Interview

How vain, a writer talking about themselves… I’ll let you into a secret, it’s not a real interview, just some answers to questions I have been asked by various people along the way.  

How would you sum up the key themes of the novel?

It is a story about confrontation of fear and self doubt. Fear of past mistakes, and the price of failure. Termaris is a man with so little self-worth that he is unable at first to grasp an opportunity to redeem himself. His journey makes him confront his self destructive attitude to life in an effort to make peace with himself and ultimately do the right thing.

Ethné on the other hand is confronted by a different kind of fear – fear of the unknown. Pursued by an enemy with demonic powers, and with an unpredictable magical talent she doesn’t understand, she is thrown into a chaotic world unsure what to do next.

Their mission is the last desperate gambit of a kingdom bereft of allies, whose old strength has faded. Its people fear the terrifying destruction facing them. Their varied reactions to fear are the primary drivers of the story, and of the second novel, Mistress of The Gatestones. Linked to this a view that it is never too late to walk a different path. There is always hope, no matter how dark the road.

Where does your inspiration come from?

So many places! Music plays a great part in taking me to another place and time, unlocking the doors of the mind. Hawkwind, Sigur Ros, Dead Can Dance, Black Sabbath and so many others.

I have a fascination with ancient civilisations, and standing in the places where these people walked. There are so many ideas one can draw from real history, and I am keen to draw increasingly from cultures and mythologies outside Western Europe, which has had such a strong influence over the fantasy genre.

I find inspiration in the work of poets like Tennyson, who can invoke such grandeur it’s hard not to feel swept away. “Though we are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are.” (Tennyson, Ulysses). I mean, how could this not move you?

John Le Carre’s novels have always grabbed me with their lonely, world weary characters, and for me as a writer there is something compelling about a flawed human being struggling against overwhelming odds and a dark fate. Like Odysseus defying the gods to make it home. Or William Munny in Clint Eastwood’s masterful film ‘The Unforgiven’. I like anti-heroes like Anne Rice’s Lestat, often much more interesting than perfect, noble and predictable characters. The world is not perfect and neither are we, capturing that as a writer is a challenge yet ultimately fulfilling.

Within the fantasy genre the writers that most influenced me were Raymond E Feist, David Gemmell, Stephen Donaldson, Tad Williams and Tolkien, whose shadow still looms large over the genre.  

From this sea of influences, most days I find some pretty bauble or other washed up on the shore. Some of these ideas are relevant to what I am working on right now, others I pocket to explore another time. Ideas come to me at the oddest times. Watching the news. Seeing an interesting stranger in the crowd.

Writers have to be good at observing, and absorbing seemingly limitless amounts of trivia. We must possess an endlessly curious mind. People and their interactions, how societies work. Science. Politics. Everything. I try to better understand these things to give my writing authenticity, texture and flavour. So I am inspired by random things every day, which set off the spark of an idea, “What if…”

What made you start writing?

Not writing is painful. I simply must write, my preference in the matter is rather academic. Writing chose me, like the friendly kid who adopts you as their best friend on the first day of school. I had no choice in the matter. I think my desire to read and tell stories ultimately came from my grandfather, whose love of books rubbed off on me. He would read me Aesop’s Fables, and take me to historical places like Bramall Hall, where I saw a knight’s suit of armour for the first time. It sparked my imagination, and in time writing became an outlet for the many ideas that popped into my head.

Like some others in the fantasy genre, I came to novel writing through role playing, through which I developed the ideas that later became Warlords of The Dreaming God and the chronicle to follow. It was my wife who finally gave me the courage to put these ideas into a structure and pursue my writing ambition.

How did you build this fantasy world?

I mentioned the skill of observation earlier. Understanding how the real world works and paying attention makes a fantasy world real. This has been a long process for me (ten years) and my writing has improved in partnership with my understanding of life.

A good fantasy world, paradoxically, has to be logical and internally consistent. Sure you can have pigs flying and make all the changes you wish, but there are consequences. So it’s about using logic at all times and applying it to everything. I mind map a lot to do this. Would there really be a town right there? Why do characters do certain things and not others? If the world is so full of magic, why does anyone still believe in gods? You have to follow things through to their conclusion. Ok so pigs fly, what then? What else changes? For one thing, bacon would be a lot more expensive.

I mentioned earlier about real civilisations. They help you to understand the geopolitics too, the conflicts between one civilisation and another. Why some were victorious, while others were destroyed. The role of natural resources, geography, social organisation, trade, religion, technology and many other factors. 

For example the issue of geography helped me to decide many other things in my world. I drew continents, then mountains. These dictated where the rivers would be, and where they would flow. This suggested the kind of terrain one might find, lush vegetation or arid plains. Where would various races make their civilisations, considering the importance of water and defensibility? Where are the strategic strong points, which might suggest a natural advantage for one race? This helped me choose a location for the city of Salaskar, capital of the Arzantine Empire. So we see that by logic you can create quite a lot.

What is firstmagic?

Firstmagic is primal energy, prototype magic, a natural force, if you will. It is what existed before the Five Forms were created and rules were written down to help others learn. Firstmagic is a natural talent, you either have it, or you don’t. Ethné has it, though she has no idea what to do about it. It will come to have a dramatic effect in the novel, but her journey is only just beginning and we will see her grow as the story continues.

Your non-human races, araquan, and ulöki, where did the idea for these come from?

The araquan are an elder race nicknamed ‘ghosts’ by humans for their apparent powers of invisibility. They walk with spirits and see them in all things, water, trees, the wind. They have a symbiotic relationship with nature. Inspiration for this race came from several sources, but in terms of culture and mindset I drew from the Australian Aborigine and Native American peoples, whose understanding of the earth I am in awe of.

The ulöki are primitive yet cunning creatures twisted by dark powers before time began. They are the genetic descendants of an ancient, vanished race called the Forgotten Ones. They live on the borders of human civilisation, in the mountains and wild lands. Eight feet tall, stronger and swifter in combat than humans, they are not the lumbering brutes their appearance would suggest, they are deadly killers. For the ulöki I wanted to go in a different direction to the fantasy novels I read when younger, featuring orcs, trolls, etc. I saw no reason that ulöki should be either less clever or less skilful than warriors of other races, and they are more than a match for a skilled human warrior. A lack of unity is the main barrier to their threatening human civilisation.  

Warlords of The Dreaming God feels like part of a much larger story. Where is it heading?

Warlords of The Dreaming God is the first part of a story which will turn swiftly darker, as war descends upon Arkavia, and in time, the rest of the world. Termaris, Ethné and the other characters will face terrifying challenges in a struggle against The Dreaming God, whose power they do not yet understand. They must make decisions that will challenge their very humanity, ultimately leading to a battle with divine powers at the end of the world.

In this chronicle I want to challenge one of the genre’s primary conventions. We are so used to good and evil being assumed in fantasy that I want to explore what they truly mean, on a personal level. Let me ask you, do evil people know they are evil, or do they think they are good? How far does the end justify the means? I wanted my darker characters to have a real world viewpoint that made sense. These issues have been pondered by philosophers like Schopenhauer, Leibniz and Spinoza and helped guide me. So we will see this theme developing later on.

The next novel, Mistress of The Gatestones is nearly complete, and extracts will be featured on this site as soon as it is ready. Work is also underway on the third novel, Legacy of The Dragon King.

Has Warlords of The Dreaming God been published?

Not yet, I am hoping to find a publisher in the near future. 

Can I buy a copy of Warlords of The Dreaming God?

Not yet, but please contact me if you would like to be updated on when the book will be available.