Once again I have had the privilege of interviewing one of the talented writers published by Black Library. Most exciting of all a talented writer exploring my all time favourite part of the Warhammer 40,000 universe; The Adepta Sororitas.
Join me as I delve into the mind of veteran gamer, experienced writer and first woman to write for the Adepta Sororitas since their first appearance back in Rogue Trader. The immense badass Danie Ware...
As a veteran gamer and someone used to clanking around a battlefield in metal; how do you use this experience in your writing? When we read about the Sisters of Battle striding across the battlefield are we reading about your own exploits?
Yes and no – it doesn’t really translate directly, but it does come across in a more visceral sense. If you’ve ever been in the middle of a re-enactment battle, it’s all clatter and shout and noise and dust, and getting pushed off your feet, and its all about the speed of your reactions and how fast you can react to incoming blows. Sometimes it’s pure instinct, you don’t even see them.
For the Sisters, though, I fell back on the years I spent in the Cadets, running around with an old .303, and then in the TA while I was at Uni. That’s the experience that has really come across in writing Augusta and her squad, and the thing that has stood me in good stead. I know what that’s like, what the commands are and how you react to them. Funny how these youthful experiences have come in so useful, so much later in my life!
We first had the privilege of reading your work with Black Library in the short story ‘Mercy’ and ‘The Bloodied Rose’ Novella. How does it feel to explore the Adepta Sororitas further in the upcoming ‘Wreck and Ruin’?
I’ve had a huge amount fun writing all the fighting and the singing and the stomping confrontations – so in Wreck and Ruin, I wanted to take Augusta and her squad in a new direction, and let them face something a little more subtle and complex. The story tears Augusta between her strict code of discipline, and defying that discipline to do what she feels is right.
I don’t want to say any more without giving away major spoilers, but it’s less of a dungeonbash and more of a tale of wit and wariness, and of working out who the bad guys really are.
Previously the Sisters of Battle have been explored by James Swallow and the tales of Sister Miriya. Did these books serve as a foundation for your characterisation of the Sisterhood? Was there anything you set out to alter and update?
Absolutely, James’s books have been chapter and verse, to coin an appropriate phrase. I’d read them both anyway, but when I started research for Augusta properly, I went though them like they were ‘A’ level texts, literally line by line with a highlighter pen, making extensive notes about background, terminology, phaseology, everything I could think of. There are places where I’ve taken Sororitas combat-tactics, lessons or prayers verbatim from things that James had already written – and I’ve felt that the continuity has been important.
Because of the Cadet/TA experiences, mentioned above, the thing I changed was the focus on squad, rather than on individual. James’s books are very much about Miriya and Verity, and I wanted to use traditional military tactics to emphasise the squad’s discipline and manoeuvring, their interdependence and their combat-cohesion. Augusta, obviously, stays front and centre, but I likewise wanted to make sure that each of the other Sisters was a character in her own right. (I might have had ‘Aliens; in my head, at this point). This is why I chose to take a different Order – to make the stronger military structure a feature of The Bloody Rose.
The last choice was to make Augusta older – she’s in her mid-to late forties, and (I hope) that her age and experience come across in her character, in how she operates in the field, and in how she treats the rest of her squad. And I rather like the idea that The Sisters of Battle can be all ages, as long as they’re competent enough to survive!
What part of writing for Black Library has bought you the most joy or excitement?
Having been a war/gamer for much of my life, its been a lot fun getting to do my hobby professionally – and any author gets a wonderful kick out of seeing their books really happen, seeing their characters come to life for cover art and audio book.
The thing that’s really struck me, though, has been the feeling of community. The Black Library Weekender was very different to any other SFF book Con I have ever been to, because it had real, dedicated fans – and they’re deeply passionate about the hobby, about the mythology and the fiction, and about everything that goes with them. It was a real treat to feel like a part of that big family, and that feeling has spilled out into my Social Media streams, and it remains very strong.
As an experienced writer and veteran of the hobby, what would you like to change or add to the Warhammer 40,000 universe?
STOP THE RIDICULOUS BLOODY BOOB ARMOUR!!! I know it’s all silly, and I know the boob armour isn’t really any sillier than anything else, and I know that it sells figures... but it’s one of those things that really bugs me. I’ve worn full armour, I’ve seen ladies of curve in full armour, and no woman has two huge and prominent half-globes stuck on her chest...
Seriously, though, I’m very glad to see more women in the hobby – more lady gamers, lady wargamers, lady painters and modellers. I’ve flown the flag for lady geeks since I first started playing D&D in 1988, since I first wore armour on the Vike battlefield in the early 90s, and I’m very happy to encourage more women to come and find out what it’s all about!
Bio:
Danie Ware is a single working Mum with long-held
interests in role-playing, re-enactment, vinyl art toys and personal fitness.
She went to an all-boys' public school, gained an English degree from UEA, and
spent most of her twenties clobbering her friends with an assortment of steel
cutlery. These days, she juggles writing books and raising a teenager with
working for Forbidden Planet (London) Ltd. In those rare times when she's not
writing, working, or on manoeuvres with her son, she usually falls over exhausted.
Danie is the author of the critically acclaimed Ecko series, published
by Titan Books and Children of Artifice, an urban fairy story, published by Fox
Spirit Books. She writes Sisters of Battle for the Black Library, and Judge
Anderson for Rebellion Publishing, and she has had short stories published in numerous
anthologies. She lives in Carshalton, south London, with her son and two cats.
You can find her online at danieware.com or @danacea.
