M. EDWARD MCNALLY INTERVIEW & BOOK GIVEAWAY

M. EDWARD MCNALLY INTERVIEW AND BOOK GIVEAWAY

Today, I’m pleased to have M. Edward McNally on my blog for an interview and book giveaway. He is generously donating 1 set of all three of his Sable City series to one lucky commenter and 2 copies of Sable City to 2 lucky commenters. Please answer the question, “What character would you be if you were in an epic fantasy?” GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED~~

What inspired you to become a writer??

- Literally, it was in second grade and the class wrote poems, I think the theme was a particular color or something simple like that. The teacher sent them to the local paper, the Kansas City Star, and they ran mine. My name in print, I was hooked. :-)

What character(s) of your book(s) do you most relate to??

- One of the things I wanted to do by writing in the Epic Fantasy genre was to sort of play with the standard tropes, not in a disrespectful way, but just to keep things interesting. So I don’t really have straight “black and white” heroes or villains, just people with competing interests all trying to do what they think is right. To that extent I guess I relate to them all, or else the readers probably wouldn’t relate to them either.

How do you visualize your stories? By dreams? Inner monologue with your characters, dreams, etc.?

- Literally, the series thus far at three books started with a single image of a young woman in a field of steppe grass, approaching a wounded warhorse with an apple in one hand. She’s Tilda Lanai now, and she gives me no rest when I’m not writing her story.

What is your writing ritual? Music?? Silence? Meditation?

- All first drafts are long-hand, I personally can’t get the same emotional connection to characters typing at a scree. I take a notebook everywhere and I’ll write wherever I can: Lunch counters, park benches, against the steering wheel, you name it.

What inspired you to write Sable City?

- That image of Tilda mentioned above. I saw it in my head and just started writing to find out who she was, what she was doing there, how the horse got hurt, etc.

If you could be a book genre? Which one would you choose and why??

- Do I get piercing blue eyes and washboard abs if I say Romance? Would I get to shed my Irish Catholic guilt if I chose erotica? ;-) But really, fantasy. C’mon, who doesn’t want to hang out with a dragon?

What knowledge do you want to share with aspiring authors like myself??

- The more you do it the better you get at it. Really.

if you were stranded on a deserted island, what 5 things would you bring and why??

- Crates of paper and piles of pencils. A good pencil sharpener, one of those metal ones like they use to bolt to the walls in schools. A desk and a chair.

What other books do you have to write or be written in the horizon??

- The series rolls on, sprawling and expanding. I’m going to be here as long as the characters will have me. :-)

If you could have dinner with anyone alive or dead? Who would it be and why??

- James Joyce. As an writer of Irish ancestry, I am culturally obligated to say that.

If you could time travel, what time period would you go to and why??

- I couldn’t hack pre-AC society, I’d have to go forward to see if we ever figure any of this stuff out.

How do you write your books?? By the seat of your pants? Or is it plotted out in advance??

- Total Pantser. Sometimes I think I know where I’m going, but I’m only about 50/50 on it so far. Really, I write to find out what happens myself.

How many books in the future do you see in the The Sable City??

- The Norothian Cycle is at present The Sable City, Death of a Kingdom, and The Wind from Miilark. This feels like the end of Act I.

Here is a twist...10 words or less, what comes to your mind first??

Sun - Phoenix. Not the bird, I live here.

Moon - Druids and Stonehenge.

Fantasy - Tolkien.

Sanity - Insanity.

Stars - The Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Chaos - Madness reigns, in the halls of the mountain king.

What are your social media links for your readers??

Let’s see, I tweet as @medwardmcnally, the series is on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/thesablecity, and I am finally getting a blog where a lot of maps on such for the series are available at http://sablecity.wordpress.com/

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Thanks much Heather, that was fun. :-)

Ed McNally