Interview – Author, Alan Early
“I’ve never been a big fan of grand fantasy, like Lord of the Rings. I’ve always preferred fantasy that is somehow rooted in reality. It makes it all the more magical.”
Cover for the first book in The Father of Lies Chronicles
We’ve often mulled over the idea of writing a book, sitting down and penning our words to paper but doing it every day for the @rcade has sucked the joy out of writing for us, it has become a laborious pain in the as… err… never mind!
We are huge fans of fantasy literature from the Tolkien to Rowling, The Age of Five to The Heritage of Shannara and everything that falls in between. Losing yourself in a huge world created by one person is a fantastic feeling, watching epic stories play out, characters battle for what they believe in and immersing yourself so much into that place that you can almost taste the air! A couple of weeks back a friend showed us a new Facebook page for a book called ‘Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent’ and we of coursed ‘Liked’ to put their mind at ease but then upon actually reading the information on the page we found it to be something we needed to read!
Even more surprising was that the book had been written by another friend of ours and a fan of the @rcade, Alan Early!
Abusing our friendship we demanded that Alan stop everything he was doing in preparation for the books launch this week, sit down with us and tell us all about his work and his new book:
Author Alan Early!
It’s probably best to start by asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself?
Well the boring stuff is that I’m 28, from Leitrim originally, living in Dublin now. I come from a small family; I only have one sibling, a brother called Paul. I studied in the National Film School so I’m a bit obsessed by all kinds of films.
Before you tell us about your work, can we just ask you something… how hard is it to actually write a book? What possessed you to do it?
I’d always written quite a bit; short stories mainly. And then when I started college, I concentrated on short films. One day last year I was on a bus along the quays in Dublin. It was lashing rain and the traffic was heavy. I looked out at the Liffey. I’d recently seen a documentary about the River Poddle that runs right under the city and out into the Liffey. The Vikings used it a lot. So as I was looking at the water, I just wondered to myself what would happen if the Vikings had hidden some sort of monster down there. For some reason, I thought a giant snake would be cool. When I got home, I started research on Norse monsters; only to find that there was, indeed, a Viking serpent beast. Then, the more research I did into it, the more it sparked my drive to write the story.
The hardest part is also the most fun part; coming up with the story. I love just walking around with my earphones blaring going over the plots. Once I had that sorted, the actual writing doesn’t take me too long. I’d spend months thinking about the stories but maybe only a month or so writing the first draft.
‘Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent’ is due for release this week, can you tell us a little bit about it? Where can we get our hands on a copy?
It tells the story of this 12 year old boy called Arthur Quinn. He and his dad are just after moving to Dublin. Along with his new friends, Ash and Will, he discovers the River Poddle and a mysterious pendant. But that’s only the start of it. As it goes on, it becomes apparent that the Trickster God, Loki, is behind it and it’s up to Arthur and his friends to stop him.
I did a lot of research into Norse mythology and even read every single legend. I could have had a sprawling epic with a cast of thousands but I wanted to stay focused on Arthur. So, in the end, I only mention a few of the Norse gods but I made sure to do them justice. They’re as important to the plot as the hero.
It’s available online in all the usual places and in all good book shops. Mercier Press are the publishers and you can buy it from their website, too – and it’s even cheaper than Amazon!
Who is Arthur based on?
I never set out to base Arthur on anyone but I guess on examination, he’s probably based a little bit on me. He certainly looks like a younger version of me. I suppose most writers can’t help but put themselves in their work. Arthur is really supposed to be the everyman that the reader can get behind.
This first book is from ‘The Father of Lies Chronicles’ can we expect more from you in the future? And if so when?
Yeah; Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent is the first book in a trilogy. When I started writing the first book, I didn’t realise it would be a trilogy until I was nearing the end. It just popped in my head one day that it would work so much better as a series. The next two books are due over the next two years as long as everything goes according to plan. I’ve completed the first drafts of both of them.
After that, I hope to keep writing and have a few more ideas in the pipeline.
A lot of fantasy novelists tend to create their own world but you’ve based yours in the city of Dublin, did you have a reason for doing so?
A lot of the story came out of a want to see a fantasy set in Dublin or Ireland. One of my favourite TV shows is Doctor Who and the great thing about that is seeing these crazy aliens and monsters invade London, which is one of our nearest neighbours. I just really liked the idea of setting it in Dublin.
That said, I’ve never been a big fan of grand fantasy, like Lord of the Rings. I’ve always preferred fantasy that is somehow rooted in reality. It makes it all the more magical.
Artwork by Seán Branigan
The fantasy section has become something of a pool for television and movie makers lately, is it something you’d ever consider for your own work?
I always think of my stories in terms of films. When I’m coming up with them, they’re movies playing over and over in my head. I suppose that studying film helped me structure and layer them much like films. The pace of the book is very similar to a movie. Personally, I’d love to see my books on the big screen but it’s not something I’m too preoccupied with at the minute.
When you’re not writing and working on your stuff, who do you read?
My favourite writer out there would have to be Neil Gaiman. He writes a lot. But I never think he writes enough. As much as I love his comic writing, I really can’t get enough of his prose. I started reading the Song of Fire and Ice books a year ago and I love them. I’m halfway through the series but I’m taking a break because they’re so addictive. Kurt Vonnegut is another great writer I love. He wrote sci-fi but they were always sci-fi with a twist. I’ve recently read the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness. What a series! I highly recommend them. Not enough people have read these books!
Do you’ve any advice for the aspiring writers out there?
Read. That’s it. That’s the most important thing. Just read. The hardest thing for a writer is putting those first few words on the page but every writer will do that eventually. But when you’re not writing, you just need to read, read and read some more. And not just the type of books you want to write either; read everything. Any book could influence you.
The mysterious Pendant Arthur finds!
Finally, if you were trapped in an Arcade for eternity, what one game would you play to pass the time?
I like playing games. But I don’t do it. I just get so easily addicted to them and then I end up not doing anything for the next few weeks and all I can see everywhere is the game. Like one time, when I went through a Tomb Raider phase, I gauged distances in real life by if Lara would be able to just leap over or running-leap it.
Anyway… back to the question…. The one game would have to be Super Mario Land 2 on the Game Boy; the one with Wario. It was the first game I ever cleared so it’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
For more information on Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent you can click the links below:
Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent Facebook Page
To get yourself a copy you can click the links below:
