One of the things I’m often quizzed about as an author is ‘C.S, why do you choose to write about cultures and countries that you’ve never been to?’ And the answer is far simpler than you’d imagine. From as early as 8-years-old, I  always considered myself to be a writer of fantasy and science fiction (before I heard the umbrella term of speculative fiction at least) and couldn’t understand why anybody would want to write about something as ‘boring’ as the real world. However, after a few months working in retail, I soon discovered that the old adage was most certainly true: reality is far stranger than fiction.

In short, I came to the conclusion that no outlandish character I created could be more unreasonable or unbelievable than some of the actual people I had encountered, so there was no reason why my outlandish and ridiculous characters couldn’t exist in the real world. Plus, if I wrote in a setting far removed from the rural upbringing of a British schoolgirl, I could still get the excitement of writing about somewhere new.

With fantasy books in particular, there is understandably a huge pressure to create a believable and cohesive setting. The inner workings of the world must ideally be fully mapped out in every detail. Spanning from the geography of huge spanning continents right down to the names of fictional toothpaste brands – all of it has to seem real and grounded in some kind of logical, internal consistency.

I soon found that writing a story based in a real place that I’d never been took the strain of world-building away completely, while still remaining interesting to me. With enough detailed research and proper respectful analysis, it becomes incredibly engaging to map out characters, settings and stories that are fun, exciting and grounded in reality.

So the answer honestly is: it’s fun!