Welcome
to Up Around the Corner, Alexandra. Could you tell us a little about
yourself and your writing?
Hi
and thanks for having me.
. I’m a Brit, living in the South
West. I like to read, watch movies, and I love natural history, history and
science. I’m currently studying an online course about Roman History and
thoroughly enjoying it. I hate clowns, dolls and enclosed spaces.
My
writing is mainly fantasy and fantasy romance but I also write poetry, occasional
horror, short stories and erotica. As of October 2014 I have two self-published
novels in the Light Beyond the Storm
Chronicles Fantasy series. These are set in the mythical world of Erana; it
is a dark and dangerous world, at least for some. Magic is illegal – punishable
by imprisonment or death and elves are forced to live as slaves. The books
follow the adventures of an elven sorceress and a human (ish) mage as they seek
to rescue a kidnapped child, and for Book II - The Shining Citadel they seek out a long lost elven city, hoping it
will bring answers but what they find is a dangerous truth. Tales of Erana is a collection of short
stories set in the same world, told as mythic accounts or fairytales. That one
is also available in audio.
I
also have various short fantasy stories and poems in a number of anthologies.
I imagine you
incorporate knowledge through your interest in natural history, history and
science into your writing. Can you explain where this has come to pass in one
or more of your works?
I
researched quite a bit of herb-lore and flora and fauna for The Shining Citadel. As some of the book
takes place in swampland and some in forest it helps to know what is likely to
be found there. What plants or creatures can be eaten? What do they look like?
What kind of terrain do they inhabit? Of course it doesn’t have to mirror Earth
but it helps to have a basis. History is helpful – especially weapons/armours
and warfare, medieval buildings, and transport, knowledge. Period technology is
important too, what can and can’t be done – even with magic.
What would you
list as a few of your favorite movies and/or novels? What do you enjoy about
them, and have they influenced the type of stories you write?
Movies:
Lord of the Rings, Schindler’s List, Dead Poet’s Society, Star Wars IV-VI, High
Plains Drifter, Willow, Dune, Jabberwocky, Phantom of the Opera, Bram Stoker’s
Dracula, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bourne Trilogy, Monty Python, Reign of
Fire, Day After Tomorrow, Terminator(s), Silent Running, Lost Boys, Guardians
of the Galaxy, X-men, 300, Wall-E – as you can see it is quite a mix. I like
movies with a good plot, excitement, perhaps humour and fun characters. I like
fantasy films BUT there are a lot of really rubbish fantasy and sci-fi ones. I tend
to find fantasy and sci-fi movies which are bad are BAD. More so than other
genres. Having fancy special effects does not excuse a crap plot.
Books:
Hmm where to start…. Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, I, the Sun, the
Sacred Band, Wuthering Heights, Dracula, Lord of the Rings, most of the
Discworld books, War of the Worlds, Reader of Acheron, Frankenstein, Mystery of
the Yellow Room, Beyond Sanctuary, Schindler’s List, Dragon Fate, Dragon Blade.
Honestly there are too many to mention.
The
books certainly have influenced me. Good writing does that. Some of these are
written by the masters and mistresses of their craft, and a good teaching tool.
I write fantasy because I enjoy it. I am not technical enough for sci-fi and,
although I like to read horror, and occasionally write it, I prefer fantasy.
Fantasy is a very wide field and anything is possible. Also, many of these
books have memorable and complicated characters. I hate shallow characters, and
enjoy an anti-hero.
Do any of your
stories feature an anti-hero?
Yes,
I’d say both Olek and Archos are anti-heroes. Certainly Olek, he is a good deal
more than he seems at first. He is introduced as an elven manservant to Lord
Archos but it soon becomes clear he has an unusual skillset for a servant. He’s
a thief, an assassin and important in the Erana underworld. Archos too has many
secrets – for a start he is a mage living in a world where magic is punishable
by death. Both of them use their skills to help those who cannot help
themselves and defy the established order. Archos is not a man who refuses to
get his hands dirty, he deals with one of the Witch-Hunters and the main bad
guy in very nasty ways, and yes he enjoys doing it. He is often kind, generous
and loyal but he is also willing to kill for his own purposes, and to deal with
the dark and deadly.
Also
one of my recent short stories features a vampire anti-hero named Wolfgang, who
is, I have to say, a bit nasty. J
Would any of your
former teachers be surprised that you write novels and short stories? What
about your family and friends? What do they think of your being a writer and
have they read any of your works?
I
doubt they would be surprised, at least not my English teachers. My dad hasn’t
read the books, he is quite disabled these days and he doesn’t read much due to
his bad eyesight. He isn’t keen on fantasy anyway. My mother died a couple of
years ago, from cancer, but she saw the first edition of the paperback. My
sisters have both read the books. As one is an English teacher and the other
loves fantasy they were delighted. The only other person in the family who was
a writer was my grandmother, who wrote local history non-fiction.
Here’s a question
that’s a little off the current track: If you could sit down to dinner with any
three people (language not being a barrier), who would they be, where would you
dine, and what would you hope to discuss?
Oh
gosh. That is a tricky one. Sir David Attenborough, the naturalist, for one. I
love natural history and he has done more to bring nature into our homes than
anyone else. For more than sixty years he has presented programs about
everything which flies, swims, walks and crawls. I think I’d ask him his
opinion on global warming and the impact human beings have had on our planet.
Second,
probably Homer. I’d ask him to discuss the Odyssey, his thoughts on the war of
Troy and the nature of heroism. What makes a man or woman a hero?
Thirdly,
Sir Ernest Shackleton, the explorer. Again probably the nature of courage, and
survival. He was a leader and when his ship was trapped in the Antarctic ice he
and some of his crew walked to freedom through an icy hell. How does one man
convince his fellows to follow him, to trust their lives to him? So a
discussion on leadership.
Where
would we eat? I love Italian food so a great Italian restaurant.
Interesting
choices.
Could you share
with us what you’re working on now and what readers might expect from you in
the next year or two?
The Stolen Tower –
The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles Book III is due early next
year, which follows some characters from book II as they embark on a mercy
mission.
I’m
hoping to release another volume of Tales
of Erana – probably a heroes and monsters edition. There will be a few more
stories in anthologies too, although exactly what and when is not yet decided.
I’m
currently revising book III drafts, and short story writing for anthologies. I’m
beginning work too on an associated gaming system for the world of my novels –
realistically that won’t appear for a good while but next year will see the
basics begin to appear. Planning is in process for Book IV of the Chronicles and presently I’m studying an online
history course which may lead to some historical fiction further down the line.
Sounds like you’re
going to be busy.
As we’re closing
in on the end of the interview, is there anything else you’d like to share or
add?
I’d
just like to reiterate the power and importance of storytelling. So much
pleasure can be found in the pages of a book. A person can escape, find new
worlds, meet wild and wonderful people and experience things most people never
can. A book can make you cry, bring joy, bring learning and widen the mind. I
truly believe books make people civilized, free and human. No other creatures
have written language, to our knowledge, and for thousands if not tens of
thousands of years storytelling has been the way of imparting knowledge,
experience and excitement.
Spend
time with a book, spend time reading to your kids, or encouraging them to read
for themselves. Don’t limit what they read – even if you don’t like it, they
might. Let the story free!
Good advice,
Alexandra. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.
==============================
A. L. Butcher is the British author of the Light
Beyond the Storm Chronicles and several short stories in the fantasy
and fantasy romance genre. She is an avid reader and creator of worlds, a poet
and a dreamer. When she is grounded in the real world she likes science,
natural history, history and monkeys. Her work has been described as ‘dark and
gritty’.
Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alexandra-Butcher/e/B008BQFCC6/
Twitter:@libraryoferana
