Answers
Q) 'David' asked:
I am writing a fan letter. May I please have your address? Thank you :D.
Hi there, David! Any fanmail - which will, of course, be gratefully received - should be addressed to my UK Publishers, Orbit Books. You can find contact details at http://www.orbitbooks.net/contact-us/. Alternatively, you can send email-based fanmail directly to me at TheFlyBotheredMidden@gmail.com. I cannot promise a dazzlingly swift response, but I’ll do my best. I look forward to hearing from you!
Q) 'Sam Greene’ asked:
Where can I find the book Blood Echo?
Hi Sam. As other answers on this page have indicated, Echo was never published; it was, in various ways, a faulty piece of work. So the answer, put bluntly, is Nowhere. And it is an answer that applies not only to yourself and other prospective readers; it holds true for me as well. When it was clear that Echo wasn’t going to see publication - rightly so, too - I deleted every word, sentence and chapter from my computer, destroyed the back-up copies (I can still hear the discs snapping between my hands) and heaped the handwritten manuscripts and rough notes upon a bonfire. I expected it to be a cleansing process - which, in a way, I suppose it was. However, I still remember much of the story - particularly the aspects which might warrant reworking at some later point. But no, Echo is gone forever! It is no longer . . . even . . . an echo . . . Cheers!
Q) 'Damian Hawes' asked:
Earlier this year I picked up a second-hand copy of your book (a 2003 paperback reprint).
This evening just as I was getting into it, I ran into a printing error.
Pages 41 to 88 are missing while pages 89 to 136 seem to be duplicated.
In any event, I shall look around for another copy of your book and make sure this one is removed from circulation so as not to disappoint further readers.
I'm sure by now you and your publisher are aware of the error. I just thought you might be interested to know that at least one copy is still in circulation.
Hi there, Damian. Sorry to hear about the printing mistake; thanks for removing this particular copy from circulation. From time to time, as with any large-scale manufacturing process, mishaps will occur. Strangely enough, many years ago, I worked in a printshop - albeit one producing magazines rather than books. The publications were printed, cut, stapled and bundled through vast clattering machines so rapidly that, as they hurtled along a type of enclosed conveyor belt, it was impossible to tell where one copy ended and another began. If a glitch crept into the system, it could potentially be replicated endlessly; consequently, the printworkers were enormously vigilant. But slip-ups occurred occasionally; and the consequent profanities that tolled through the printshop were savage enough to make Satan blush . . .
I hope that when you obtain your new copy, you won’t have lost too much momentum in reading the piece. Thanks for letting me know about the glitch! Cheers!
Q) 'Ross Graham from Scotland' asked:
If there was ever a book that should be made into a film, it's Monument. Best book I've ever read! It’s not a question, is it, but what the hey!
Thanks for the compliment, Ross! And - yet again - sorry for my irredeemably slow reply to your comment! I think that Monument could be scenically quite an interesting movie - but who would play Ballas, now that Oliver Reed is dead?! Cheers!
Q) 'Jeremy' asked:
Dear Ian
I've been looking for a decent book for a long time, seeing as its school holidays. It pleased me very much to just come across your book in the local library. The things I most enjoy are that you don't hold back on the realism of fantasy, and your descriptions are superb. I too am playing around with ideas for a book, and if all goes well I'll be sure to mention you as one of my biggest inspirations.
Kindest Regards
P.S Good luck with the up and comings. 11/10
Ahoy, Jeremy!
Thanks for the generous words. Sorry that it has taken such an absurd length of time to reply to your email - I can only apologise and offer up the same reasons as you’ll find in other replies in this little corner of the website. I am deeply pleased that you enjoyed the realism: I try to write as honestly, and unflinchingly, as I can. And descriptiveness - providing the prose doesn’t become too purple - is also very important to me. Good luck with your own writing - and remember, whatever happens, persevere!
Q) 'Ari Morton from Melbourne' asked:
I just finished Monument 2 days ago (Jan 2008) and had to Google you to find out what other books you had written. The only reason I read your book was the David Gemmell reference on the front cover. I am so glad that I did! I thoroughly enjoyed Monument and the main character Ballas. Every time I thought he was going to fall for the Girl your surly, gruff, self absorbed character outdid himself by finding new ways to alienate her. Well done on a fantastic read with a storyline intriguing and different from some of the other predictable authors currently in the marketplace.
Keep up the good writing. I hope you have a regular income as well as that of a struggling Author!
My question is do you regret ending the story where you did with no chance of Ballas making a return beyond that point in time? Or are you quite happy that with Ballas making the ultimate sacrifice his character was ended going forward?
Hi there, Ari!
I’ll begin by doing what, just recently, I have been doing a huge amount of: apologising for my sluggish replies to questions submitted via the website. I’ve been neglecting the website rather unforgivably, just as I have been neglecting most things, in order to focus on the new book. Ballas will return - but only in a prequel. I am glad you found the story enjoyable and less-than-predictable. I knew pretty much from the outset that the Big Man would perish at the story’s end; to my mind, at least, the shadow of impending doom hovers over him throughout the story like a cloud of blowflies. I don’t regret killing him off; for reasons I can’t quite articulate, his death seemed utterly apt. I suspect that, having saved Druine from the ultimate peril, there was little else that could be done with Ballas without it seeming anticlimactic. And also, having suffered such a soul-crushing disappointment - the discovery that Belthirran no longer exists - there would perhaps be nothing that Ballas would want to do - except return to a boozy life in tavern after grubby tavern. Thanks for a thought-provoking question!
Q) 'Ian Mckenna' asked:
Hi, my name is Ian also. I am doing an author study on you. Where do you presently live? Your book is awesome. Please respond soon; I have to hand it in by a certain date.
Hello there, Namesake! I apologise profusely for not getting back to you sooner. As you may have ascertained from a few previous entries, I’ve been working so hard at the book I’ve been neglecting the website somewhat - and my emails in general (I find all that sort of thing somewhat distracting and brain-fogging): only now, for the first time in months, have I plucked up enough courage to check my inbox, and it turns out that I have 542 unread emails to contend with! I am deeply flattered, however, that you chose me as a subject for an author study, and regret enormously that I have in all probability responded too late to be of any use. Nonetheless, I do hope that the study was a success. At the moment, I live on the brink of the West Pennine Moors, a gorgeously bleak tract of moorland in the north of England. I like it here very much - plenty of wildlife, howling winds and, eerily enough, an odd little statuette of a faceless woman emerging, as if at random, from a lump of natural stone . . . Sorry again for answering belatedly!
Q) 'Steve' asked:
Monument was superb. When is your next book coming out?
Hi Steve! Sorry it has taken such a ridiculously long time to reply - I’ve been keeping my head down and slogging away - in a cheerful way - at the new book. It isn’t finished yet and so, alas, I can’t provide a publication date. I am about halfway through the piece, and know exactly how the second half is going to unfurl, so progress ought to be relatively swift (fingers crossed!). Keep an eye on the website, and as soon as any news emerges, I’ll ensure it is posted up. I am pleased that you enjoyed Monument and I hope that you will find the prequel equally pleasurable.
Thanks!
Q) 'Robert' asked:
No need to answer quickly, if at all. This is really just me getting something I need to say off my chest. So...
Why, given that I am widely read and your novel is the best I've ever read, are you not very famous? It's the quality that's important, after all, not the quantity.
(TANGENT) Also, what have you got against rock? There are some great contemporary artists out there. Ever listened to the smashies? TV on the Radio? Not just rock either. Lots going on. Ask an unprejudiced and musically-informed friend to put you on to some of that good stuff. Dig around some. Can't hurt. (END TANGENT)
I'm not joking about being widely read either. If it entertains the pants off people, there's a halfway decent chance I've read it, and I've gone off the beaten track aways too, now and again. I can safely say that unless there's a conspiracy to keep good stuff away from me, your work must be in the top 10 most affecting novels ever written.
One day, Monument will be recognised for what it is.
Thanks for the compliments, Robert! And again, I must apologise for taking so to respond to your question. I’ve been working dreadfully hard - and still am - on the new book. Hopefully, it’ll be worth the finger-blistering, brain-crumpling effort . . .!
I’ll begin with the tangent. I am actually a huge rock fan. I confess that I am unfamiliar with the bands that you mentioned; I’ve reached that age when rather than acquire a fondness for new groups, I tend to stick with the bands I listened to when I was much younger. AC/DC are a favourite, as are Deep Purple, Rainbow and - in particular - Megadeth: though a friend recently played me a bit of Lacuna Coil, which I found rather impressive. My musical tastes are varied, though: I adore folk music, and I find Bach consistently astonishing. And, as an aside, I used to play guitar (badly) in a heavy metal group (though we never actually got as far as even playing a gig: the keyboard player’s synthesizer caught fire during the rehearsals and we took it as a grave omen and thus disbanded. . . !)
As for the fame thing: David Gemmell once pointed out to me that a writer’s popularity, whilst partially dependant on quality, is also boosted by the amount of space his works occupy on the shelves in bookshops - so it looks as though I’ll have to learn to write at a greater velocity! But thanks for the kind words.
Cheers!
Q) 'Tom McDonald (Australia)' asked:
Hello Ian,
I won't add any more plaudits to Monument, other than suggesting that I picked the book up casually, glanced at its lurid artwork in amusement, opened...and its humorously nihilistic opening lines grabbed me. I had to read more of this repellently pragmatic character! He was a revelation.
My question is: in conceiving of such a bleak world populated by near-unredeemable characters, were you trying to explore a theme, or looking for realism, or for a refutation of the usual fantasy cardboard heroes/villains?
Hi, Tom! Firstly, an apology for taking so long to respond to your question - I’ve been labouring vigorously on the new book and consequently neglected the website somewhat. I must confess that when I wrote Monument, I didn’t possess any pre-planned notions of either a theme or a refutation. I purely wrote whatever felt natural. I suspect that, in trying to produce something that - hopefully - would prove entertaining in a dramatic fashion, I wanted to create characters between which there would be a great deal friction - and there are few things more likely to create friction than people who are motivated by conflicting forms of self-interest. And, of course, Ballas is self-interest encapsulated!
Thanks for the question!
Q) 'Paul Holmes' asked:
Hi Ian
Have there been any queries or interest in making a film of Monument? Monument is one of the best fantasy novels I have ever read and I would be surprised if you have not been approached. I think a film of Monument would be on par with the Lord of the Rings movie.Thanks for a book I couldn't put down; I really look forward to the prequel.
Hi there, Paul.
As yet, and quite probably forever, Monument hasn't elicted any movie interest - though I agree that it could make an interesting film. I am not much of a cinemagoer, so it is difficult to speculate which actors would be fitting for which parts. Oliver Reed, however, would've made an excellent Ballas. I doubt that playing a moody, belligerant drunk would've been a great stretch for him . . .
Q) 'Michael From Canada' asked:
Hi. I am just reading your book; it was suggested to me on one of David Gemmell's fan websites. I am enjoying it quite a bit. I was just wondering if you ever met David Gemmell before his untimely death?
Ahoy, Michael!
In the winter of 1992, I attended a week-long creative writing course in the Fens of Norfolk. Dave was the writer-in-residence. He offered an enormous amount of encouragement and we stayed in contact up until his death.
Dave was an extraordinarily generous fellow. I stayed at his home on numerous occasions; we would discuss writing, and pretty much anything else that sprang to mind. He was a terrific conversationalist. One moment he'd be discussing the political dimension of the biblical King David; the next, recounting some incident from his days as a doorman in the East End of London. He was utterly dedicated to writing. When he watched a movie - even a bad one - he'd analyse such elements as plot structure and character interaction; and, during a televised football match, I can recall him commenting not on the game itself but the mental strengths and weakness of various players - as if they were characters in a novel . . .
He is, of course, hugely missed. After his death, the London Times printed a sizeable obituary. As is the case with Times Obitutaries, readers are invited to submit their memories of the deceased. I was fortunate enough to have my submission printed. It ran as follows:
David Gemmell was generous to aspiring writers and took many newcomers under his wing. He was a seemingly inexhaustible source of good advice and clear-eyed - but, importantly, never discouraging - criticism. His success did not lie solely in his talents for pacing and powerful characterisation but in the sincerity of his writing. His novels reflected his moral outlook; nothing was staged for mere effect. In David's case, there was no disparity between the author and his work.
Q) Chris wrote: I've enjoyed the book twice now. What's next?
Thanks, Chris. At present, I am partway through the second draft of a prequel to Monument. It seems to be going pretty well; everything is taking shape, and the piece is actually starting to look like a novel . . . No title - or estimated completion date - yet, but keep checking the website for news . . . Cheers!
Q) 'Dean Kuhta' asked:
I am very happy to hear that you a working on a prequel! Monument is one of the most entertaining and well written fantasy books I ever read. The roughness and realism of Ballas was a pleasant surprise.
If you ever need fantasy artwork for anything, I would be honored if you had a look at my online gallery: http://deandude.gfxartist.com
Hi there, Dean. Thanks for the compliments. The prequel continues to go well: I am within whistling distance of the end of the first draft. As for artwork: the author (at least this author) has very little say in the matter, though I have been fortunate in receiving some striking cover art. I checked out your online gallery, and was extremely impressed. Very intricate, very atmospheric; as someone completely lacking in any talent for the visual arts, it mystifies me how anyone can produce images of that sort - well done!
Q) Ian from Waterford, Ireland wrote: Hi Ian, I've read your book Monument twice now and greatly enjoyed it. I'm going nuts here waiting for your second book! . . . All I really want to know is are you almost done with your new novel?
Dear Ian,
Hi there. Thanks for the nice words. I've still got a lot of work to do on the new book, but it is going terribly well. I am over halfway through the first draft - which usually takes longer to produce than subsequent drafts. I tend to work with only the vaguest of ideas where the story is going, so there's a lot of thinking and planning-on-the-hoof to be done. Nonetheless progress is, by my standards, fairly swift. Try not to go too nuts . . .
Cheers!
Q) 'J. G. Thomas ' wrote:
Hello Ian!
You have no idea how happy I am that I found this website! I read Monument waaay back in 2002 when it was published and loved it. Ever since, I've been (like many others, by the looks of it) waiting for Blood Echo. As the years passed, I started to wonder what was happening. I emailed Orbit a few times and was informed on every occasion that Blood Echo would surface at some point, but it never did and I started to give up hope.
I'm therefore delighted to find that you are actually alive and well (even if Blood Echo isn't!). While I thought Blood Echo sounded great, I'm really excited that you are re-visiting Ballas and can't wait to see the end product.
By the way, there were many things I liked about Monument, but you know which scene has stayed in my mind all these years? So vivid even though I've not read it for a long time? The marsh with the eels. I just thought you captured the feel of the eels and the water amazingly well. It is a very visceral scene.
So, thanks and I look forward very much to reading your new work. I also write a fantasy blog (http://speculativehorizons.blogspot.com/) where I do book reviews and interviews and other genre-related things, so when the novel's done and the ARCs are ready to be shipped out, it would be great if you could bear me in mind.
Cheers!
Dear J.G.,
Thanks for the message - and for staying interested for such a long time!
The eel-sequence is possibly my favourite part of Monument, too. I've always lived near boggy, marshy areas - all be them populated by nothing more threatening than frogs, toads and leeches. Interestingly (for me, at least) the eels are the only entities in the story whom Ballas cannot contend with. Humans and Lectivins - fine, he can fight them easily enough. But the eels are simply too in harmony with their environment. Ballas's helplessness is, perhaps, akin to the helplessness experienced by many of the big man's land-dwelling adversaries . . .
I don't know what Orbit's policy is regarding ARCs. But I will keep you in mind, of course.
Excellent blog, by the way - and thanks for your support!
Q) Steven McKay wrote: Ok, come on now. 6 years! I only discovered "Monument" last year and it was the best fantasy book I've read since I discovered "The Sword Of Shannara" as a 14 year old. Where's the next book?! I'm fed up seeing all these watered down fantasy books, it'd be good to read more about Ballas. Thanks for a good read
Dear Steven
I know - 6 years is way too long . . . But I can promise you, the prequel is proceeding nicely. As always, Ballas is a joy to write. In the current tale, he possesses many of the traits exhibited in Monument: he is surly, arrogant and contemptuous. But he's also much younger; alcohol has yet to soften his brain: he is cunning, a touch more introspective, and intelligent, in a rough, unschooled fashion. He is in better physical health than in Monument; and he is working for the Pilgrim Church. Cheers, Steven. Stay patient!
Q) Christopher Solis, of Texas, wrote with some extremely welcome compliments - and the mildly disturbing revelation that Ballas reminds him of himself . . . He then asked, "Have you got any other books - or are you working on any?"
Thanks for the interest, Chris. Monument is my only published work to date; and, as stated elsewhere, I am currently partway through a prequel to that title. I envisage writing a sequence of Ballas tales, describing his life from early adolescence onwards. I don't know if I'll produce these tales one after another, until the sequence is complete, or intersperse them with other novels; but writing about Ballas is enormously pleasurable, and I'd be loathe to abandon the character before his life is fully chronicled. Cheers!
Q) Alex B. from Canada wrote: I'm very pleased to hear that you are writing a prequel to Monument. I truly enjoyed it, and its harsh realism was something new in the genre. Anyway, here are my questions: what books would you say have inspired your writing? And are there any books in the fantasy genre that you would recommend to a reader while he eagerly awaits your next book?
Alex,
Thanks for the kind words; I am pleased that you enjoyed Monument. The books which inspired me are also the books I'd recommend to someone as a good read. David Gemmell had a substantial impact on my writing - in particular his pacing, and his psychologically authentic characterisation. Anything in his oeuvre is worth reading - but I have particular fondness for Lion of Macedon: it is one of the books that I encountered at exactly the right time in my life, and I can't recall enjoying a novel quite as much as I enjoyed Lion. I was also hugely taken by Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy; Williams' prose is stunningly evocative. Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood is a strange, beautiful and brilliant fantasy - and a novel to read slowly, with great care . . . Now and again, I enjoy dipping into the Conan tales; the Conan of Howard's stories is a remarkably different character to the lumbering, lead-witted brute of the motion pictures . . .
There are a few writers you might be keen to try, if you fancy something which, though not really genre fantasy, is nonetheless fantastical. Lovecraft is wonderfully unsettling; Jorge Luis Borges' short stories stretch the mind as well as create a powerful sense of wonder. M R James is the master of erudite spooky tales; Sheridan Le Fanu's yarns, in particular the famous Green Tea, are terrifically well written, and marvellous fun . . . There are, no doubt, other writers that I ought to recommend, but for the moment they elude me. No matter. I hope the list provides at least a few titles you can enjoy. Cheers!
Q) Sarah Rees asked: what was your inspiration for Monument?
Many years ago - 1992, if memory serves - I attended a week-long creative writing course. The organisers suggested that each writer should bring a piece of work to be critiqued by the writer-in-residence. I had only just begun toying with the idea of writing. Consequently, I had nothing substantial to show. So, the night before the course began, I sat down and wrote a single scene, a couple of pages long, which began with the sentence, "There were fresh heads nailed to the tree that morning." I then asked myself the obvious questions: What tree? Whose heads? From these musings, the idea of the Penance Oak emerged and, by extension, the notion of a country governed by a brutal, ruthlessly pragmatic theocracy . . .
I didn't do anything significant with these ideas until I started Monument, much later on. In the meantime, other ideas had occured to me. I had written about a Ballas-like character in a couple of earlier, unpublished novels. This proto-Ballas differed from the Monument-Ballas in two ways: he lacked courage; and he wasn't utterly repellent. As an experiment, I altered these traits. Ballas became untroubled by physical danger. And he lost every remotely endearing attribute. I realised then that I had created a character that - perhaps - was interesting enough to carry a novel . . .
The locations in Monument are distortions of genuine places. The moorland landscapes are an amalgam of the Lake District - particularly the Southern Fells - and the West Pennine Moors. The low taverns frequented by Ballas are inspired, to varying degrees, by ale-houses I've drunk in from time to time. And I've a dreadful suspicion that Keltherimyn, the marshland where Heresh dwells, is an extrapolation of a patch of boggy, frog-prowled ground bordering the playground of my secondary school . . .
It is worth noting that, in my case at least, inspiration provides something tiny and nebulous that must, through effort, be coaxed into something large and workable. Few ideas arrive fully formed. It has been observed by others that a writer who relies solely on inspiration is unlikely to complete a short story much less a novel . . .
Hope that answers your question! Cheers.
Q) Luke Clifton wrote: Hi Ian - like most of your readers, I enjoyed Monument immensely, especially the "world" that you created for Ballas to live in - so I am very happy to learn that you will be returning to it with the prequels.
My question relates to your statement that you made many (if not all) of the mistakes that authors make in attempting to pen your second novel, Blood Echo. Out if interest, what were some of those mistakes?
Luke, thanks for the compliments and the excellent - if harrowing - question ...
Writing a second novel is a far more pressurised business than writing a debut. Much of this pressure arises from an awareness that whatever is written will be read, by a few people at least. This can lead to a certain amount of nervousness and an excess of self-criticism. In such circumstances, it's easy to stop trusting your instincts. I can diagnose a few mistakes which lay at the heart of Novel #2's problems. I had a protagonist who, though interesting in principle, failed to come alive on the page; the plotting was a touch forced, and the narrative seemed to lack the vigour found in Monument; and I tried to write a story which was Monument-esque - that is, I tried to employ the same approach for #2 as I had for #1, even though the story required a considerably different treatment ...
There are, I suspect, other flaws. I am certain that I'll write about this subject in greater detail in the future; whereas the difficulties of producing a first novel are often discussed, the hazards of the second are rarely examined . . . It is pleasing to note, however, that in writing the prequel to Monument, I have not yet encountered any of the perils described above. Cheers, Luke - hope this helps!
Q) Keith Beavis
Keith Beavis submitted not a question but a few compliments - which were, of course, gratefully received. Cheers, Keith - glad you enjoyed Monument!
Q) Lyn Toll wrote: I'm a bit puzzled by your publication history. Did you not publish a book called "Blood Echo" in 2004?
Hi there. Blood Echo was scheduled for release in 2004 - but it never saw the light of day (see my response to Ian Collins' question below). Inevitably, a few websites still carry the defunct publication date. Thanks for the question; I hope that clears things up!
Q) Ian Collins: I was considerably impressed with your debut novel Monument (it was a refreshing turn on typical fantasy, I particularly liked the anti-hero concept of the central character!).
I have in fact been waiting patiently for Blood Echo to hit the shelves ever since. Can you please explain why there has been such a delay in its publication?
Many thanks and keep up the good work!
I am pleased to that you enjoyed Monument - and sorry that you've been waiting so long for Blood Echo. After a while struggling with Echo, I decided to abandon the piece and write a prequel to Monument (see Dave's question below for details). Second novels are notoriously tricky, and I made many - perhaps all - of the mistakes common to such an endeavour. No matter; it was, as they say, a healthy - and rigorous - learning experience.The prequel is going terrifically well. It is enormous fun, writing about the forces which transformed a young Ballas into the grotesque brute of later life . . . Cheers!
Q) Dave asked: I am about 1/4 of the way through Monument and loving it. When is your next book coming out?
I am glad you have enjoyed the first 1/4. I hope the remaining 3/4 proves equally entertaining . . . I am currently working on the first of a series of prequels to Monument, charting Ballas's life from adolescence to the events described in Monument. It is proving to be an immensely pleasurable venture - and much of Ballas's early life is turning out to be a surprise, even to myself. His past is more varied than I could have predicted . . . As for a release date - as soon as I have anything definite, I'll get the webmaster to post it on the website. Thanks for taking an interest. Cheers!
|