Speaking at a high school the other day, I was asked if thereâ??s any genre Iâ??d like to write but find too intimidating. The answer is absolutelyâ??historical fiction. I love reading it, but Iâ??ve never written more than a short story in the genre because it takes me forever even to do that. Iâ??ll read several books for period research, then Iâ??ll sample maybe a half-dozen more. After my story is written, Iâ??ll scour it for words and phrases that might be too contemporary and check online to see when they entered our vocabulary. Iâ??ll also check every item I reference to be sure it was available at the time. Finally, Iâ??ll double-check all my historical references. Thatâ??s a lot of work for a ten-page story! And even then Iâ??ll stress over it and worry that someone will come back and point out where I went wrong.

Epic fantasy allows the writer to pick a time period, do the research, and weave in all those fascinating historical details, while not being confined by that history because itâ??s fantasy. The world is based on a period rather than actually being set in it. Sea of Shadows is based on medieval Japan. Well, thatâ??s what I say, but technically itâ??s classical Japan, during the Heian period, right on the cusp of medieval Japan (which was actually feudal rather than imperial, as the shoguns took power and the emperors were reduced to figureheads). But when I say medieval Japan, people think â??samuraiâ?? period, which is correct for my novel, so I stick to that.

There are a few reasons for that. One, because it is fantasy, I didnâ??t need to stick to my chosen period. If something from the Heian period didnâ??t work, I borrowed from another era. Or I borrowed from a different culture altogether. The clothing, for example, is a mix of East and West, because historical Japanese fashion reflected the climate, which I wasnâ??t using. Two, because Iâ??m aiming at a largely Western market, I use mostly Westernized names and English words. So you get first names like Tyrus and Gavril, but Japanese clan names like Tatsu (dragon) and Kitsune (nine-tailed fox). You also get words like sword instead of katana, warrior instead of samurai, and warlord instead of shogun, while the underlying concept is Japaneseâ??for example, the sword descriptions match a katana rather than a medieval European blade. If youâ??re looking for the Japanese influence in Sea of Shadows, you need to dig below the surface. The caste system is Japanese. The warrior code is samurai-based, as are the dual swords and the armor. The houses vary from place to place, some being more Western than Eastern, but youâ??ll notice my characters sleep on pallets instead of beds, sit on cushions instead of chairs, and eat rice instead of bread. Youâ??ll also see the influence in the religious and spiritual side, which is largely based on Shintoism, though I mingled in a few others. The cultural emphasis on family, the ancestors, and filial piety is clearly Japanese. And anyone who has ever seen a Japanese horror movie will recognize the distinctive style of vengeful and angry spirits in Sea of Shadows. The research for Sea of Shadows was some of the most intense Iâ??ve ever done, and yet I know that many readers may not even pick up on the Japanese influence. And thatâ??s okay with me, because it tells me Iâ??ve accomplished my mission, which is to play in a historical period and use it to tell a story without beating readers over the head with my research. But if you want to know more, just ask me. Iâ??ll be more than happy to pull back the curtain and point out the inner workings of a world I love!