The Watch
I admit it, I was extremely worried about this adaptation of Terry Pratchett's work. For years and years he'd been trying to get this adaptation going and then he died and I figured well, The Watch was never going to happen. I didn't view it as much of a loss as of all the Discworld properties that had been adapted I felt only Going Postal really worked and the only one I had ever really been excited about was when Sam Raimi was attached to Tiffany Aching because I SO want to see Bruce Campbell as a feegle! But then Good Omens was a hit and The Watch was back. I reluctantly admit to the fact that I saw the preview for The Watch a handful of times before I even realized it was a Terry Pratchett adaptation. I remember seeing the first picture and the Brutalist cyberpunk vibe they were going for and just dismissed it outright, hence why I probably didn't put two and two together when the trailer dropped. But I was willing to give it a try. I couldn't be like all those other Pratchett fans dismissing it outright! I have to have informed dislike. And it turned out I didn't dislike it... in fact I kind of loved it. I didn't think Richard Dormer would work as the beloved Sam Vimes, having only seen him in Fortitude, but he brought an interesting and very pugnacious vibe to Sam. I can actually see him on the covers of the books as illustrated by Paul Kidby. As for Carrot and Angua, they are literally almost exactly as I pictured them. But the stars of this show are Sybil and Cheery. Sybil was taken from the periphery of Sam's life and given a place front and center and she just kicks ass, there's no other way to say it. I also love how awkward she and Sam are around each other, there's true chemistry there. But far and away this season is about Cheery. I so loved Jo Eaton-Kent as Cheery I can no longer see the character any other way. There's also so much depth brought to the character about finding yourself and how much bravery that takes and yes, the beard does make an appearance people! I just literally can't with how much I loved Cheery as brought to life by Jo. You are doing yourself a disfavor if you don't tune in. So it's not perfect, neither are Practhett's books the way they jump around in their narrative style, which this show fully embraces! So come on, embrace The Watch!
Zen Cho was born and raised in Malaysia where she read a lot of 19th century British and North American fiction. While not containing the dragons and spaceships she likes, the books did encapsulate an alien world "featuring strange people who spoke a different language, had mysterious,
intricate social customs, and used outlandish technology like
post-chaises and handkerchiefs." She now lives in London, lucky her, not that I'm jealous or anything. OK, I totally am. Zen has been nominated for a plethora of awards, the most notable being the Pushcart Prize. She was also honour-listed for the Carl Brandon Society Awards which is part of WisCon and seriously, if this means she was in Madison at some time and I missed her I'm going to be very sad. Dammit she was! And I totally had a ticket for that year but couldn't make it at the last minute. I am now very sad. Back to Zen... her debut novel Sorcerer to the Crown, the first in a historical fantasy trilogy, was published in 2015. It is awesome, as it it's followup published this year, The True Queen. 
Question: When did you first discover Jane Austen?
Question: Where do you get your inspiration from?
Question: What makes the early 19th century mesh so well with magic?
Question: The world building and system of magic varies greatly in the regency fantasy genre, how did you go about creating yours?
