Frequently Asked Questions
Stones of Power
Q: What was the inspiration for the story?
A: The inspiration (or starting idea) for this story was in two parts. One was the basic premise: the idea that everyone in the world has a magical power that can be unlocked if they touch a particular magic stone. The second inspiration was a character; I often find that the story projects I stick with are the ones inspired by a character. In this case, the character I started with was Lisha. The inspiration for her came when I thought one day that it might be cool to have a character with a peg leg.
Q: How did you come up with some of the characters' unusual names?
A: Some of the names I made up myself (Like Lisha, Emra, Kitisha, Loxleyheart, Minuette, and several others) and some of the names I found on a baby names website. For those, I tried to have the meaning of the name relate to the personality or powers of the character, since the website includes the meanings of the names. It's a good resource; some of the minor characters in my story grew out of inspirations based on names and their meanings.
Q: How long did it take to write?
A: From idea to completion, approximately seven years. It took me the first four years to finish a first draft, and I spent the last three editing. I didn't work on it constantly - there were long periods of time when I didn't touch it.
Q: Are you going to write a sequel?
A: I plan to, eventually, but not for a little while. I have some other projects I'd like to work on first (see the Ikeisha page on this cite).
Q: Who made the cover and illustrations?
A: I did, with some help. The background for the cover picture was taken by a friend of mine; It's of an alleyway in Rome. I edited it in photoshop and added the hand holding the stone. The back cover picture I took with my phone, actually. The chapter headings are half pencil half digital. Fun fact: the sketch of the Stoen above each chapter and the sketch of the sign from a Stoen part way through the book are actually the same drawing broken into two pieces. You can see the original here
Q: Where any of the characters based on real people?
A: No, none of the characters were directly based on anyone, though I was probably subconsciously influenced by the people I know.
Q: Why is it called Stones of Power and not Stoens of Power?
A: I thought about calling it Stoens of Power, but then I realized that that would be redundant; Stoens are stones of power.
A: The inspiration (or starting idea) for this story was in two parts. One was the basic premise: the idea that everyone in the world has a magical power that can be unlocked if they touch a particular magic stone. The second inspiration was a character; I often find that the story projects I stick with are the ones inspired by a character. In this case, the character I started with was Lisha. The inspiration for her came when I thought one day that it might be cool to have a character with a peg leg.
Q: How did you come up with some of the characters' unusual names?
A: Some of the names I made up myself (Like Lisha, Emra, Kitisha, Loxleyheart, Minuette, and several others) and some of the names I found on a baby names website. For those, I tried to have the meaning of the name relate to the personality or powers of the character, since the website includes the meanings of the names. It's a good resource; some of the minor characters in my story grew out of inspirations based on names and their meanings.
Q: How long did it take to write?
A: From idea to completion, approximately seven years. It took me the first four years to finish a first draft, and I spent the last three editing. I didn't work on it constantly - there were long periods of time when I didn't touch it.
Q: Are you going to write a sequel?
A: I plan to, eventually, but not for a little while. I have some other projects I'd like to work on first (see the Ikeisha page on this cite).
Q: Who made the cover and illustrations?
A: I did, with some help. The background for the cover picture was taken by a friend of mine; It's of an alleyway in Rome. I edited it in photoshop and added the hand holding the stone. The back cover picture I took with my phone, actually. The chapter headings are half pencil half digital. Fun fact: the sketch of the Stoen above each chapter and the sketch of the sign from a Stoen part way through the book are actually the same drawing broken into two pieces. You can see the original here
Q: Where any of the characters based on real people?
A: No, none of the characters were directly based on anyone, though I was probably subconsciously influenced by the people I know.
Q: Why is it called Stones of Power and not Stoens of Power?
A: I thought about calling it Stoens of Power, but then I realized that that would be redundant; Stoens are stones of power.