This Interview has been provided by Orbit, and is printed with their permission.
It’s always exciting to be publishing new writers, and we have two fantastic debuts by British authors in the bookshops now. In December we published Ice Mage by Julia Gray, who Maggie Furey described as ‘a spellbinding new storyteller’. And in January we’re publishing The Thief’s Gamble by Juliet E. McKenna, a magical tale which J.V. Jones has called ‘a wonderful debut’. We asked both authors to tell us a little about themselves and their writing.
Who or what inspired you to write fantasy?
Juliet E. McKenna
Fantasy’s been part of my life from my first introduction to Narnia at about six years old, and I’ve always written bits and pieces. Deciding to make a serious attempt at a novel, I opted for fantasy as something I knew I had the resources for in terms of imagination and information readily to hand; I have a lot of books.
Julia Gray
I know it’s a clich’, but in fantasy you’re only limited by your imagination – and I’ve got a very vivid imagination, even when I’m asleep. My dreams come in very handy sometimes. For a writer, fantasy is the best of all possible worlds.
How would you describe your novel, in less than 10 words?
Juliet E. McKenna
Compelling adventure, following engaging characters through a richly coherent world.
Julia Gray
A BIG adventure, with magic, humour, romance – and volcanoes.
What will follow your debut novel?
Juliet E. McKenna
My second novel, The Swordsman’s Oath. It takes forward the key ideas and questions from The Thief’s Gamble, with some of the same characters and some new ones, seeing the action through Ryshad’s eyes – the Tormalin sworn man Livak meets in Inglis.
Julia Gray
There’s a sequel, Fire Music, which is already written and which will be published by Orbit in July. Then there’ll be something new – either a stand-alone novel called Isle of the Dead, or the first volume of a big new fantasy series I’m working on now.
If you could write your own quote for the front cover of your novel, what would it be?
Juliet E. McKenna
Just because it’s fantasy, doesn’t mean it can’t feel real.
Julia Gray
‘Funnier than Pratchett, more romantic than McCaffrey, more involving than Tolkien – the book that sold more copies than Lord of the Rings.’ Seriously, I don’t think I could do better than the quote from Maggie Furey that actually is on the cover.
What advice would you give to budding fantasy authors?
Juliet E. McKenna
Learn to recognise valid criticism; better yet, go and seek it out. Friends who say, ‘Gosh, it’s wonderful, I loved every page,’ are good for the ego. The ones who say, ‘The third chapter dragged a lot and anyway, I wouldn’t cross the road on that wizard’s say-so,’ are good for your work.
Julia Gray
Hook your readers early. Make sure your characters are real to you. (If you don’t laugh and cry with them, no one else will.) Hear the dialogue. Don’t make your plots too rigid; that way you can head off in unexpected directions when it feels right. Trust your intuition. But most important of all: just do it! Coming up with ideas is relatively easy. It’s shaping them into a coherent whole that’s the hard part – and unless you finish something, you’re going nowhere.
Do you have a daily routine when you’re writing?
Juliet E. McKenna
Absolutely. Kids up, breakfast, elder son to school, younger to childminder, home to domestic tasks like hanging out the washing, deal with the post, make a coffee, write until lunchtime, quick sandwich while downloading e-mail and replying to anything urgent, more writing, collect kids from school/childminder, be a mum, cook tea, get kids to bed, more writing and/or e-mail, possibly telly if there’s anything good on, fall into bed. That’s the two days a week my youngest is child-minded, on other days things like shopping, ironing, feeding the ducks replace the daytime writing, though I’ll usually still be writing in the evening.
Julia Gray
No. I tend not to be able to do things in moderation. Sometimes I’ll be scribbling away (yes, I write and re-write by hand in the first instance) for so many hours each day that I end up exhausted and with my wrist in a splint. At other times progress can be painfully slow. Self-discipline is important, but inspiration doesn’t keep regular hours.
Why do you think that fantasy has become so popular over the last twenty years?
Juliet E. McKenna
Everyone I know has a busy and often demanding life; work, family, socially. People need escapism, but a lot of ‘serious’ literature is people struggling through the same problems. Fantasy offers things you won’t find in everyday life: real physical danger, magical challenges, great heroism, chilling evil, dragons!
Julia Gray
Escapism is part of it, of course. In a sense, fantasy has taken over from westerns: perilous adventures in unfamiliar landscapes where the good guys usually win, albeit at a cost. Apart from that, there are now so many really good writers working in the genre.
How do you think fantasy will change over the next twenty years?
Juliet E. McKenna
I don’t think fantasy needs to change so much as perceptions of the genre. I’d see it with a wider audience, reviewers keen to recommend a good novel which happens to be a fantasy story, not just ignoring ‘swords ‘n’ sorcery’. Advances in special effects technology should mean more TV and film adaptations, broadening fantasy’s appeal.
Julia Gray
I have no idea. Defining exactly what fantasy is right now is hard enough. Every author worth his salt will believe in what he or she is doing, but the diversity of approach is already amazing. I hope fantasy gets even stronger and more popular, because I love being a storyteller, and I’d like to carry on for at least another twenty years!
Do you have any favourite authors in the fantasy genre?
Juliet E. McKenna
I have favourite books rather than favourite authors; The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Legend, The Integral Trees, Hawkmistress to name a few. Authors I look out for include Tom Holt, Sheri S. Tepper, David Gemmell, Katharine Kerr, Larry Niven, Terry Pratchett, J. V. Jones, Melanie Rawn and J. K. Rowling.
Julia Gray
Lots. Mervyn Peake is my literary hero, and Tolkien is the storyteller par excellence, but fantasy encompasses many wonderful writers – Terry Pratchett, Jonathan Carroll, Barry Hughart, Tom Holt and Robert Holdstock, to name but a few.
What would be your fantasy desert-island book?
Juliet E. McKenna
Virgil’s Aeneid. If that sounds too high-brow, go and read it; you’ll find a hero escaping a falling city, magic used for him and against him, sex, violence, monsters, a quest to uncover a prophecy, rivals to fight and heroic deaths. Doesn’t that sound like a fantasy novel?
Julia Gray
The Gormenghast trilogy. No matter how many times you read it, Peake sweeps you away into his world. Of course, it was never meant to be a trilogy. Peake had plans to follow Titus’s adventures in several more novels. The fact that he never lived to write them is one of the greatest literary tragedies of all time.
What is your favourite scene from a novel?
Juliet E. McKenna
An impossible question. One glance at a random shelf of books reminds me of Danny Weir trying to pay for a wrecked nightclub with a credit card (Espedair Street), Buck Zimmer dying (A Clear and Present Danger), Elizabeth Bennett facing down Lady Catherine de Burgh (Pride and Prejudice), the firing squad (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin). I could go on and on and on.
Julia Gray
The one that immediately springs to mind is the opening scene from Jane Eyre. It’s not fantasy, I know, but her pleasure at being able to escape alone and read in secret sums up how I feel about books. I couldn’t live without them.
If you could spend a day as a character from a novel, which character would you choose, and why?
Juliet E. McKenna
Speaking as a working mum, I’d like to be any heroine in a P. G. Wodehouse ‘Blandings’ novel. Imagine a posh country house with servants to do all the work and nothing more serious to bother about than disapproving Great-Aunts or someone trying to get at the prize pig! In fact, could we make it a week?
Julia Gray
Not one of mine, probably. I love them dearly, but I’m not sure I could stand everything they have to go through! Alice, perhaps. Even in Wonderland she never stands for any nonsense and, even after all her adventures, she gets home safely!
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