Fantasy/Sword & Soul - Charles R. Saunders

[Diane]

MEET Charles Saunders, author of the acclaimed 'Sword and Soul' Imaro and Dossouye fantasy series.

Click here to read his blog entry - "My Life As A Writer".
http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/

---

When did you begin writing? I started writing during the early 1970s.
What drew you to this particular genre?
It showed me the full range of possibilities for the exercise of the imagination. It took me out of the world as it is, and showed me worlds that could have, might have and, in some cases should have been.

Why do you think speculative fiction is important?
I believe speculative fiction is the mythology of a technological society. It’s an outlet for both creative and didactic story-telling. The story-tellers of earlier times imagined elves and dwarves, and wondered what was on the other side of the mountain. We imagine robots and aliens, and wonder what’s on the other side of the universe. Same difference.

What are the key elements or literary devices you use in your fiction (Ex. vampires, space or time travel, first contact, Armageddon, etc.)?
My key element is the use of African history, culture, mythology and folklore in the fantasy genre, which has long been dominated by European cultural motifs. There’s nothing wrong with European culture, but there ought to be room in the genre for other cultures as well.

What are your plans for future books?
I intend to continue the Imaro and Dossouye sagas, and start a whole new African-oriented fantasy series that involves neither Imaro nor Dossouye.

Favorite author, book and/ movie:
Within the SF field, the author is Octavia Butler, the book is Wild Seed, and the movie is Brother from Another Planet.

What do readers need to know about you and your works?
They need to know that I saw a gap in my favorite genre, and I’ve done what I can to fill it. And readers can judge whether or not I’ve been successful.

[Ahm]

A sword is a long, edged piece of metal, used in many civilizations throughout the world, primarily as a cutting or thrusting weapon and occasionally for clubbing. The word sword comes from the Old English sweord, cognate to Old High German swert, Middle Dutch swaert, Old Norse sverð refinance mortgage (cf.Danish sværd, Norwegian sverd, Swedish svärd) Old Frisian and Old Saxon swerd and Modern Dutch zwaard and German Schwert, from a Proto-Indo-European root *swer- "to wound, to cut"
A sword fundamentally consists of a blade and a hilt, typically with one or two edges for striking and cutting, and a point for thrusting. I am against interest by the way.The basic intent and physics of swordsmanship have remained fairly constant through the centuries, but the actual techniques vary 2nd mortgage among cultures and periods as reverse mortgage a result of the differences in blade design and purpose. Unlike, say, the bow or spear, the sword is a purely military weapon, and this has made it symbolic of warfare or naked state power in many cultures. The names given to many swords in mythology, literature, and history reflect the high prestige of the weapon.Ona may get useful information from this after analyzing that whether it is true or not!