Asharra changed all that. This strange and sensual alien world, seen through the eyes of two American teenagers suddenly transported there, was my backdrop to explore the concepts of a better and more natural way of life. The term “Asharra” to the native Asharrans means “the home around us” and applies to their planet and every living thing on it. They believe you don’t even have to be born there to be Asharran, so long as you are natural and “true” (in their terms). Thus, when one native Asharran tells the two main characters (from Earth), “welcome home,” it is because Asharra is simply the home they have never seen yet. I suppose then, my inspiration for WOA was an idealistic dream of a better world and a better way of living.

How would you describe your creative process while writing this book? Was it stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline?

It was definitely a stream of consciousness. Ten years prior to writing The Winds of Asharra, I had written a science-fiction book (now out of print) called 3 Passports to Paradise. That experience was the exact opposite of this one. I created the world, the plot and the characters in that previous work, by the proverbial book, taking all of the necessary steps that authors are told they should make. With The Winds of Asharra, it was the reverse. The words flew from my head so rapidly that my fingers could not keep up at the keyboard. I suppose you could say that the overall tone or setting for this book took ten years to subconsciously percolate inside my brain, but regardless, when I ultimately sat down to write it, I was surprised how easily the characters, the setting and the concepts flowed.

Describe your working environment.

I am very influenced by environmental factors, so surrounding myself in a "special" writing space is of paramount importance. Since The Winds of Asharra is set in a fantasy environment where things are larger than life, my writing atmosphere had to match. I painted my study a deep reddish purple, adorned it with dark blue drapes and started looking for posters of dragons or at least ethereal landscapes. There was always some mystical music playing in the background (David Arkenstone, Himekami, Enya or even Yanni) during the actual writing process. As the novel took shape, I even managed to acquire some life-sized props (large crystals for example) which are central to the story, to help "transport" me to my novel's setting. It may not be the most conventional way to work, but it has been a greatly enjoyable technique.