THANKS SO MUCH FOR COMING HERE. FOR STARTERS, TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR WRITING AND WHAT INSPIRES YOU.
I’ve
always been an avid reader and particularly in the SFF genres. I’ve dabbled in
writing since childhood and at some point, you have to follow your inner voice.
Now is my time! I’ve read some great books across all genres and in both the
fiction and non-fiction categories. But something elusive about SFF always injects
an extra spark into the read for me. I think good stories are ones told by their
characters in their own unique voices and SFF is no exception. So my writing
has characters at its heart and magic, apocalypse, space and technology are all
and always part of the backdrop.
TELL
US ABOUT YOUR NEW BOOK
The
Dreaming Crystal is the first in a duology set in a future Earth. The book
blends ancient magic, futuristic tech and a hostile climate against a backdrop
of shrinking resources to form the powder keg that is the humanity of its cruel,
grey and grinding present day. While humanity has forgotten magic, magic hasn’t
forgotten humanity. It creeps down through the years from the banks of the Yellow
River in China twelve millennia ago to the rain-lashed grey islands of the Aotearoa
Archipelago in the late twenty-nineties where the majority of the story takes place.
After we witness the events that lock the power away, we speed forward through
time to when the chains that bind it begin to warp and fray and people are unwittingly
drawn into its ancient story, skepticism and all.
HOW
DID YOU COME UP WITH THE TITLE FOR THIS BOOK?
Particularly
within the SFF genre, I have a weird fondness for magic crystals and stones;
other-shaped talismans, daggers, knives, chains and necklaces etc., not so
much. So there had to crystal, right? And the way ghosts work in this story,
well, you’ll see why the name is appropriate implicitly and a little explicitly
in the first book and more definitely in the final book.
WHAT
INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK?
I
love the idea of human or ‘altered human’ ancients (or immortals) who have born
witness to history far beyond the normal human lifespan: vampires, werewolves (as
in the Underworld series), elves from various worlds etc. And I like layered
and complete universes too; where there are grand theories and grand mysteries
rather than ‘things that just are’. In other words, even if there’s magic,
there needs to be a science to the magic or the inhabitants of the world need
to be asking those questions. So, this is my crack at a story that has all
those things.
WHAT
DRIVES YOUR CHARACTERS IN YOUR STORY?
There
are quite a few characters with a wide variety of personal histories. Each is
motivated by their past as it lives in their present and informs their hopes
and dreams. In the end, everyone just wants to feel valued, experience human connection
and personal homeostasis; calmness and happiness. But sometimes when their pain
is too great, these needs become confused and amplified into toxic greed,
jealousy, hate and ambition.
WHAT
WOULD YOU SAY IS A PIVOTAL SCENE IN YOUR BOOK AND WHY?
Tina
realizes a rare sunlit day has dawned and hastens to dress and go outside to see
the light and the clear blue sky. But when she opens her door, she discovers
the hallway of her floor full of people doing the same and she’s suddenly pincered
between her agoraphobia and claustrophobia. In the end she stays in her tiny
apartment with the door closed. The clouds roll back in and she hears everyone going
back inside and though she does not feel the slip, that is the moment her lonely
life begins its final slow tumble into depressed and vengeful insanity.
IF
YOUR BOOK WERE TO BE MADE INTO A MOVIE, WHO WOULD BE YOUR CAST?
You’ve
got me there. I love watching SFF as much as I love reading it but I’d be able
to correctly answer about three out of a thousand questions about who played
who in what. I’m a weird kind of person who if asked what a movie was about or
what it was like, I’d say what it was about (the plot) and maybe talk about the
themes and subtext. As far as I know, I’m the only person who does that. Everyone
I have ever met, if asked the same, will tell you who’s acting in it and what
they were wearing. I can give you a feel for the cast in a ‘like that character…’
list, I guess (accents and appearances changed as appropriate though). Here are
the main ones:
Nate:
A cross between a guy I went to university with and Jason Stackhouse (Trueblood).
Only he has to be a natural genius, frustrated only by his lack of education and
with much darker skin (still blonde hair though)
Ethel:
Servalan (Blake’s 7) only bigger, more muscular, black, just as ruthless but
with also fiercely loving and loyal to her family and those she cared about.
Tina:
Maggie the boxer (Million Dollar Baby) but with super light skin, yellow-blonde
hair from futuristic root replacement treatment, taller, bigger build from
distant pacific island heritage but similar anger and angst.
Sarah:
Same as Tina but more sadness than angst and dark black hair tied into a bun.
Plus more academically clever.
Tristian:
The demeanor of Ursu the Uru mystic (The Dark Crystal). But human. 😊Very tall, massive pacific
island build, shaven head, very pale skin.
Chen:
Evelyn (Everything everywhere all at once). Only quieter, calmer, a lot younger
and less stubborn; same tenacity though. NB: Along with Tristian, Chen is one
of the most emotionally mature characters. She is merely plagued by existential
factors that would challenge any person’s sanity. But I bet you won’t think
that when you read her.
Susan:
Bella (Twilight Saga). A part of her is broken and a part of her knows it. But
she doesn’t understand it and is completely alone with it. Until…
David:
Um, basically a cross between one of my aunties and my mum I think.
Rock:
Andrew Scott (Universal soldier). Only bigger, very dark brown and with a giant
unusual face due to strong neanderthal genes. Same cheerful psychopathic
persona.
Neil:
Carl Jenkins (Starship Troopers). In his CIA / Gestapo incarnation later in the
movie. You think he’s human… but are you sure?
WHAT CRITERIA DID YOU USE WHEN SELECTING THE COVER FOR
YOUR BOOK?
That I liked it and that it had some hidden images you
have to look deeply into the crystal to see.
WAS THERE A MESSAGE IN YOUR BOOK THAT YOU WERE TRYING TO
CONVEY?
A little. First and
foremost, it’s meant to be good entertainment for SFF readers who love reading.
But in line with my love of solid and believable characters, I also wanted to portray
the probable struggles along humanly plausible lines in an increasingly hostile
world. And I wanted it to be inclusive in line with my own personal politics
(there’s a bit of me playing creator in my own world there I guess). But humans
are not all inclusive and so some of the characters are also not or there’d be
no conflict in the plot.
WHAT
ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE AS A WRITER?
I’m
bursting with stories and my characters write themselves as they go along. By
the end of a manuscript, I can see their faces and hear their voices and speak
the words I know they’d say in any given situation or conversation. But the details
man! I hate the goddam details! I like starting books. Not finishing them. 😊
DO
YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR NEW WRITERS?
Yes.
Don’t listen to any advice.
DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR WEBSITE READERS CAN VISIT FOR
UPDATES, EVENTS AND SPECIAL OFFERS?
I’m not that active on these platforms but you can try:
danwilliamsbooks.com
Insta: @danstofer
Face: https://www.facebook.com/danwilliamsbooks
Twitter: @DanielW48099544
TikTok: @DanWilliamsBookPerson
I’m probably most active on Facebook ATM. But that’s not
saying much. 😊
The Dreaming Crystal is available for pre-order on Amazon
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