I thought it would make sense to talk about the things that I have a passion for and perhaps explore why I write about them.

Magic! Whether, like me, you grew up reading Magician and dreaming of faraway worlds, or you came to magic more recently with a certain young wizard, there’s something undeniably ace about magic. The child in me just loves the possibilities.

There’s a real sense of wish fulfilment with magic. Fire from the hands, making yourself invisible, arguing constantly with your teenage mates, it‘s just so cool. I challenge anyone to deny the sense of yearning they get when reading about magic.

Writing about magic is equally great. The freedom that it gives; the chance it gives your characters to do all manner of things, unconstrained  by a certain power or ability is wonderfully freeing. It also gives you the chance to explore things that you just can’t without it.

In The Assembly, I wanted to explore and perhaps bring more logic to magic. I was however very conscious of the danger of explaining too much and, umm, taking the magic out of it. I think I hit quite a nice balance between keeping the mystery and grounding it in some kind of reality and I must admit I’m really pleased with it.

You’ll have to wait until book two to know what I’m talking about, but once you do, please let me know what think.