Clive Anthony

JRR Tolkien changed my whole outlook on reading and I went on to enjoy David Eddings, Raymond Feist, George RR Martin, Brandon Sanderson and more than I can remember. My recent favourite has to be Robin Hobb for her Fitz and the Fool books. In contrast to her amazingly descriptive and evocative tales I also dip into 'Grimdark; fantasy, eg by Joe Abrecrombie and Mark Lawrence.
Wider than that? - Neil Gaiman and China Mieville are both amazing.
What about sci-fi? - Iain M Banks of course, also Herbert, Asimov and all the old favourites.

Great books inspire me to read (eg wow I could never write anything half as good as that!). Poor books inspire me to write (eg mmm, I could do better than that).

I write the stories I would like to read. If I'm getting it right, the writing can be more enjoyable than any reading.

I love starting with an idea or a character and just writing. The characters develop in their own way and the story finds its own path (a method used by several famous authors including Stephen King).

I decided to publish myself to see what other people think, to get feedback and to learn to improve my writing. Why would I spend all that time writing and not let others see it?

I took the indie route because traditional publishers don't all like fantasy, being very focused on literary fiction which I don't enjoy.