Cover Art by Jason Pedersen
3D Conversion by Bestt_graphics
Colin Noel-Johnson has asked the following questions:
How did Luke get to the top of that tree when he was young?
This stems from a conversation with Luke Callindor’s family in Legends of Windemere. To show how he was a troublesome child, it is revealed that he climbed a really tall tree that had only one branch near the top. The height changed over edits from one hundred to two hundred and kept jumping, so I’m not sure where it stopped at, but it was high. So, how did he do it?
It’s fairly simple. Luke was watching bears and saw how the cubs climbed trees, so he tried to imitate them. After failing with his own body, he used clawed gloves that he put together from pieces in his dad’s blacksmith shop. He also put some through his boots and held the spikes in place with his toes. The gloves fell apart on the way up and the boot spikes fell inside, but it was enough to get him to the branch. Of course, he couldn’t get down without his toys and needed help getting down. It would be a few years later that his grandfather would figure out how he did it, but he hasn’t told Luke that he uncovered the truth.
Have you ever thought about writing a steam punk novel set in Windemere with the gnomes?
The gnomes are the big inventors of Windemere and I’ve considered a few stories that involve them. Their technology is more magi-tech than steam punk, so it wouldn’t be in that genre. It would still be fantasy. Perhaps the biggest gnome hero that I have in the works is ‘Savior’, who is part of the superhero series. He is going to be stopping bad guys with technology that involves magnetic and gravity magic. I was considering having another story where a gnome designs a giant golem and there are flying machines that are beginning to appear over the course of Legends of Windemere. Needless to say, the gnomes and their technology will be a constant appearance in this world.
How many types of apples has Fizzle sampled?
Since Fizzle the drite has spent most of his life in Visindor Forest, he hasn’t had much time to really explore his favorite food. Although, Selenia and her students would have brought him various kinds over the years. Within the books, he has had maybe 3-4 different kinds, but there have probably been more off camera. I would say he’s sampled 15-20 types of apples over his lifetime thanks to his friends. Fizzle would place it higher since he counts every type of apple food (pie, cookies, cake, cider, etc.) as a different type.
Legends of Windemere 
It always amazes me how deep some authors go into world building. You do a great job in making it all work, without putting it all on the page. It’s nice to know there is an explanation for everything, even if it isn’t in the books.
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Thanks. To be honest, I have enough that I can think some stuff up in the heat of the moment. Small things are tossed in because their fun like Luke’s tree climbing. The explanation can come up later if need be. Funny thing is how often people want to know about these quirks and not the meaty mysteries. Maybe people figure those will be answered in the book, so they have to ask about the others.
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It’s a good sign that you’ve hooked them so deeply.
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True. Have to take it all in a positive light.
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Good answers. I think I’m like you about the quirky questions. I would never have thought about how many types of apples or how to climb the tree. i like how you handled them, though. I’m sending you an e-mail asking a question about a different matter.
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The apple one was tough because I never decided how many types of apples even exist on Windemere. To be fair, I don’t even know how many there are on Earth.
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You just have to call it. (You are the Windemere God.)
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Great questions, Colin! I enjoyed your answers, Charles. I agree with coldhandboyack. You really know your world.
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Thanks. That or I’m good at faking it. 😛
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Thanks for answering my questions. I’m really happy to know how Luke climbed that tree, I spent a lot of time trying to figure it out.
Steam punk can have more of a fantasy feel to it, it’s worth thinking about if only because it could bring more readers to your books.
Thanks again.
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Had to do some research on bears and other climbing animals for that one. 😁. If a story can work some steam punk in then I’ll give it a shot. Not entirely sure how it works though. Honestly, steam punk looks like a lifestyle as much as a genre.
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Steam punk is amazing with how much it has grown over the years. That said, it’s not unheard of to see elves in steampunk stories, or gnomes and goblins in fact.
Have you ever read any of the old dragonlance novels? The gnomes in those books seem to have a steam punk bent to them.
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Was more into Forgotten Realms, but I knew of Dragonlance. For some reason, I always think of Final Fantasy when it’s a fantasy/steam punk cross. The whole is supposed to work off steam, right? Unless I’m taking it too literally.
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Steampunk has a lot of steam in it, but it encompasses much more, such as clockwork anything (knights, cannons, robots, etc), any lighter then air ship (add a steam engine and it’s a plus!) and much more.
One way most steam punk enthusiasts define it is as Victorian science fiction. There are some stories with tvs, computers and email in them, just by other names and powered differently, some are done really well, others aren’t.
It’s a really fun genre to read.
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In that case, I don’t see Windemere as getting into the steampunk genre. Not if a Victorian feel is essential. Honestly, I think I’m more comfortable with the magic and technology combos. Then again, one never knows what the future will hold.
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The Victorian feel isn’t as necessary as it used to be, just the basic idea that there aren’t large power plants everywhere that power everything.
There is even steam punk set on alien planets, in dystopian futures and everything in between.
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So it can cross a lot of settings. I keep thinking of the third Bioshock game, but that’s going back to the Victorian thing and I’m not sure it counts. Also I only saw the commercials for that one.
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I’ve never played that series of games, unfortunately, so I don’t know if it was steam punk or not.
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I never upgraded my systems from the PS2 and Gamecube (may it rest in peace). I have a Wii though. Just don’t really use it.
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I always just used my PC until I got my iPad, so my gaming experience is a bit different than most peoples.
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I used to do PC games. Stopped when I went full time author because I knew having them on the computer would be a distraction. Not like my laptop could handle even Tetris these days.
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Tetris is a fun game… but I haven’t had the chance to play it in a few years.
Games are very distracting, I agree. I have a few I could get lost in for hours, but I haven’t played for over a year, mostly due to lack of time.
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Miss Tetris. Probably able to find it for free somewhere. 😁
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The only Victorian thing required is an occasional top hat and women in corsets, everything else is mostly optional.
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Well that’s doable. Corsets and fantasy can work together.
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