We have talked to Mitchell Hogan author of A Crucible of Souls.
Q: For the benefit of those not familiar with A Crucible of Souls, can you tell us a bit about it?
A Crucible of Souls is my debut epic fantasy novel, and the first book in the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence. It’s about a traditional fantasy hero who finds the world he is caught up in has disturbing depths… and the good guys don’t always win. It has sorcery, morally ambivalent characters, and though this first book is partly a coming of age story some dark and gritty content. The first review it ever received described it as ‘entertainingly ambiguous’, which I thought was quite a good description.
Q: You’re working on book two in the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence called Blood of Innocents. Can you give us a sneak peak?
The main character has lost most of his naivety by now, which some readers will be delighted with! I may have overdone it in A Crucible of Souls… He’ll be put into a few situations where he has to choose between what’s right and what he wants. The scale begins to widen as more and more of the threads come together and more is revealed. I’ll continue to explore good and evil and what drives the characters, and the blurring of boundaries and appearances. On top of that there’s plenty of sorcery and mystery, and a lot more action!
Q: You’re also working on a stand alone science fiction novel, Emerald Eyes Rising. Can you tell us a bit about that project?
I love reading science fiction and there’s been a few ideas percolating around inside my head for a while. But until a few months ago I hadn’t worked out how to put them together. Believe it or not, I was attending a speculative fiction festival at a session on retelling fairy tales which was not only very interesting but made me consider my sci-fi story and character ideas in a different light. I won’t say much more but it was thinking about fairy tales which brought all my ideas together, except in a sci-fi way… Emerald Eyes Rising will be shorter than my fantasy novels, with plenty of action. A seat of your pants ride interlaced with themes of finding freedom, deepest desires, oppression and objectification.
Q: You’re writing both Fantasy and Science Fiction. Do you have a different approach to wring one vs. the other?
Not really, but I’m only 20,000 words into my first sci-fi novel. I may regret not having a different approach by the end! So far I’ve found that as long as you have rules in place for what can and can’t happen, with magic for fantasy and technology for sci-fi, you shouldn’t run into many problems. Hard sci-fi would be a different situation but I’ve yet to decide if that’s the way I’ll go with Emerald Eyes Rising. Readers want to care about the characters and the story, so get those right and everything should fall into place.
Q: What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published?
This is a really tough question and it can be polarizing, so thanks…! I think you could write a few pages on this question alone so I’ll try to keep it short.
Six months ago I hadn’t even considered self publishing. Not because I thought there was anything wrong with it but I was stuck in the traditional mindset and didn’t know about the ebook revolution. What I thought of as self publishing was actually vanity publishing. I wasn’t up to date with what had changed in the industry, or how fast it was changing. First off I’ll say that I’m new to any type of publishing and I’m still learning, so my thoughts may very well be wrong.
With self publishing the main advantages are that you WILL be published, you keep all the rights, you have ultimate control, less turnaround time, and higher royalties. Disadvantages are you don’t have a printed book in brick and mortar stores or a cheap mass market paperback for sale, so no access to distribution channels, and I’ll add that I think it’s a lot harder to sell foreign rights. I’ll also say this, plenty of good books are rejected for no other reason than someone in accounting or marketing decided they wouldn’t make enough money on it. Previously authors had no option but to keep trying or give up, now they have a third option.
My opinion is that if you want to make a living writing novels you are far more likely to be able to do so if you self publish. Try to make your novel indistinguishable from traditionally published novels so potential readers see a quality book. Paying for a great cover and great editing isn’t an expense, it’s an investment. If you have some success then by all means submit to agents or publishers if you think it’ll be advantageous to do so. There are a lot of authors who both self publish and traditionally publish, so decide what’s the right fit for you and your goals.
Q: Tell us about the cover and how it came about.
I wanted a striking, professional cover and ended up going with Damon at Damonza.com and he’s been great. I’ve received a lot of compliments on the cover through forums and reader comments. The cover is a scene from the book though a brief but significant one. I wasn’t worried about having a scene from my book, I just wanted a professional cover that screamed epic fantasy and was reminiscent of other currently popular authors. I left the rest up to Damon, as the professional cover designer, and he came back with three drafts which we tinkered with until I settled on one. I couldn’t be happier with it!
Q. How did you start writing? Was there a particular book or moment in your life that spurred you on?
I’ve been an avid fantasy and science fiction reader since an early age when my mother bought me the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series. I’ve always had story and character ideas and wanted to write a novel, but my life always seemed too busy with work to write consistently. I started A Crucible of Souls a looong time ago, but it’s only been in the last two years that I decided it was now or never, I’d better finish it or I would regret not doing so.
Q: What is the hardest thing about writing?
Quitting work to follow my dream was a very hard decision, and I’m lucky to have a very supportive wife. She’s been phenomenal. Apart from that it’s putting my writing out there for anyone to read and comment on. Believing that your writing is good enough is something a lot of writers struggle with, especially if there are lots of rejections coming in.
Q: What kind of books do you read, any favourite authors?
Science fiction and fantasy, mostly. Far too many favorite authors to list but here’s a few of the usual suspects: Alastair Reynolds, CJ Cherryh, Iain Banks, Lois McMaster Bujold, Peter F. Hamilton, Janny Wurts, Dave Duncan, Joe Abercrombie, R. Scott Bakker, Steven Erikson, Glen Cook, Scott Lynch, Robin Hobb, JV Jones… and many more! I’ve also a few authors on my to read list, most of who are still or started as self published: Michael J Sullivan, Hugh Howey, Derek Prior, Mark Lawrence, Anthony Ryan, David Dalglish.
Q: What do you do when you’re not writing, any hobbies?
The last couple of years while writing I’ve also completed a few home improvements, doing as much as I can on my own. An attic conversion, and kitchen and bathroom renovation. Stressful yet immensely satisfying when it’s done. Like writing… I also like to keep fit as I have the time now working from home, and I like to home brew my own beer and inflict it on friends and family.
Q: Anything you want to add to your fans?
I’d just like to thank everyone who’s read my book, and been gracious enough to give their time to provide me with feedback. Hearing from readers is the best motivation to continue writing, whether it’s a review left on Amazon or Goodreads, or an email, tweet or comment on my website.
Book two of the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence, Blood of Innocents, should be published early next year. If you’re on my new release mailing list you’ll be notified as soon as it’s available.
And remember, it’s all about getting good stories into the hands of the readers. As long as the readers are (mostly, because you can’t please everyone) happy, that’s all that matters!
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