A Conversation with Jack Robinson
by Clary Lopez

 

The Budgie’s Last Flight

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A Conversation with Alan Baxter
by Clary Lopez

Alan Baxter - dark fantasy author based in Sydney, Australia.  British born, Alan moved to Australia in the mid 1990's.  He is a personal trainer and Martial Arts instructor by day and has written for a wide variety of media including magazine columns, internet articles and newspapers.  He is a regular blogger and is currently working on the sequel to RealmShift, due for release in early 2007.
 

Alan, you describe yourself as a dark uthor.  Can you explain to us what dark fantasy is?

You know, that’s actually a very tricky question to answer, so excuse me if I ramble on a bit here. It’s essentially a genre where fantasy and horror cross over. Some people consider dark fantasy to be the same as horror, but I strongly disagree with that. Horror is usually something designed to scare and may not be based in fantasy, such as slasher movies and psychological horror.

However, if something is fantastical or paranormal and also deals with the darker side of life, darker emotions and psychological stresses, but doesn't have as it's primary intention the desire to scare readers, then it isn’t horror but would certainly be dark fantasy.

So to me, a work is dark fantasy if it deals with any elements of nd/or the paranormal in a way that studies the dark and frightening side of our nature, psychology and the weird, sublime and uncanny. If it doesn't shy away from the gore and horror of its own darkness, yet doesn't primarily aim to spook; if it has heroes that are not knights in shining armour, but people that sometimes have to do unsavoury things; if it has villains that aren't necessarily all bad as well as villains that really are all bad. These things are dark fantasy. 

And I certainly don’t claim to be the final authority. I’m certainly open to any other comments people might have on the subject.

From the very first page of your novel RealmShift takes the reader into a fast paced story which is hard to put down.  Can you tell us about your novel and what influenced you to write this way?

RealmShift is a novel that explores the nature of faith and belief and the power that has over our lives, the lives of others and the world itself. It follows the story of a powerful, reluctant immortal, Isiah, charged with the task of shepherding various people to certain tasks in order to maintain some degree of Balance in the world’s faiths. In this particular story, Isiah has the unenviable task of ensuring that a very unpleasant Satanist, Samuel Harrigan, gets to the right place at the right time to fulfil his destiny. If he fails, humanity as a whole could suffer quite dramatically. What makes the job even harder is that the Devil himself is also desperate to get a hold of Isiah’s charge, so a race against time ensues with Isiah facing off against numerous gods and demons as he tries to protect Samuel long enough to achieve his fate. That is, to get his hands on a rare, ancient crystal skull that he believes will give him enormous power. But all is not as it seems for anyone involved and the lives and actions of others will affect Isiah’s task every step of the way. 

The book is an action-packed, fast paced thriller on one hand and an exploration of belief, magic and fate on another. While I’ve always loved a good book, I’m a fan of good storytelling in any medium. I’m a huge fan of comic books and movies, for example, and I love a great story told with clever visuals, so I tend to write in a very visual manner; people often tell me what a good movie RealmShift would make. I often write from visual stimulus in the first place. A story will begin with a scene visualised in my imagination that I then develop. I like things to be interesting and thought-provoking, but I also like them to be exciting and gripping. You can’t explore interesting philosophical ideas in a novel that’s written like an essay. It has to be exciting and entertaining too, so that’s how I try to write.

RealmShift has been garnering some considerable critical acclaim, which I’m very pleased about. 

It is hard to believe that you are a debut author.  How long how you being writing?

Thanks very much for saying so. To be honest, I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t writing. Since my earliest childhood I 've been telling stories and writing them down. Throughout my teens I wrote dozens of gaming campaigns and short stories. Most of those things, sadly, are lost in time now. However, while RealmShift is my debut novel, it’s far from the first thing I’ve written. There were also a number of false starts on other novels before this one came to be.

Every book has a message, what is your message with RealmShift?

I would rather people decided that for themselves through reading it. However, I will say that if nothing else I’d like RealmShift to give people food for thought when it comes to their beliefs and their perceptions of the world around them. And if not, then at least it will be a rollicking good read for them!
 

How long did it take you to write it?

It’s hard to say as I wrote it while working full-time and pursuing a number of other things in my life. I tend to be a very busy person. The story was conceived and the first notes written as long ago as 1996. I was still re-editting right up to its publication in January this year.

Tell us about the kind of columns you have written and where people can find them.

For a year or so I wrote regular music and movie review columns for New Zealand’s Player magazine. One of my “day jobs� is as a martial arts instructor and I’ve written and moderated for a few martial arts websites and ezines in the past. These days I tend to write mainly for my blog at www.alanbaxter.info and otherwise concentrate on my next novel. There are a couple of other projects on the backburner too, which I hope to find time to pursue further.

How about internet interviews and newspapers?

I’ve been interviewed by POD People website when RealmShift was their featured book for April 2006, the community website Dredlox.com interviewed me in June and Lulu.com, where the book is produced, interviewed me as their featured author in June as well. I’m currently arranging an interview and feature article with the arts and entertainment section of the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, so it would great exposure for myself and Lulu if that goes through.

I’m sure those who read RealmShift are looking forward to the sequel, are you able to give me a little glimpse into what might be next?

I can’t say too much without giving things away. However, readers can expect a high octane adventure with Isiah being tested to his capacity; perhaps beyond it! A number of favourites from RealmShift will reappear and the whole philosophy behind the nature of Isiah and The Balance will be more deeply explored as a rift between the two develops.

How many books do you have planned for sequels?

I’m currently only considering this forthcoming novel to be a direct sequel to RealmShift. However, it seems that already people are clamouring for more and I think that the next one may not be enough for them! I’d certainly enjoy revisiting the characters and there are a number of other situations I’d like to explore with them, so who knows. All the time people are happy to read more, I’ll write more. I do have other projects in mind though, so it may be a while before we visit Isiah again after this next book is released.

What would you like your readers to know about you?

I’d like them to know that I’m a great guy, I’m heaps of fun and an outstanding writer. But as I specialise in fiction, I can’t necessarily expect them to believe that. I’d rather people got to know me through my writing, so check out my blog, read RealmShift and keep an eye out for future releases.

Thank you Alan for this interview, it’s not every day that we get to know an author of your caliber, I want to wish you success in whatever you do.  

Thank you very much, that’s high praise indeed. I hope everyone that reads my work enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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Visit Alan's Blog

July - August 2006

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Updated on August 28, 2006

A Conversation with Billie A. Williams

By Clary Lopez

Billie A Williams is an award-winning author and freelance writer. In addition to an array of other projects she is the owner of the Word_Mage group and their monthly ezine for writers. She is also author of a series of How to Write – for mystery and fiction writers of other genres. Her most recent mystery suspense novel from Wings ePress, Inc.  “Bed and Breakfast Murders,â€� released January 2006. Her most recent mystery novel (Knapsack Secrets) will be released from Page Free Publishing’s imprint Hidden Treasures Books   next month.

Thank you for being with us Billie, I was looking forward to interview you.

Thank you Clary. I’m delighted for the opportunity to speak with you and your readers.

It is Summer time and I wanted to choose a book that young and old could enjoy reading.  Can you tell us about Watch for the Raven?

Watch For the Raven is a Historical Young Adult Adventure novel set in the 1800’s in the LaPlatta Mountains of Colorado. A young boy is asked to do a task for his father, a widower, and he throws a major hissy fit. Not in front of his father, of course, that would not have been tolerated back then.  When he goes off angry he goes farther into the woods than he should have. Then he becomes frightened by a Southern Ute Indian who is chasing a deer he has wounded. Horror stories circulated about what Indians do to white boys serves to fuel his fears. He takes off running, throwing cautions and his father’s training about travel in the wilderness to the wind. As luck would have it he winds up falling down a steep embankment nearly winding up in a treacherous gorge. He broke his leg. Rescued by the Indian he feared, opens his eyes to truth but it is just the beginning of his long adventure and the lessons he will learn before he sees his father again.

How long did it take you to write it?

It didn’t take all that long to write this book, probably three months. The rewrite took a little longer. I got the initial start from something my mother said to me one day while I was taking care of her. She was terminally ill with lung cancer. She said, “Whenever my grandfather began to tell a tale he always began with, ‘back when Tag was a pup and turkeys chewed tebbaccy…’ (meaning tobacco).â€� I came home that night and wrote the sentence down and Watch For the Raven just flowed page after page.  Unfortunately, she never got to read it, or even know that she had inspired a story that would one day be published.

What was the message you wanted to transmit to your readers when you wrote it?

I think the lesson or message my family learned way long before we were old enough to fly from the nest was that anger is a dangerous and powerful emotion. Not that you should never get angry, but that you should temper it with rational thinking. Another saying from my Mom was, “don’t ever let the sun set on your angerâ€�.  It’s a strong message and has served me well. I hope it serves others too.

What age range this book is written for?

I wrote the book specifically for the 9 – 12 year olds, but I’ve had delightful reactions from adults who’ve read and enjoyed it as well.

Was it easy to write or did you have to consult with your children perhaps or maybe grandchildren?

It was very easy to write. I had an excellent editor and second editor. My regular editor Leslie Hodges, at Wings was very thorough and then she had Roberta Olsen Major read it to assist with fact checking, as Roberta writes Young Adult stories and historicals.  While the story flowed for me…Today’s language and kid traits slipped in that were inappropriate and out of place in the time frame of the story.  A wagon train master I referenced couldn’t have been, nor the sound of a train as I described it to use as an analogy for something else —wouldn’t have worked. I believe Wings editors’ really made that story better than it was historically. I owe a debt of gratitude and a thank you to Leslie Hodges and Roberta Olsen Major.
 

What other books have you written?

I have seven novels published by Wings ePress, Inc.

Death by Candlelight and Candlelight and Shadows (a series)

Skull Music

Fire at Thunder Ridge (out of print)

The Pink Lady Slipper and  Bed and breakfast Murders (a series)

All of the above are mystery suspense.