Althorn Encounters Audio

Finally here, "The Althorn Encounters" Audio book

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Interview: Gareth Torrance

Today we welcome Steampunk writer Gareth Torrance. His vivid world’s and in depth character development has earned him a spot as both a short fiction superstar and as an outstanding novelist.

Q. What drove you to write in such a fascinating genre such as Steampunk?

A. To be honest, when I first started building the world that my stories are set in, I didn’t really know about the Steampunk genre and movement that much.
I grew up fascinated with science fiction and fantasy, with things like Star Wars, Ghost in the Shell and Tolkien’s works having a big effect on me. Then, as I grew a bit older, I started collecting and playing Warhammer 40,000 with its gothic spaceships and characters. These all sort of merged in my head one day when I started building my own little world.It was probably a few of the Final Fantasy games, plus anime like Howl’s Moving Castle that first made me realize that the world I was making fit into the Steampunk genre. From there, my love for Steampunk grew, but I didn’t have to change anything about the world or the stories because, purely coincidentally, it was already Steampunk.

Q. You have two short story collections out, The Creature Collection and The Imperium Collection. How was writing your novel Valkyria a different experience?

A. Valkyria was a completely different kettle of fish, as it were. The short stories in my collections came into my head and I just sat down and wrote the first draft for each of them in single sittings. Valkyria, on the other hand, took me a few years to actually get finished. The first iteration lacked focus, as I tried to cram the entire story of Einar and Alexia into it.This bloated the book with too many point of view characters and widened the story too much for one book, almost making it impossible to keep track of what was happening.So I ditched that, and started planning out all the different events of the overall story based on the point of view characters, and used those events to create the chapters. Then, I chose which order the chapters would go in, and where to end Valkyria. I actually had to split the story into different books, finding the best place to end each one that would tie up most of the loose ends up to that point. Valkyria had to be able to stand on its own.
There was just so much more planning involved with writing a novel, and at first I made the rookie mistake of jumping in blind. For anyone who wants to write a novel; trust me, plan it out first!

Q. I found it interesting how your short stories all tie together. Each one was its own story yet it painted a bigger picture of the world of Alexandria. Was this pre-planned or did it happen naturally?

A. Well, Alexandria itself is actually part of a larger world that I have in my head called Rhythlan. One thing I have always loved about things like Star Wars, the Elder Scrolls or Middle Earth is how detailed and alive the worlds feel.One thing that, for me, can really hold back a fantasy or science fiction story is when it is completed focused on just that one story. Star Wars, even though the Skywalker story is amazing, really benefited from the Expanded Universe, as it made the actual universe of Star Wars feel real. It gave more strength to the conflicts when you were able to see the effects of the conflicts on the rest of the universe.So, with my short stories, I wanted to build up more aspects of the world of Rhythlan, starting with Alexandria. I plan on writing more short stories that deal with different plaes within Rhythlan, similar to how The Musketeer’s Dream deals with people from Three Peaks, a neighboring nation of Alexandria.In fact, the next collection I plan to write will be set in Ethoria, a kingdom roughly 2000 miles south east of Alexandria’s borders, across what is known as the Dead Lands that separates the north west and south east of Rhythlan. 

Q. What tactics do you use to overcome the dreaded “writer’s block”? Any tips for the fellow writers out there?

A. It’s probably not the same for everyone, but for me at least, writer’s block tends to come when I either lose focus by trying to write too many different things, or when I run out of inspiration.So, I tend to take a break from the story and sit back on the sofa and watch TV shows or movies that first gave me the inspiration for the story. For example, a large amount of inspiration for the Creatures in Rhythlan came from my love of The Walking Dead, so I would watch a few episodes of that, or read a couple of issues of the comic book.Or I would go on the computer and play a game that helps inspire me, like Bioshock or Fallout. Getting this focused inspiration back tends to help me realign myself with the story and start plodding on with the writing again.

Q. Have you ever tried to write in a genre other than Steampunk? If so how did that differ? Any advice for anyone trying to break into the Steampunk genre?

A. Actually, I am also working on a cyberpunk, dystopian story. It’s just the bare bones at the moment, in the initial planning stage, but already its very different. The focus of the story changes so much. Steampunk as both a genre and a movement has aesthetics at the heart of it. From the way you dress, the materials that are used to build the world, and the way the inhabitants act. But with other genres, the emphasis on aesthetic is not so integral to the story. It is still highly important to create the right visuals for the story, but they are not as important as the story itself.So, with that said, my advice for anyone wanting to get into the Steampunk genre is to research it a lot! The visual aspect of the subculture and genre itself are of high importance, as is the story itself. Look into Charles Babbage, and read up on Jules Verne. Don’t watch Wild Wild West (the Will Smith movie at least). Just research the subculture as much as you can. If you are in the UK, go to the Lincoln Steampunk Festival. If not, find ones near you and go to them. Get yourself as deep into Steampunk as you can, so that when you start to write it, you get it right.It’s the little details that really build it up. Like using a velocycle instead of a motorbike. So again, I cannot stress how important research can be!

Thank you for your time and we look forward to seeing more from you in the near future. Check out his full length steampunk work "Valkyria" available now

 AMAZON

Interview: Aletta M Smith

We would like to welcome Novelist Aletta Smith and thank her for taking time out to speak with us.

Q. Hazy View: Souls of the Vanished. I have to ask what inspired such an original name?

A. I lived on the shores of Da Gama Lake which is near Hazy View. In the winter the mist would settle among the reeds which created such a sinister and mysterious scene that gave birth to the book.

Q. As a South African, you are fully bilingual. What made you choose to write your book in English compared to writing it in Afrikaans?

A. Yes, although I attended an Afrikaans school I felt more comfortable writing in English. I felt I can express myself more and deeper in English rather than Afrikaans. 

Q. Hazy View is such an amazing horror/thriller. Was this your first attempt at a full length novel? What inspired the plot line?

A. No, I have attempted others but didn’t feel as strong about them as I did with Souls of the Vanished. Mostly what inspired the plot was the dam and the scene it painted in the winter, standing on the shore you can almost see something rising out of the mist.

Q. What does the future hold? Are you working on anything new for your fans out there?

A. I hope the future hold a great deal. I’m currently working on two new books, the one a follow up to Hazy View: Souls of the Vanished and the other a dragon awaken after three hundred years. This is all I’ll reveal at this moment.

Q. What tips do you have for South African writers trying to start a career?

A. Someone wise once told me “you can fail a million times but you can succeed only one”. It was my grandfather the only person who ever believed in me. Even if no one believes in you, you have to believe in yourself and work hard, this is the only way to succeed.

Thank you for joining us and we look forward to seeing more from you in the near future. I encourage everyone to experience Hazy View: Souls of the Vanished. Available at Amazon.

AMAZON

Interview with Adelise M Cullens

With several Short Stories, novellas and now Anthologies, it is no wonder this power-house writer got picked up as a Staff Writer for Ink Blood Publishing. (Why, thank you!)

Q. You just finished writing “The Althorn Encounters”. How was that experience for you?

A. Hectic and exciting! I don’t think I have ever written so quickly before. My process is normally pretty relaxed and deadline-free. I also like to write a variety of things, so writing four stories with ‘death’ as the subject made want to think about nothing but sunshine and lollipops for a while.

Q. One of our favorite stories in the collection is “Hanging Onto Hope”. We got the sense that it is about Forgiveness and Redemption but is a dark as well. Can you tell us what inspired this wonderful read?

A. Good question. Sadly, I got the idea from a true story, or rather a number of them. One of my work colleagues had a distant family member that passed and was not found for a number of days. My over-active imagination took that idea for a dance and “Hanging Onto Hope” is what came out. There have been several stories in the news over the years of people being forgotten, some found up to ten years later. It always makes me so sad.

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Q. While writing your stories for “The Althorn Encounters” Did you feel a special connection to any of the characters? Is there any character in particular you would like to talk about with your fans?

A. Karen from Killing For Pages has been around for a long time. I wrote that short story around three years ago and I have been hanging on to it, waiting for its time. When Althorn came into my life I had found a place for Karen. This is more of a prologue to a bigger story about the lengths a writer will go to for her writing and the consequences of those lengths. I also have a special place in my heart for Neil in that story and I honestly still cannot decided whether he is a bad guy or a good guy. I guess I will find out when I finish that book! I do believe the best villains are ones that you can feel sympathy for, the ones you can see the why behind the terrible thing that they do. And likewise, the best protagonist are the ones that don’t always do the right thing. This is why I like this story.

Q. You are now about to start on your second project with Ink Blood. Can you give your readers a little taste of what you have in store for “The Apocalypse Collection?”

A. My story is about Captain Michelle Swanson, a scientist for the military. Michelle is a mycologist, a scientist that studies fungi. What does the military want with a mycologist? Who knows? One day she awakes to find that something is wrong. Animals are going crazy, attacking people. Whole flocks of birds are dropping dead from the sky. And then horror breaks out across the world…

Q. We know your talent goes well beyond short stories. Which other books have you written would you recommend to your newest fans?

A. You could read my novelette series starting with “Searching For The Silent Lady.” It is full of fighting and fantasy and adventure. You could also hang out for my debut novel “Dead Bunnies Make all Eight of Me Cry.” It is a weird tale about a women with Dissociative Identity Disorder or what used to be called Multiple Personalities. I have been told it is “hard to pigeon hole into a genre” so I will just say it is New Adult/Dark Comedy/Horror/Chick Lit/Fantasy/Humour/Fiction. See, that wasn’t so hard!

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us and we look forward to seeing much more of your brilliant work in the near future!

(You’re welcome! And thank you!)

Read more by this wonderful author and check out her short stories in The Althorn Encounters.

AMAZON