In this installment we get to hang out with Benjamin Twigg. He is a fantasy writer from Australia. As a queer author, Ben strives to write stories that have authentic representation, queer joy and a sense of wonder.
Q) what was the inspiration behind Dad Magic?
I have always wanted to tell a modern fantasy, in a world not unlike our own but for years I struggled with how to incorporate magic and technology effectively. That was until I stumbled on this random reddit prompt that basically said – What if magic was real would we compare it to how we do music? Like you have Dad Music/Rock etc. Would we have Dad Magic? I will quote it below:
“What do you mean you’ve never learned FIREBALL? It’s a Classic!”
“I don’t know, I’m not really into evocations.”
“How can you not be into ANY Evocations?”
“Well, it’s kind of Dad Magic, isn’t it?”
From here, the idea of a tired, ex-adventurer father who works a dead-end Magic Insurance job to make ends meet, and a Half-Orc Best fried who loves Time-Magic Fried Chicken came to me. He also needed to have a hero complex. And a teenage daughter who finds him overbearing. The Trio was born!.
I took this and built the idea of “Dad Magic” being this duality of two concepts.
Dad Magic – the old classic magics. Dad Magic – being the main characters abilities at fathering.
I may not be a father, but I am a Pawrent and I like to think I give anything and everything to raise my dog right. I took that energy into creating Brent Abernathy to be the best damn dad in Spellford.
With Classic magic meant that modern magic would exist. Finally, it stumbled into my lap. App-Magic, Rune Phones. Magic Apps and social medias. The world took form and over me. I was OBSESSED with all these magical/fantasy parallels to our own world. Creating them and building them into the Dad Magic Universe (DMU).
Dad Magic became this love letter for found family, queer fatherhood, and unconditional love between friends.
Q) I saw that you had completed the sequel to Dad Magic, Scarlet Rex, were there any things you learned about writing the first book that affected how you crafted the sequel?
Not to correct you, but I haven’t finished it. WOOPS! I am in the long stages of drafting it still but hope to be halfway soon.
In writing Dad Magic I learned that I am such a goofball. I love the whacky and whimsical. I love taking a character and putting so much realism into them and making my readers fall for them. I love to infect my worlds I create with all of this in a healthy perfect balance. My readers gave me feedback along the way and after it was published and really pushed that I have crafted this fine balance between heartfelt moments and comedic moments with great cinematic battles and stunning world building.
I also learned where to place a comma. Ok that one was a lie LMAO!!! My grammar is still atrocious, but I am learning every day.
In crafting the sequel, I took all my lessons from book one and amplified it. I am so grateful for my editor who has done wonders on Dad Magic and taught me so much about writing. We talk near daily still and go back and forth for hours on end about our writing.
Prepare for a much more intense story. I have a lot of questions that need answering as well. I am adding more POV’s and I have a goal for 250K words (Whether the book is split into two or not is a separate debate).
Q) When writing an urban fiction novel, the setting can have a big impact, what were your biggest inspirations when doing the world building?
I live in an urban capital city and always marvelled at the cramped, tall buildings and masses of people going about their day to day lives. Everyone has a story, every street corner, coffee shop. Everything about a city lives and breathes life. The cities I have visited as well were inspirations for my city Spellford. I wanted it to be a magical modern metropolis with multiple cultures and people of different backgrounds and ethnicities all coming together and living in (mostly) harmony.
My biggest inspirations would be the video games I grew up playing. I love JRPG’s and especially ones set in modern fantasy worlds. Final Fantasy 7 and Trails of Series are massive inspirations. They speak this wonder to me that I adore. I wanted my world to be a modern fantasy world just like them. But I also wanted the Fantasy aspects to be honed in. For example, instead of Cars I have carriages that are horse driven, or rune-tech controlled.
I really dove deep into how our world functions and how I can make it magical. Rune-Tech, Magic that gets fed out like wi-fi/radio signals through the Augmenti Ley lines that run through the world. I could go on for days, but I don’t want to be yapping, I have more questions to answer.
Q) What is your typical writing routine?
Typically, I write 3-4 times a week for a few hours at a time. My goal is 5000 words a week. However, there are times when it gets to 10K + and I am so happy on those weeks. I prefer to either write really early or at night.
Q) What are your future goals as an author?
To write more queer fantasy books. Build connections with readers and have fun.
Q) what is your next project you are working on?
Besides Scarlet Rex. I have a few in between books for DMU. Fan Favourite Orc, Paxton is getting a solo adventure book. It will be a LIT RPG. To honour my love of video games.
I have a Cozy Hurt/Comfort romantasy called Of Cheese and Magic – about a cursed cuisine wizard who cannot taste food and falls for a Warlock who is cursed to have his depression manifest as a dark cloud wherever he goes. Still in the drafting stage.
The other project is this weird, sentient, spirit depraved (very depraved I am loving the outlet for it) Janitor X Bin Dwelling Spirit man Romance. I have called it Oscar & The Grouch. So far people are LOVING it.
Q) If people want more information about your or your projects, where should they go?
Visit my social media accounts or my website:
https://linktr.ee/Benjamintwiggauthor
Final four questions –we ask everybody.
Q) When the zombies take over the world where will you be?
In bunnings grabbing supplies then in a car driving away with my man and my dog.
Q ) What is your favorite Fandom
I find most fandoms OTT but I love to dip into a lot of them. I have varied tastes and I am a sampler.
Q) What piece of art, be it in the form of music, a book, a film or picture, do you think people must experience before they die?
Lady Gaga’s entire discography and videography. Her Tenacity to never give up and always try again has inspired me for years.
Q) Give one fact that most people would not believe about you?
I am missing an organ in my body.
Paper Phoenix ink 