Interview with SG Blaise.
Author of "The Last Lumerian"

SG Blaise's The Last Lumenian is part science fiction, part fantasy, and at times reading like a first-class bodice ripper. The story tracks the path of Lilla, a princess of Uhna, a world under siege.

Like other stories in the genre, there are bold heroes, narrow escapes, mysteries to solve and a cast of strange and delightful characters to absorb. Fortunately, there’s a glossary provided, so that readers who need to get a quick reference on who’s who can instantly check-in and update their memory banks.

Author SG Blaise answered a few questions on the book and its creation.

Q: It's a 595-page book. Did you plot it out that way? Or did it simply prove to be a story you couldn't let go?

S.G. Balise: Hello! Thank you for the interview! The paperback version is actually 320 pages. I have written previous drafts of this book that averaged 500-pages, but I am glad my editor and I were able to find a page-count that’s more manageable.


Q: What was the inspiration for the story? Obviously, it has echoes of Dune, Star Wars, and others in the genre.

SG: The main inspiration for this book comes from a dream that came to me during a cross-country European trip in 2012. As I was writing it down, in the middle of the night with the only illumination coming from my phone, that dream morphed into a story spanning multiple books.

Growing up, Hollywood movies were forbidden under Soviet oppression but my dad smuggled them in anyway--not to sell them, but to show them to his children. These movies like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Dune, Back To Future, Goonies, Terminator, Rocky etc. were magical to watch and without a doubt had a great influence on me.

Q: Who are the authors that influenced you?

SG: I have many favorite authors like Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison, Karen Marie Moning, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Sidney Sheldon, Robert Ludlum just to name a few.

Q: There are a lot of jumping off points for a sequel - the nine sisters, the recovery of Uhna, etc. Have you thought about tackling another? Or perhaps a prequel?

SG: Great question! I am currently revising the second book in The Last Lumenian series. It will progress Lilla’s journey in a more unexpected way. I have also written a few side stories with some of the characters or events from the first book that may end up as short stories, comic books or novels in the near future.

Q: This book took six years. Did you write at a steady pace, or were there times of the day that you favored?

SG: When I first started to work on The Last Lumenian, I also had to learn the writing craft simultaneously. Everything was new. I developed my craft, my writing habits, and took time off between versions. The first version of book #2 took only a month to write it. These days, I seem to prefer writing late morning to early evening.


Q: Where did you come up with the name "Lumenian?" Is there an Armenian connection?

SG: The name “Lumenian'' has a Latin origin - I used the word Lume for light, and tried to form it into a word that could define a country, using other words like Austrian, Bulgarian, etc. as examples. The word Lume has an important role in the story tied to magic and to my main hero, Lilla.


Q: If you made this into a movie, who would you want to play Lilla? Cullum?

SG:I would like a diverse cast to play the characters if my book is made into a movie. For Lilla, Neven Crisorio or Devery Jacobs. For Callum, I think Taylor Zakhar Perez or Michael Evans Behling might be a good fit.