that, if someone approached you to write in your world, how would you react?

     

    Interpretation. It ain’t easy, writing a story, because story is like a web, yeah? You spin a web and your goal is to reach the middle with the string, where all other strings meet. Or...you want the web to be a wheel. The spokes meet in the middle, but because it is a web, there are additional strings attached to other strings. And you write it the way for readers to follow this particular string but because there are others attached they can stray away from the set path. And it is not really a bad thing, because people think differently, so not everything is really set in stone. Or spoke. Or string. Yeah.

    And jumping on someone’s universe, that isn’t easy either and at first I really didn’t think about that. But you have to coordinate timelines, you have to know the history, sometimes even the secrets. And when your characters clash you have to come to a compromise on the outcome and such. If someone approached me (or Lis) now… I don’t know, man. It depends on a person. If it’s someone who I trust, who is on the same mind wave as me, then yeah, I would go for it.

     

    String Theory outside of theoretical physics! :D It’s good to hear you say that, though.Tolkien, Andrzej Sapkowski, GRR Martin - these authors are somewhat famous for being grouchy when people think for themselves. Also, I hear you - trust is key.

    Speaking of character clashes, Grulmar and Aelberon have locked horns once or twice, how do you and Lis propose conflict to one another? In terms of story, conflict is very interesting, but do you ever get defensive or hurt if your character is attacked? Like, I can’t imagine how it would feel to have created a character as important to you as Grulmar or Decimus, so surely it is a complicated emotion to work through, especially if you had other plans?

     

    How do we propose a conflict? Hahaha, we just start one. But seriously, I´m not really sure how to answer this. It´s more of a character dependant. It´s not like I want to start a conflict but when I´m writing Grulmar he just goes and starts one, that little piece of shit, especially when it comes to Albee. There´s just this beef Grulmar has with that particular Altmer, like when you meet a person for the first time and that person immediately irritates you without a single word.

    As for being defensive when a character gets attacked… that´s the interesting thing. No, not really. My characters aren´t perfect and they even aren´t trying to be perfect most of the times and it´s just...no, I don´t get defensive. Lis gets protective of Albee, for good reasons because capturing that Altmer´s essence is very difficult, but I don´t really remember when I got defensive or hurt. Sure, when Lis is writing my characters I point out things that don´t sit well with how I feel the character and it works the other way around too. We know our characters the best and writing someone else´s character isn´t easy, especially character like Albee. Saying that the guy is complicated would be an understatement.

    But getting defensive because one character says ugly things about the other… You can´t take it too seriously, you have to look at the various variables. Just recently me and Lis were having a chat about Telvanni and Crystal-Like-Law, two rival “academies” of magic and I said the Telvanni “think” that the Crystal Tower teachings suck and Aelberon´s spells like Ward are crude and simplistic tools that can´t rival Telvanni´s prowess. I think I actually phrased poorly and made it sound like it´s me who has that opinion, so...lot of broken pottery. And blood, lots of blood... But she eventually realized that it´s not me who is saying that, but characters influenced by culture, faith, location and many more aspects. And that they even don´t have to be right, which is basicaly a conflict, you know. What characters say don´t have to be truth. They only believe that what they say is the truth, but then shows up another guy and tells his truth. Truth at its core is subjective and that on its own breeds conflict.

    You have to come to an agreement with yourself that the story is more important than your own feelings sometimes. Just because someone really likes Orcs doesn´t mean that every character in his story does too, that there is no hate for greenskins. Most of the people fall into this trap, like with Thalmor. They don´t like Thalmor, they reject their perspective and it turns Thalmor in their story into these two-dimensional characters that just go “muhahahaha” and get killed because of having a villain monologue. Yes, feelings matter, but too much of them hurt the story in a long run.

     

    You make it sound as though the character you write really does have a life of its own, as though writing is like a roleplaying exercise you do alone. Is that the case, is the imagination required for both very similar in source?

    Good point about the Thalmor. What you say about writing each other’s characters and how you resolve each other’s different interpretations makes sense, too. As does the part about how a character’s viewpoint is dependent on their own culture, beliefs and upbringing. Do you think your understanding of TES lore helps you in this regard? For you are not just known for your fiction, but also your work in the Lore Group. Has lore helped ground your characters in the setting, or do you feel it shackles you at times? 

     

    Characters do live their own lives, at least I feel like that sometimes. It’s like...when you’re writing this character you have created your mind switches to a completely different mode and ignores the writer’s commands, so you might hear writers say that their characters do what they want. You have to then go and change what comes next because your own character just screwed your plan.

    People see Lore as a barrier, but I say that’s bullshit. The only limit is people’s ignorance of the Lore, like if they don’t understand something they'd rather make up their own shit rather than research the stuff. Each to his own. I actually like finding the holes in the Lore, working with interpretations and overally using what the world has provided me. Why are Dunmer like they are, why are they in Windhelm, how they are treated and how they treat others? To write about all that you basicaly have to go back at least 500 years and I love every second of that research.

    Also, definitely yes, Lore helps me a lot, because writing a story that feels natural in the world is part of the trick. If you force something that doesn’t really fit the world on your readers you’re breaking the immersive flow of the story. But maybe it’s just me, you know, because I’m so obsessed with Lore. I just find it very difficult to read something that doesn’t make any sense to me at all and not say anything. Because people don’t want to hear my Lore nitpicking. Again: each to his own.

     

    Haha, lore. I totally hear you. Ok, we’ll move away from that and look at those moments when, assuming you have them, the character or story isn’t coming easily and you feel yourself getting frustrated. You have said that Grulmar’s story needs to be tolds, that you write him even when you are feeling blue, and that the character comes alive and surprises even you with the direction he takes. When you sit down and really want to write, do you ever find it a struggle? If so, how do you overcome that block?

     

    Writer’s block, yeah, I know that bastard. Thing is, for me there are two types of blocks. One is that I don’t feel like writing at all, and that’s when I don’t write. I play games or watch movies and it always comes back, the need to write. Second is when I stare at empty page, I want to write but can’t - and this usually happens to me everytime I start a new chapter. What helps me with that is some music and focusing my mind on some interesting scene that has to come, so I just literally push myself into writing so that I could write that cool scene. Need to get to it first, and then it goes rather smoothly.

     

    Music is the language of the soul and a great source of inspiration sometimes. What music do you listen to get you in the mood? Barry White?

    Well, lot of stuff. It’s anything from rock, metal, soundtracks to electro house, rnb and trance, basicaly anything that catches my ear. Though Metallica and Linkin Park still lead.

     

    I didn’t realise Linkin Park were still going. At some point I got old, I think. Karver, from all that which you have said and from your experience as a writer of deeply compelling stories; in-depth articles on the Elder Scrolls setting; and builds fusing the two, what advice would you give to people looking to learn and hone their skills as writers?

     

    Pick one of the big authors like King, Erikson, Martin or Tolkien. Read their sagas and then grab the books and read them again. Because it’s the second time you read them that allows you to take a step back and notice what is the writer doing there, the patterns being revealed as you look at it objectively. I think that this helped me the most with my writing. And of course, writing. You have to put the theory to practice.

     

  • Member
    May 12, 2017

    Yay for the Lorc, great interview Phil :-)

    Fairly certain I'm up to date on my reading of Karver's work, and can honestly say I've enjoyed every one and that my writing is also influenced by some of the stories.

     

    And I totally relate to a character changing the story, whether it's because you're so in their mindset or some influence of Lord Sheo, that your plan goes out of the window.

     

    Long may the writing continue :-)

  • May 12, 2017

    Ha! HA-HA!

     

    Now the shoe's on the other foot, eh?!

     

    On a serious note, this was a well-deserved interview. It was nice to know more about Karver-jo. This has only further reinforced my belief that people who write with English as a foreign language can manage just as well.

     

    Also, that mural of flowers... >w<.

  • May 12, 2017

    Orcs love flowers, Harrow. 

    Great interview Phil. I break bottle of wine in Orc's name. :D

  • Member
    May 12, 2017

    Meli said:

    Yay for the Lorc, great interview Phil :-)

    Fairly certain I'm up to date on my reading of Karver's work, and can honestly say I've enjoyed every one and that my writing is also influenced by some of the stories.

     

    And I totally relate to a character changing the story, whether it's because you're so in their mindset or some influence of Lord Sheo, that your plan goes out of the window.

     

    Long may the writing continue :-)

    Thanks Meli! So your characters also live and surprise you? Interesting this is to me. Sorry, still in the interview zone :D Karver was a great interviewee.

    Harrow said:

    Ha! HA-HA!

     

    Now the shoe's on the other foot, eh?!

     

    On a serious note, this was a well-deserved interview. It was nice to know more about Karver-jo. This has only further reinforced my belief that people who write with English as a foreign language can manage just as well.

     

    Also, that mural of flowers... >w<.

    Well deserved is right. He was reluctant, I had to work really hard to get him to concede to this :P

    Lissette Long-Chapper said:

    Orcs love flowers, Harrow. 

    Great interview Phil. I break bottle of wine in Orc's name. :D

    Break the bottle, but empty it first, Lis :D

  • Member
    May 12, 2017

    It was about time, why did it take this long to get this going people?!

    Grulmar is a great character and it doesn't surprise me that he has gotten a bit of a mind of his own. Sometimes that just happens, especially when they take on so many traits from their author and by Malacath's long poleaxe, you two are like two peas in a pod more often than you would like to believe... Those jokes... *facepalm*

    Actually Karve do you have any good examples of when Grul wanted to just do his own thing? I know shit like that happened to me a few times when writing Simon (I swear I didn't want to kill Piper) and it was always a great laugh to see one's storyline turned upside down just because one of your characters decided they wanted to go rogue.

    Seeing I mentioned jokes I might as well go on about the relationship between Grul and Decimus; it's a huge melting pot of dick jokes, just horrible face palm inducing jokes (there is a particular case of both at the same time, you all know what I'm talking about) and heartwrenching dialogue and god knows what else. The end of CA hit hard and I can say for certain that for me at least a huge part of that had to do with the relationship between these two characters of yours. You know you're doing a great job when you get me to shed a tear for a bastard like Grul (the same goes for Liss' work of course).

    And with all that CA stuff we would almost forget the amazing piece that is POM, the amount of "heh? that's interesting" moments in there was amazing, a great way to read up about magic lore and have a great time doing so.

    Also, before I end it for today: seriously Phil where did you get that first image? I've never seen a more accurate portroyal of our orc princess. He really is a beauty ;P.

  • May 13, 2017

    Thank you all very much for the kind words, but big thanks to Phil. As the one doing all interview I didn´t really expect I´d end up on the other end one day, so Phil´s offer was quite a surprise. So yeah, let´s not get all weepy now. :)

     

  • Member
    May 13, 2017

    This was a well deserved interview and I have to compliment you Phil, you done such a wonderful job with this.

    It's great to see the Karver behind the Lorc. Lore has always been a factor your stories Karver but it's fascinating to find out that you practise the fight scenes as well. 

    It's reasons like these which gives your stories such strengths. Long may the Lorc continue.

  • Member
    May 13, 2017
    Cheers to the Lorc! You really have come a long way as a writer and I enjoy the brief lore discussions we had. You certainly opened my mind a bit on TES lore. I think Grulmar and Aelberon are one of the few characters that I personally love and hate at the same time, which is something I rarely experience when reading novels. And that's a good things. It's also convenient that they share the same universe and are the main character of their own stories.
  • Member
    May 13, 2017

    Can't add much to what was already said, but congrats Karver! Also, kudos for actually using weapons IRL, that's pretty epic.