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Posts Tagged ‘author interview’

Writing fantasy in the digital age

08 Jun

Fantasy book goes digitalHow does an epic fantasy come into being? What is it like writing fantasy? And how have things changed in the digital age? I recently chatted with South African speculative fiction writer Cristy Zinn about such things. You can check the original interview out on cristyzinn.com. Aside from the blog, where she writes about her experiences as a growing writer, the website includes a small collection of her novels and stories, free to download.

Thanks to Cristy for some stimulating questions about the art of fantasy writing in the digital age.

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Tell us a little about your Lifesong series, where did the idea originate?

Some music has an overwhelming beauty; I’ll hear it and it changes me. I wanted to understand what that beauty was, and why it is important to our spirits. So Tabitha discovers the Lifesong, and begins to explore the mystery of the essence of music, and the world around her begins to change. I set this in a classic fantasy realm, divided on a familiar dark vs light struggle, but Tabitha’s magic will reveal much much more.

What is the basic premise of each book?

I know this probably breaks some sort of Writing School Law, but I didn’t have one, other than that I wanted to immerse myself in the magic of this altered world I could sense was there. I’m not a moralising author, I don’t construct the book to make some great point or instruct my readers in How They Ought To Live Their Lives. I wrote to explore the beauty of music, and to paint with words and to coax a world of visions to life. I’m basically optimistic about human nature so my fantasy, although having dark shadows, will always have an uplifting message, but beyond that there is no obvious premise. I like readers to discover their own insights by observing the interaction of the characters and the magic.

Which of your characters was your favorite to write and why?

Zarost, the Riddler, because he will always find the humour in a situation, and he allows me to observe a scene upside-down. He reminds me of my father – when he answered my questions about the world, he was always wise, but I often couldn’t tell if he was pulling my leg or being serious.

What is it about Fantasy that fascinates you enough to want to write it?

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Posted in Greg Hamerton, Writing Fantasy

 

Author interview in The Star

03 Sep

The Star: Fantasy author interviewOne of the joys of being a fantasy author is being interviewed about writing fantasy (which is, after all, my favourite subject). Nerine Dorman interviewed me for The Star (part of the Independent News and Media group in South Africa). We talked about Ametheus, my relationship with Twardy Zarost and Tabitha’s inspiring nature, as well as my favourite scenes and sources of inspiration.

Read the full interview on their website:
Enter South African fantasy author’s world of music and magic.

 
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Posted in Greg Hamerton, Lifesong, Second Sight, Writing Fantasy

 

In conversation with Fantasy Book Review

19 Aug

A few years ago, Lee at Fantasy Book Review set out on a quest to find the top 100 fantasy books of all time. In a unique approach, the books are rated between 0.0 and 10.0 which offers a much more precise appraisal than the usual 5 star scale. This allows for an interesting ranking system which is enriched as more books are added. At the moment the book count is around the 250 mark. The Riddler’s Gift was reviewed in 2008 and has held its own on the chart amongst books by David Gemmell, Stephen King and Juliet Marillier. Lee’s review of Second Sight is imminent.

The website is dedicated to reading and reviewing the very best fantasy books for children and adults (both young and old). Featuring interviews, the latest fantasy news, audio-book reviews and competitions Lee provides fantasy fans around the world with a useful, interesting and informative guide to the genre. We chatted about plotting, designing, flying … and madness.

Fantasy Book Review logo

FBR: You have an alter-ego as a paragliding instructor. Do the extreme sports influence your fantasy writing?

Well of course! Paragliding is full of maps and quests. We fly off to strange lands (sometimes that’s Essex). The perspective I get from flying helps me to view the world with some detachment, which leads to ideas of the rise and fall of civilisations, and the passage of great spans of time. The air is a beautiful realm and that stimulates a lot of creativity. There are also more obvious influences: in the Lifesong you’ll find descriptions of the wind whistling under the wings of the dragon, of riding a gyphon, of being snatched up by a winged demon, and a wizard who likes base-jumping. I also studied marshal arts for many years – I use that knowledge to understand how my characters survive in a fight. An appreciation of risk and how one can feel alive in the face of fear drive my action scenes. Years of surfing taught me to find the calm place at the centre of power; the balance point. All this goes into my writing … or at least, I understand these things and so they shape the story as it emerges.

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Posted in Greg Hamerton, Science Fiction Fantasy News

 

In conversation with author Nerine Dorman

14 Aug

On shadows, dens of iniquity, magic, and the influence of South Africa

Tea with Nerine Dorman

Nerine Dorman is a South African author, sub-editor and fiction editor. She débuted with the dark horror series of Khepera Rising and Khepera Redeemed, but has many strings to her bow – travel writing, young adult fantasy and erotic fiction. How she keeps this caleidoscope of creativity going while working a full-time job with a national South African newspaper is beyond me. I got to know her during one of her projects last year: giving an editorial polish to my fantasy novel Second Sight.

1. Can you give us a glimpse of what writing projects you have bubbling in your pot?

Right now, writing as Therése von Willegen, I’m completing another work of contemporary erotic fiction involving a young lass’s entanglement with a bad-boy celebrity. I am, however, very excited about the next dark fantasy I’ll be releasing under my real name after I’ve completed the revisions. The story follows a botanist turned reluctant vampire who has an unfortunate habit of being shipwrecked. After that I’ll be rebooting a YA urban fantasy for the adult market. Not to give too much away, the story features a carnival-style travelling circus, which I’m really looking forward to as I’ll be consulting with a friend of mine who is a performance artist. In the meanwhile I’ve been researching the old freak shows that were so popular years ago. Yes, there’s a vampire, but another favourite character of mine is a 1948 Hudson Commodore called Rose, who may be a little more sentient than people expect. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted in Science Fiction Fantasy News

 

An interview with Toad

03 Aug

The internet is stranger than a fantasy novel. I’ve been working hard to publicise the release of Second Sight, digging under the surface of fantasy book review sites, turning over fantasy/sci-fi blogs to  see what’s underneath, blinking into the bright lights of international obscurity on YouTube. I remember a pizza with mushrooms, I remember a glass of red wine …  I woke up today, and found that I had been interviewed… by Toad.

TOAD: When did you know you had it in you to be a writer?

Many, many years ago, I wrote a letter to Richard Bach, praising his work but also insisting that his ideas seemed to come from my head. He wrote back, full of wise understanding, telling me that only I could write the stories I needed to write to my people and my time.

TOAD: What’s the most difficult aspect of your craft?

Not owning that villa overlooking the sea with all those minions and endless celebrations in champagne-Jacuzzis. If I worked at any other profession for this long I’d have earned all that, by now. They tell us we get royalties, so if it’s any consolation to aspiring writers, it’s a noble profession. No really, I’m not that shallow, I’m happy with my cosy life. What’s really hard, with writing, is holding on to the singular vision of your story world, as the demands of the real world try to intrude. Hold on, I’ve got to go make a cup of coffee…

Read the full interview in Toad’s corner >

 
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Wicked fantasy author interview

25 Jul

This interview was conducted in June 2007 by Something Wicked Magazine, when Viane Venter talked to Greg Hamerton about The Riddler’s Gift.

The average South African ‘best-seller’ comes in at just 4000 copies, and with writers typically seeing less than 10% of the returns, it’s anything but a get-rich-quick profession. In a market of ‘serious’ and ‘worthy’  novels, fantasy fiction is an even tougher nut to crack, but there are some hungry young newcomers who plan to do just that.

Greg Hamerton is the author of Beyond The Invisible and a guidebook for Paragliding South Africa. This year sees Greg’s fantasy debut with the release of the first tale in the Lifesong series, The Riddler’s Gift.

How did you become a writer?

Writing didn’t even feature on the radar when I was at school. It was never presented as a possible occupation. I did a B.Com to do the whole ‘go out and get a sensible job’ thing, which helped quite a lot in fact. It hadn’t entered my consciousness to become a novelist. I eased into writing with magazine articles on extreme sports and once published, I started enjoying seeing my own words in print. I progressed to Beyond The Invisible, which is half autobiography and half fiction. It was a natural first step to draw on my own experience. Writing is a merciless profession to go into though – that’s probably why they didn’t tell me about it at school, and writing non-fiction now seems like a school project by comparison to a novel. It’s also a lot easier to sell, because it’s specialist information that people attach a value to. Fiction is a really tough market to crack until you move into the tens of thousands.

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Posted in Greg Hamerton, The Riddler's Gift, Writing Fantasy

 

On writing a fantasy novel

05 Jul

A question and answer session on what it’s like to write a fantasy novel (written when the first tale in the Lifesong fantasy series was released).

Q : How long did it take you to write The Riddler’s Gift?

A : Two years, full time. I find it impossible to write something with this scope in a ‘few stolen hours a day’. So I didn’t work on anything else for two years. It gets easier when you’re isolated. On a normal writing day I’m in my writing room by 8am and I don’t come out until 5pm, sometimes later. There’s no telephone in there, no internet connection. Just the white page, and the blinking cursor. If I don’t write, I know I’m in for a boring day.

Q : Does this ‘isolation style’ of writing put a strain on relationships?

A : Well, yes it does, at times I want to do nothing else than write. It’s a selfish occupation for most of the time. But my wife is my biggest fan, and she supports my writing immensely, so she’s happy to leave me alone in my eyrie. She does plead with me to read early drafts of the work in progress, but I don’t let anyone read those. It’s like showing someone a painting while you’re still mixing the colours on the canvas – it’s always going to be a poor reflection of what you’re aiming for.

Q : Where do you get your inspiration from?

A : Visions. For me it’s a process of being receptive. I meditate every morning at the beginning of my writing session, I try to dissolve my ego, to disappear as a conscious entity. It sounds kinda weird but it’s really just closing your eyes and letting go. Then I shift my awareness towards Eyri, and see where I pop up. I write what I see, no matter how ridiculous it seems.  I just try and be a witness, without judging.  Some days I’m on fire. Some days I just see the blinking cursor, and hear the rain on the roof. That’s why I’ve got to be there every day. I still don’t know when the inspiration will hit me, I can’t invoke it beyond just being in a place where I can use it when it comes.

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Posted in Greg Hamerton, Writing Fantasy