Natalie Thorpe (she/they) is a new author in the fantasy romance genre with the first installment in ‘The Wilt Trilogy’ having been published in the early autumn of 2024. Being from the Netherlands, Natalie Thorpe’s books are highly influenced by the landscape, traditions and cultures of the North-Western parts of Europe.
When not immersed in a book, either by reading or writing, Natalie roams the Dutch woods near her home with her faithful but stubborn canine companion, singing loud and out of tune (but out of earshot) or trying her hand at yet another hobby. After studying English language and literature, Natalie made the switch to become a teacher in primary education but has since quit teaching to prioritise her family while she moonlights as a caregiver for the elderly and dreams of being a full-time author.
Author Links:
Website: www.nataliethorpe.com
Instagram: natalie.thorpe.author
Threads: natalie_thorpe_author
Books available via Amazon global websites
Few people know that Svea of Hoorne is an Unregistered Mage, although it has made her indispensable as her village’s healer. When a chance event causes her magic to do something unexpected, Svea’s spouse Esben becomes convinced she might be able to cure the ever spreading Wilt that threatens the kingdom. But even though Svea’s magic is exceptionally strong, it might cause more harm than it will do good.
Telling Esben the truth, however, means she risks losing him, but traversing the country may not be the safest thing to do for an Unregistered Mage now that the fearsome Roper is on the hunt.
Let’s talk about your trilogy, The Wilt. What was the inspiration behind this series, and what came first – the characters, the world, the premise/situation, or something else?
The start to this series, and I think my approach to writing in general, can best be described as a series of ‘what if’s’ as well as the desire to read a fantasy story where the main characters have a little more life experience to those in the books I had been reading myself up till then.
Together with my book bestie, and us being ‘of a certain age’, we often had issues with the more younger (ca. 20) main characters, while still very much appreciating the thrill of a starting romance. So this one basically started with “what if the main character has lived a settled life for years?”.
The world I thought up around Svea and her spouse was directly influenced by the flat landscape around me. It was winter and the withered and brown fields that were often flooded were in stark contrast with the lush evergreens in the woods. Being an advocate for ‘dying well’ (ie. think about the inevitable and have one’s shit in order before you pass), I knew I wanted death to be a major topic.
Can you explain a bit about the magic system in your world, and the process of developing it as you did your worldbuilding?
As previously stated, I ask myself a lot of questions during the development of a story. I have a notebook full of questions that sometimes lead to more questions but I always strive to answer.
In this case some of those questions were; what does the magic do, who has it and who doesn’t, where does it come from, and the biggest one: how can I use death-magic to enable life?
What was your favourite part of worldbuilding for The Wilt Trilogy, and can you share some rabbit holes this process sent you down?
One of my favourite things in the world building was the actual world building: making a map of the country, designing the topography and basing it on my own country. In the beginning the hardest part was coming up with names to places that didn’t sound too fantastical.
Eventually I decided the best and most realistic things had already been thought of and I started using and altering actual (historic) place names.
Another rabbit hole was calculating travel times and the landscape eventually evolved with the story to make things more fitting.
What are the main themes in The Wilt Trilogy, and how does the world, settings, and genre of the serial help you to convey them?
The main themes are centered around death and making the most of life, meaning that sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone to discover the world had much more to offer than you might have thought initially.
One big point for me was also to explore what a world without religion, patriarchy and misogyny could look like.
Tell us about your characters – what is your favourite thing about your MC? What made you think ‘this is the character I want to spend a lot more time with’ as you were developing Svea?
At first I did not focus on Svea to be likable but I wanted her to be real; a settled woman going through the motions, caring for other people because it is her job as a healer (not because she is a woman!) even though she sometimes does it with great reluctance as she doesn’t care for other people much.
I wanted her to struggle with her anger and frustration; one the one hand she has a great power that she could use to shape the world to her liking but she keeps a lid on things to preserve the quiet life she’s living.
But clinging to other people’s expectations often limits a person’s own growth and that is something all of my main characters find out for themselves.
Which character do readers most connect with or love other than the MC, and who do they love to hate? Did this surprise you?
While reading the first book (A Jackdaw’s feather) many readers have indicated feeling torn between Svea’s spouse Esben and the third party (the mysterious Roper); the thrill of a passionate affair with a tall and dark stranger appeals to some while others favour the spouse (it’s been compared to the Rhysand/Tamlin situation, if that helps—readers will know what is meant).
This doesn’t surprise me but I suggest readers to continue reading; things may turn out quite differently than they expect!
A pleasant surprise was having a few positive comments on the first book’s gender-neutral, neurodivergent character Gamela; although I knew I thoroughly enjoyed their stoic, somewhat impassive demeanour, their level-headedness was much appreciated by readers also.
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