Those covers are gorgeous.
And what a revelation.
I enjoy reading series like this one* because being immersed in romantic epic fantasy is just a good time. The world building is inspiring. The archetypal plots are reassuring. The characters become friends. But I also want to make sure that as I write my own series I don't inadvertently create a world that is too similar to another, craft a plot that is derivative, or invent a character who already exists.
So far, Lio and Lamb seem to be living in their own world and doing their own things. But every so often, I discover a name or moment somewhere else that overlaps with one I have written. I am okay with that, as long as I wrote my idea before reading the other one.
For example, I have a character whose name is one letter different from an important character in the Hobb series and another character whose name is pronounced the same as one of hers, although the two names are spelled differently. Such is life.
Interestingly, one name that is common to several series is "Will." It's a name I haven't used, but I think I would like to. It would be a tribute to William Shakespeare, without whose work I would not still be teaching. Now I just have to find out where this Will lives in my world, and how his life matters to Lio and Lamb.
*Other favorites include The Ranger's Apprentice series (Flanagan), The Kingkiller Chronicle series (Rothfuss), The Queen's Thief series (Turner), A Song of Ice and Fire (Martin), and of course The Lord of the Rings series (Tolkein).
