We had the luck to actually have the author of the first book present, K E Mills, author of The Accidental Sorcerer. We started off by discussing the upcoming books in the Rogue Agent trilogy - which might give you an idea of how much everyone enjoyed The Accidental Sorcerer, as we would all like to read more.

We discuss all manner of things, from the main themes of the book (for example, the way almost all of the characters are in disguise, one way or another), to what constitutes actual 'evil', to the best actors to play key roles in a film version of the book!

If you're interested in taking part in further book club sessions, please visit the message board at Voyager Online.

Thank you to Nyssa from http://aboygoesonajourney.com for providing us with a chat room to have the discussion.

For those of you interested in reading more from K E Mills, her first series (written as Karen Miller) is called Kingmaker Kingbreaker and starts with The Innocent Mage (I couldn't resist putting up the Spanish publication image) and ends with Innocence Lost. Her second series, The Godspeaker trilogy, begins with Empress of Mijak, continues with The Riven Kingdom and concludes with Hammer of God (which is out in June).

Visit Karen's website for more information, or go to Voyager Online.

This interview appeared in the March 2008 issue of Bookseller+Publisher Magazine, visit www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au for more details.

K E Mills—AKA ‘Kingmaker, Kingbreaker’ author Karen Miller— has a new series on offer, come April. She tells Jarrah Moore about writing, imagination, and ‘falling madly in love’ with the 10^th Doctor Who …

You mention David Tennant, the 10^th Doctor, in your Acknowledgements. I approve. Do you think he’s influenced your writing style?

In a funny way, yes. I think he had. Long before I was a published author. I was a fan—of books, TV, film. And as a fan, I was constantly bubbling with passion and enthusiasm for characters and worlds other people had created, that I fell in love with. I’m still a fan, but with the focus now on creating my own characters and worlds much of the passion of late has been poured into my own creations.

Discovering the new Doctor Who, falling madly in love with David Tennant’s 10^th Doctor, has reminded me of how wonderful that pure fannish passion is … and it’s reminded me of why I’m doing this in the first place. For the passion, the excitement, the sheer mad joy of diving headfirst into these fantastic worlds and living there for a while, in my imagination.

There’s a definite change of tone in the book, from the light-hearted, comic opening to the darker themes and higher stakes of the ending. Will this darker shift be reflected in the rest of the series, or do you mean to revive the comedy in the next book?

You’re right, there is a change, I feel it reflects the journey that Gerald goes on—his life was quite safe, a bit fraught at times, but not actually dangerous. And then he discovers that where there’s sunshine, there are shadows. But life is always a mix of both, so the following books won’t be all dark, that’s for sure. Yes, he’ll be facing more dangerous situations, but given that Reg and Melissande will still be a large part of his life, the prospects of humour remain pretty good, I think! And poor old Gerald is the kind of person who ends up dealing the ridiculous soon or later.

So the other principal characters of this first book—Monk and Princess Melissande—will be coming back?

Absolutely. Reg, Mel and Monk will be playing very important roles in Gerald’s life. Also Monk’s sister. And as the series progresses—if it does, which I really hope!—other characters will come in.

Who was your favourite character, in writing this book?

Probably Reg. I guess she’s my alter ego. She says out loud all the crabby, rude things I say inside my head but don’t let past my lips! She’s fearless, which I’m sure not, but I get to present I am when I’m writing her.

The Accidental Sorcerer being in a modern (though alternate-world) city, but then the setting moves to a more recognisably fantastic one. Do you plan to explore more urban settings in the series, or are you more interested in a world of swords and kingdoms?

My hope with the series is that I’m able to hop around to all kinds of settings. Just as our world contains societies of incredible sophistication and others of timeless traditions that haven’t changed in centuries, so does the Rogue Agent world. I find all kinds of societies interesting and the fun thing with this series—I think—is the chance to put the characters into a wide range of really different and challenging situations, and then see how they cope.

What would you say the theme of the book is? Is it different to the theme of the series as a whole?

The theme of The Accidental Sorcerer is: Be careful what you wish for. Because Gerald wants to be a great wizard, and he finds out that comes with a pretty hefty price tag.

The series theme is (and I’m probably mangling the quote): All that is required for evil to flourish is that good men do nothing. Obviously that should be good men and women, but the sentiment holds. There are bad guys out there, and the world needs good guys to fight them. But it’s not always pretty, and that’s what I want to explore with these books. And have some fun along the way!

Visit the Rogue Agent Blog