Ziarut people

The Ziarut are the tribe to which Lali belongs.  From this, I have drawn inspiration from nomadic tribespeople living in the Alborz Mountains of Northern Iran, just south of the Caspian Sea.  But I have also based the tribe roughly on the nomadic mongal-speaking tribes who were united under Genghis Khan.  Genghis used Turkish tribes and light cavalry .  Talish is the main character in my story, who unites the tribes together and draws them to invade other countries.  As his power grows he also 'buys' troops from different lands to fight for him.  He abuses Lali and forces her out of the tribe.

Circle of Fire

I have started a fantasy story - well I started writing it at school but hadn't really developed much of a storyline since then, so I began again, reinventing old characters and trying to get an overall plot (!) I find painting helps me to develop characters more freely. I am very inspired by the paintings of Abdelbassit Bendahmane, which are beautifully eastern and ethereal. I often draw the profile of people's faces in the same repetitive way, but he has turned his into many lovely pictures! I am inspired by Moroccan, Turkish, Middle-Eastern, Biblical archaeology and history for my stories, and my first story is set in a landscape similar to that of Northern Iran. The main character is called Lali, though her name may change. There is a picture of her to the right, inspired by a picture of a beautiful lady from the Kalash tribe in Pakistan.