Derek Prior (author of the SHADER
trilogy)
1:
What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?
I’m
a single parent of an eight year-old so I tend to get my best work done early
in the morning. I’m usually up by 5.30am and write solidly until 7.30-8 when my
son wakes up. There are absolutely no distractions at this time of day so it’s
particularly good for writing first drafts.
2:
Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the
computer?
I
write straight to the computer but I do carry notebooks around with me pretty
much everywhere. The odd thing is that I seldom consult my notes – if at all –
in spite of filling 2-3 notebooks per project. It seems that as soon as I write
something down it’s committed to memory. Generally the stuff I forget is not
worth remembering anyway.
3:
What do you draw inspiration from?
I
get most of my ideas when out walking with my son. We chat about all manner of
things and then something strikes me, I stop, write it down and it starts to
snowball. I also get inspired by non-fiction (philosophy, theology and history),
other works of fantasy (often old pulp titles), odd encounters out in the real
world, and relationships. Last year I got a lot of inspiration from watching Battlestar
Galactica.
4:
Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?
I
don’t set specific goals each time I sit down. I usually work on a scene and
take a break if I finish it. If I’m editing I tend to take a chapter at a time,
unless there’s major re-writing to do. I used to plan things a lot more and
work in a structured way but I’ve found I prefer the results when I don’t take
quite so much control.
5:
Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your
cover art?
I’m
an independent author so I have to finance everything myself. I commissioned my
cover art from artists whose work I find matches the feel I’m trying to create
with the writing. I tend to focus on a particular scene that captures the
essence of the book for me. Mike Nash did the cover for The Resurrection of
Deacon Shader and was very keen to elicit my feedback at every stage. The
cover is creates the first impression for the reader and needed as much of my
attention as the text.
6:
What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?
I
can’t relax unless I am in the process of creating. I used to write and perform
songs, act, direct and write for the theatre. Writing stories has been an
obsession since childhood but it took a few decades to commit to getting a
novel finished. Now I can’t stop – I tend to write for 3-4 hours a day on
average. Whilst it’s nice to get feedback and royalties, I’d continue writing
even if no one wanted to read my work.
7:
Do you own an eBook reading device?
I
have Kindle on my PC but rarely use it as I love books. I’m considering buying
a Kindle though so that I can acquire more independent books without the huge
expenditure. The text-to-speech function could also prove quite helpful when
editing.
8:
Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?
I
love G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan-Doyle. In the
fantasy field I’ve been influenced by: David Gemmell, Michael Moorcock, Fritz
Leiber, Lin Carter, R.E. Howard, Stephen Donaldson and (recently) Joe
Abercrombie. Tolkien was also a big early inspiration.
I’m
currently reading a collection of R.E. Howard’s Solomon Kane stories – great
use of imagery to create atmosphere and horror; his characters are iconic and
his imagination peerless. The writing style is quite verbose and laden with
adjectives (compared to modern trends). I rather like that!
9:
What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?
I’ve
only seen C.S. Marks’ trailer for Elfhunter and I really enjoyed it. I’m
working on a new website and have plans for a trailer featuring artwork from
the books and landscape photography of some of the locations that influenced
the setting. I’ll be reading excerpts to the accompaniment of one of my own
musical compositions.
10:
What are you working on now that you can talk about?
I’ve
just completed a short-story, The Ant-Man of Malfen, which is set in the
SHADER universe. It’s the first of a series of shorts about the Nameless
Dwarf’s quest for redemption in the aftermath of his fall in The Archon’s
Assassin. The series is written in sequential episodes which will
eventually form a single book. It’s a refreshing change from the long novels
with much more focus on Sword & Sorcery style action. The Ant-Man of
Malfen is doing the rounds of the fantasy magazines at the moment but I
plan to release it on Kindle and as a paperback later this year.
I’m
half-way through the first book of the SHADER trilogy, Gods in the
Dreaming. It’s a complete re-working of The Resurrection of Deacon
Shader with a fully-fleshed out world and much more emphasis on
characterization and relationships.
I’ve
also written over 200 pages of The Archon’s Assassin and plan to release
both books at the end of the year. Artwork for Gods in the Dreaming has just
been commissioned and I’m still looking for an artist for Archon’s.
No comments:
Post a Comment