What is your
stance?

What inspired you to write this book?

Writing was a hobby I had for a long time ago. I used to buy notebooks and draft my stories by hand. At 22 years old—I am talking 1994—after the bunches of notebooks of finished and unfinished stories, and taking advantage of long college summer shutdown, I had the desire to write an epic story, the longest one I had done.

Last spring, my mother gave me a VHS boxed set of the original Star Wars trilogy as a birthday gift which I loved, and I had The Neverending Story as one of my favorite movies.

Just to have fun, I created a new story by merging both movies. I placed the Childlike Empress into a galactic empire, and I outlined a story.

Rather than being inspired by someone or something, my first Space Opera inspired me to write six more drafts in twenty years. It captivated me.

What can we expect from you in the future?

I plan to make a trilogy of this series where the Main Character grows from being a child to an adult. In the second trilogy it will tell the story of the descendants and the conclusion in a third one. I believe there will be 9 books in total in perhaps 6 years. My first draft back in 1994 had over two thousand pages, and I am rewriting it into volumes in a new setting.

Perhaps, some short spinoffs.

I also plan to write and publish romance, drama and Sci-Fi, besides fantasy.

Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?

The story centers on three main characters; the empress leads them, but together they create a unique dynamic. Each also has their own origin story and side plot.

There are more characters and most of them also have sides stories.

In the end, all the characters have the empress as the center of their lives.

It is a multi-character story with their imperfections and struggles.

Can you tell us a little about the characters in “The Empress’ Palace”?

The character of Nehel, a fourteen-year-old girl, was born as an Empress, but never a princess. She is the sole and last descendant of a large line of monarchs. Her true mystical nature will be revealed later. As she grows into adulthood, she experiences many changes and, coincidentally, must face unexpected circumstances.

Alessandro is a twenty-one years-old, an orphan of kind heart but with conflicting emotions, adopted by Orssandro. He plays an important role in the Jyistereerk as one of the two Pillars.

Marissa, who is also twenty-one, and the other chosen Pillar, trains her squires to become knights, experiences failures, and yearns for someone who does not reciprocate her feelings.

Lady Fabehel, twenty-one, a survivor confined in a wheelchair because of an illness during her childhood, is a harsh but smart girl that was confided to become an Ambassador in the Empress’s name before the Queen Shiann of Fenn, to deal with the unfair Giefo Treaty that had enslaved many.

Juni, a former troubadour, sixteen-year-old Juni, is determined to become the next knight, even though the Empress disapproves. He shares an unconditional friendship and newfound love with her.

Carrasso. Who is that mysterious warlock?

Keleana, an official leading the Imperial Guard, finds out about the existence of someone related to her.

Corr travels to his home country of Fenn for the first time since his escape four years ago, as an escort for Fabehel.

Missar, a distinguished archmage, contemplates abandoning his position as Casak’s Head to join the Jyistereerk Guild’s magical branch.

Carlissa, or Ykarte, is important in the story.

There are other characters I don’t want to spoil, yet important to the story.

How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?

The original draft yielded most of the characters, especially Lakia, Alessandro, Marissa, and Fabehel. But they were characters that belonged to a Space Opera and showed their personal conflicts while working together under an empire. I didn’t want to just put heroic or mere characters to fill a story, but also to reveal an intimacy of each one, their virtues, struggles, and imperfections.

My choice to switch my story from the Space Opera to the Epic Fantasy was because it lacked credibility and deepness to the story. I found the characters in Space Opera and Sci-Fi, despite the genres’ good stories, typically dry and superficially distinct.

As I transplanted it into Fantasy, I needed new characters properly for that new story. Hence, Orssandro, Peken and others came to life.

The general concept of the story was the beginning or foundation of a new regime, to bury the past and welcome the dawn of a new era, as a necessity to confront greater forces and recover the balance the world has lost, the involved heroes are not heroes at all, as the villains aren’t too, not gray characters but human ones. My logic showed that, despite her age, an empress with unique characteristics would successfully establish a government, with a motive that the book reveals. Something parallel to King Arthur and the birth of Camelot.

How did you come up with the names in the story?

It was a random choice, then stuck with them in all the drafts I have made. As I was yet in Mexico, the original names were Hispanic—Alejandro, Marisa, Fabiola—in the sixth draft I adapted them into English, Alexander, but for my book they grew and classified them according to each region’s culture.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

The Empress’ growth, the conspiracies and political intrigues, mystical conflicts, struggles and romances.

How did you come up with the book’s title?

It came from the original drafts I made. There was a golden palace in Aranka, and everyone called it “Empress’ Palace”.

Who designed your book’s covers?

A worldwide group of talented young designers, led by their outstanding team leader Aamna, made the cover and interior designs, even though I developed the concepts. The best part about them is that they create their art from scratch, by hand, to finish on the computer. They explicitly forbid the use of artificial intelligence.

If you had to do it all over again. Would you change anything in your latest book?

Short answer: No.

Six Space Opera drafts and a seventh in Fantasy were enough.