Sep 13, 2016
Hey everyone! Just a quick update to let you know that there’s a new blog post up about the contest! And this time, I got to answer the question. Check it out here:
http://blog.inkshares.com/post/150368022920/top-10-authors-in-geek-sundry-fantasy-contest-on
They had to edit my original response down, so I’ll give you the whole of it here. I got a little carried away.
If you could live in any fantasy world, which would you choose? Caveat: the choice is permanent - you can’t leave!
I’ve thought about this question a lot over the years. There are so many wonderful worlds I’ve played in over the years. I’ll have to start with some favorites that I wouldn’t want to live in and narrow it down that way. My favorite current author is Brandon Sanderson, and his Stormlight Archive is just fascinating but I’m not sure I could live in a world like Roshar, with all of its stone and lack of trees. I love thunderstoms, but high storms are another thing all together. I don’t think that’s the place for me, especially since, at the moment, it seems to be breaking apart.
I’m a long time fan of Harry Potter and the Wizarding World, but really that is just the same as here, and I’d probably be a muggle. Boring and in general, safe. If I did know about wizards and magic there, I could probably get pretty good ’fiction’ stories out of that, but then I’d get Obliviated so that wouldn’t be much fun.
My favorite epic fantasy series is Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. If I could make sure it was the fourth age, then I could probably make my way there as a caregiver or even a storyteller. It would be great to play in Randland for real for a while, but since peaches are poison I couldn’t stay forever. Plus there’s the Dark One’s Touch business that didn’t work out very well for the ordinary folk.
Xanth from Piers Anthony could be a ton of fun. Butterflies that look like flying sticks of butter, sunflowers that shine as bright as the sun when they bloom... puns might stop being funny though. Not to mention the Florida aspect. That would be a great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.
I’m going to have to stick with my oldest favorite. Tolkien, the father of the fantasy genre caught my heart as a child with The Hobbit. Middle Earth was so rich with meaning and warmth, I could fall right in. I wouldn’t need to live in the grand cities though. If I could somehow have a home in the Shire, that’s where I would want to be. The comfort of good food, good friends and a safe home would be wonderful, especially if I had to stay forever. I’d be the weird human lady down the road who wrote stories and baked cakes, but I’m okay with that. Most of the upheaval in those books never touched the Shire, so no matter what point in history I dropped into, I’d be okay. The best part would be the option to go adventuring, to see Rivendell, Rohan, or even Gondor, but still have the beauty of the Shire to come back to, with tales to tell. I always identified with Bilbo about that. Getting used to the comforts of home, but having that wanderlust tickle you in the middle of the night until you just had to go somewhere. Traveling, then writing about it at my desk, and adding a dragon or two for color would be the very best kind of fun.
The hardest adjustment would probably be the lack of modern conveniences. I have a love affair with my air conditioner, and of course modern medicine. But I have always transplanted well when I move. I’ve studied history a bit, so living without electricity would be possible. I’ve always preferred writing with pen and paper, and candle or lantern light would be soothing without the hum of fluorescent lights. Adjusting to all the manual labor required to live that way would be the rest of the hard part. But I would do it. Those little round doors and rolling hills were always comforting to me, even when the adventure tried to keep my interest elsewhere. I could make a home there. Home is where your story begins after all.
I hope you enjoyed this peek into my favorite worlds. Have a good night!
Light and love,
Tara