During the month of September, I am hosting a series of author interviews to celebrate Self-Published Fantasy Month. For full schedule and more information regarding Self-Pub Fan Month please click here. Today, I am sharing my interview with author E.G. Radcliff.
To start, would you please introduce yourself to our readers? Let us know a little about you and your published work.
Hi there! I’m E.G. Radcliff, an author from Chicago, Illinois, and I write Young Adult fantasy. I’ve a weakness for the fantastically unsettling (I’m a huge fan of The Magnus Archives), shōnen anime, and webcomics, and my hobbies include hiking, digital drawing, and some pretty crummy photography. My published works are The Hidden King and The Last Prince, of which The Hidden King is the first book–meant to be read first–and The Last Prince is a prequel, meant to be read after The Hidden King.
The Hidden King follows the story of Áed, a young man from the violence-riddled low city of the Maze. When a tragedy sends his life collapsing around him, it also sets him free–and, with the young boy he and his partner cared for, he flees the Maze in hopes of a better life. But when he and the boy Ronan arrive in the White city–allegedly safe and prosperous, apparently beautiful–he finds that the new life he’d wanted isn’t exactly what he’s going to get. The White City isn’t exactly what it appears… and neither is he.
The Last Prince follows Ninian, Áed’s partner. Life on the street is a constant scrap for survival, begging, stealing, or trying to eat seabirds. For Ninian, though, a present of hunger, filth, and cold is better than the past he’d fled. Desperation propels him… into the path of another damaged boy. Ninian doesn’t believe that he has the capacity to care about the red-eyed stranger with the haunted face and the thoughtful stare, but being wrong is the most powerful thing that’s happened to him in a long, long time.
Who or what prompted you to begin writing fantasy?
This is a tricky question, because it’s hard to find the beginning. Fantasy has always been my favorite genre for the way it can be escapist, profound, a real-world parallel, or just deeply beautiful. I don’t recall ever choosing to write fantasy over any other genre; fantasy was just what happened when I wrote. I’d love to try my hand at other genres in the future, but fantasy has been my love for as long as I can remember.
Is there a reason you are drawn to Celtic culture? In what way has Celtic lore influenced your stories?
I’ve always loved folktales. As a kid, my mom sang folk songs to lull me to sleep and told old stories over breakfast, so I grew up in a sort of haze full of strange memories of a time and culture that I’d never actually lived. My mother’s Irish roots are just as strong as her English and German, but for some inexplicable reason, it was mostly Ireland–its history, songs, and folklore–that enraptured me (for the sake of historical accuracy, I should mentions that though Celtic peoples spread well beyond Ireland, I did mostly fixate on the evolution of the culture within the Emerald Isle, for which my mother was named). My own research only dug the fascination deeper, and then it seemed only natural for my love to spill into my storytelling. The Celtic influences in The Coming of Áed series are generally adaptations of the lore; I borrowed touches, letting it inspire and prompt me, instead of doing a rewrite of existing stories.
What part of the writing process do you find most challenging?
You know, I’ve given different answers to this question in past–sometimes I say starting (which is very difficult, to be sure), or ending (which can be even harder), but this time… honestly, I want to say something new and true.
The hardest part of the writing process is being finished. When I say ‘this is done, and I’m not going to work on it any longer’… whew. It should be a good moment, and it just isn’t. Because I know that I will always look back and question my decisions, find things I want to change, make it absolutely perfect, and there is no such thing. When people leave reviews, I find myself internalizing the ones and twos, even though they are the exceptions.
I know this problem isn’t uncommon for artists, so I figured I might as well say something: it is a constant inner battle to convince myself my work is worth the praise it has received. Being proud of something feels like absolute bliss, but it is really, really hard. So really, the most challenging part of the writing process isn’t writing at all. It’s accepting that what I’ve written is the best work I could have done at the time of its creation, and accepting that I will keep trying to be better. It’s trusting that people aren’t lying to me when they say wonderful things, and that on the flipside, not everyone is going to like my work. And that’s okay.
Why did you decide to self publish?
At the time in my life when I wanted to publish The Hidden King, I was going through a lot of large-scale changes. I was moving, learning new routines, and generally lacking a lot of order. That combined with my natural eagerness (read: impatience) made it very important that I be able to set my own timelines, follow my own schedules, and be in control of my own editing, design, and release decisions. Quality was important to me, so I made sure I jumped through the same editing hoops as a traditionally published author would have to, working with professionals and adhering to industry standards. Overall, independent publishing was intimidating, but I have a brilliant team who worked with me through every step.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I began as a plotter, but I’ve been evolving my strategy over time. I found that pantsing was a lot of fun, but it also left me uncertain of where the story was going to go–meaning that at crucial narrative junctions, I didn’t know the best way to maintain tension. It was hard to solidify the arc. Now, I have something of a hybrid approach. I know the skeleton of what will happen, but what I build onto that is something I decide in the moment.
How do you overcome writers’ block?
Eesh. Sometimes I feel like I have writer’s block more often than not. Honestly, the main cause of my block is disliking my work, so I try to avoid rereading until I have a lot down. In some situations, I find mustering the courage to delete things I’ve written can be very helpful, like freeing up mental shelf space. When I’m actually trying to get words on the page, I like to get a workout in, stay up really late, and wait for my brain to loosen up. I also set a goal of 1,000 words a day. It’s achievable, which means that every day I’ll have something to feel good about, and it’s encouraging to have a numerical mark that means I’ll make progress no matter what.
Are you currently working on any writing projects?
I am. Right now, I’m working on Book Three of The Coming of Áed series, which will come out in spring/early summer of 2021.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
The most important thing you can do is observe. Watch everything around you, and watch it with the intent to make it yours. Memorize the way a certain person plays with his hair when he’s nervous, and how the sunlight shines off certain bricks in a wall more brightly than others. Find out what the wind smells like at three in the morning, and how the air moves differently. Watch how people fidget. Watch how they turn their head as they talk, and how those motions change depending on who they’re talking to and why. Observe.
As with any art, few people start out great, or even particularly good. If you hate something you’ve written, take that as a good sign! You have to care about something in order to hate it, and genuinely caring about your work is the first step. Find out what you hate about it, and try a different approach next time. Make sure there actually is a next time, and don’t stop.
Share your writing with people you trust, and then, when you feel bolder, share it with people who aren’t socially obligated to be nice to you. Try to take criticism in stride, because from experience, it’s the best way to learn. I’ve improved greatly by absorbing some very difficult advice, and in hindsight, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. Learning is okay. You’re good enough even if your work isn’t flawless, just don’t stop growing.
If you could meet any one person (alive, dead, fictional, or real), who would you choose?
I’d meet Merlin, from the BBC show of the same name. I’ve been obsessed from the start, and let me tell you, that will not abate one bit.
Thank you so much to E.G. Radcliff for taking the time to answer these questions!
To purchase both books in The Coming of Áed series please visit http://amazon.com/author/egradcliff
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