Interview with David Anthony Durham

Q: More and more authors not known for writing fantasy and science fiction are trying their hands at the genre(s), with varying degrees of success. Fantasy readers, like all well-informed readers, might be resistant when a writer from "outside" the genre tries his or her hand at their (fantasy) genre. Is/was this something you thought about when you first decided to write Acacia: The War with the Mein? Do you feel as though you have to "prove" yourself all over again, this time to fans of a different genre?

Yes and yes. I’ve heard some of that skepticism in reviews that start rather honestly saying that they approached the book with "some skepticism", but so far that’s been followed by "but I was pleasantly surprised", and then they go on to talk about the book and accept me into the genre. That, from my point of view, is brilliant. All I can hope for is that readers will come to the book – even with reservations – and give it a shot. I’d like them to know that I’m serious about the genre, and I intended to write more in it. In the early days of dreaming up the project, I wanted to believe that fantasy readers would be more open-minded than literary readers. I read many a fantasy reader saying they weren’t happy with the bloated epic series they’d been reading. I heard them calling for greater quality from their favorite authors and for new ideas and approaches in the genre in general. I took them at their word, and I still hope that they’ll find my work offers some of the qualities they were looking for – along with a few things I’ve thrown in besides.

Q: You benefit from Doubleday's impressive PR machine to help promote this book, something that scant few genre authors have access to. As such, do you feel that expectations for Acacia: The War with the Mein to do well are higher than they should be for a debut?

What I feel from my publisher is what I’ve always felt from them. They love this book like they’ve loved my other books. I know that Doubleday knows how to promote the biggest authors on the planet – think Dan Brown and John Grisham, for example – but I’ve also found them to be quite level-headed and focused. They do the best job they can with connecting the book to readers and then they acknowledge that the magic that makes it work isn’t entirely in their hands. I don’t think anyone at Doubleday assumes that it’ll be easy to break me into this market. They knew it would be a challenge, but the felt it was a worthy challenge.

Q: Will you be touring to promote the book this summer? If so, are there any specific dates that have been confirmed as of yet?

For the first time I won’t be touring! I’ve always had national tours before, but this time around Doubleday wanted to spend that tour money on other things. I’m all for it. I’ve had – and I think the vast majority of authors have – mixed feelings about tours. Some events are great, but sometimes it just seems a colossal waste of money. I’d rather build an audience for the books first, and then tour when I know they’ll be some people coming out to see me.