Why I Write Fantasy - Nimue Brown

Welcome Nimue Brown, Gothic Fantasy author and webcomic writer

Amber: Tell me why you write fantasy and why a webcomic?

Nimue: I’ve always written fantasy, or stories with fantastical elements for the simple reason that I love the genre. I’m a pagan, and my experience of reality includes a fair bit of what could be called ‘magical realism’ so I write a mix of how the world is for me, and how I imagine it could be.

The move into webcomics came about some years ago, thanks to my partner; artist Tom Brown. We weren’t a couple at that point, but I had very much fallen in love with his art work and ideas. He persuaded me to try writing for him – I didn’t think I was up to it initially. I love the work though, and am continually impressed by how he transforms my stories by drawing them.

Webcomics are very different from purely text books, especially with regards to the fantasy elements. It’s much easier to show than to describe, so this medium really lends itself to the genre. You can focus on the story, rather than getting bogged down in descriptions.

The webcomic Personal Demons – is dark fantasy, with strong gothic and Lovecraftian elements. It isn’t steampunk (although we do sneak in the odd device!) but it does seem to speak to people who like that genre. Tom loves inventing creatures and drawing things with tentacles, creepy trees, and peculiar people. My writing for the comic has developed in response to this.

Usually I write and then he draws, but the art does affect the directions some of the stories have taken, and sometimes, the images came first and I responded to them.

Amber: Why do you thing readers love fantasy?

Nimue: Based on the feedback we get from fans of Personal Demons a fair few of the people drawn to what we do (and other forms of fantasy) are seeking a different way of life. It’s not just escapism. For Steampunks, it’s often a lifestyle, not just a hobby. I think there’s a lot of dissatisfaction with the world as it is, and by exploring fantasy, people are reinventing themselves, and exploring new futures, as well as working out how they don’t want things to be. Fantasy often speaks in metaphor about the world we actually live in, and no matter how removed from ‘ordinary’ life it is, the core of such stories has to be human, or it doesn’t work.

Amber: Would you write fantasy even if no one read it?

Nimue: Working with someone else to build a world is the most incredible adventure. I love the process of sharing ideas and playing with possibilities – we have a lot of fun with that and I suspect it shows. So I think that yes, even if no one was reading the webcomic, we’d still be making up monsters and imagining worlds for them to live in.

Amber: Thanks so much for visiting and sharing your fantasy world. 

Nimue Brown writes gothic fantasy stories for the webcomic www.itisacircle.com and the accompanying flash fiction newspaper www.hopelessvendetta.wordpress.com

Under the pen name Bryn Colvin she also writes erotica, much of which has paranormal and fantastical element for loveyoudivine




Photo: Tom and Nimue Brown 

Learn more about Nimue and Tom's webcomics!