Ask the Author: Ed Ireland
Answered Questions (29)
Ed Ireland
Sure Ska...if you want, use my email. It's fabsfan419@aol.com
Ed Ireland
Andrew woke, still wet from sweating the night away with his fevered wife. As he lay quietly, not knowing she had died during the night, her eyes opened and the smell of his flesh filled her nose.
Ed Ireland
There are so many I would love to see. My final two choices would be Pern and of course, Middle Earth. Both have their share of dangers, but the beauty of each could easily make them a treasured vacation spot. Well, if you count battling Orcs and dragons as a vacation.
I think I'd love to see the world in my own books, The Trials of the Clans trilogy. Then again, I've traveled extensively and all of the beauty I've seen is right there in each book.
I think I'd love to see the world in my own books, The Trials of the Clans trilogy. Then again, I've traveled extensively and all of the beauty I've seen is right there in each book.
Ed Ireland
Wow...really good question. OK, when my grandfather came over from Sicily, he settled in the Chicago area and got a job running whiskey from Canada into the states. He actually worked for Al Capone.
Then, with no explanation ever given to anybody, he moved to Philadelphia. I've always wondered about that. I guess that's the mystery and it could certainly be turned into a great plot.
Then, with no explanation ever given to anybody, he moved to Philadelphia. I've always wondered about that. I guess that's the mystery and it could certainly be turned into a great plot.
Ed Ireland
My favorite types of love affairs are the kind where one or both parties refuse to admit that love. For this reason, one of the most powerful examples of this also happens to be my personal favorite.
I first read Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind sometime in the 60s. The romance of Scarlett and Rhett was painful at times to read. She was the epitome of what would be considered "toxic", and he was the dark anti-hero. Still, the undertone of love was there. I think he loved her from the moment they met and she certainly felt an attraction.
Even though the ending was less than happy, I like to think that eventually love won and Rhett returned. After all, he knew he had finally won her heart then. I know he kind of feared having her love since one of his lines at the end is "I loved you but I couldn't let you know it. You're so brutal to those who love you, Scarlett."
Contrary to what he says, she knew. He couldn't hide it. I like to think that time changed his heart and the realization that she found her own heart sent him back to her. Rhett and Scarlett...my favorite couple.
I first read Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind sometime in the 60s. The romance of Scarlett and Rhett was painful at times to read. She was the epitome of what would be considered "toxic", and he was the dark anti-hero. Still, the undertone of love was there. I think he loved her from the moment they met and she certainly felt an attraction.
Even though the ending was less than happy, I like to think that eventually love won and Rhett returned. After all, he knew he had finally won her heart then. I know he kind of feared having her love since one of his lines at the end is "I loved you but I couldn't let you know it. You're so brutal to those who love you, Scarlett."
Contrary to what he says, she knew. He couldn't hide it. I like to think that time changed his heart and the realization that she found her own heart sent him back to her. Rhett and Scarlett...my favorite couple.
Ed Ireland
Another great question. OK, so when I was a kid, my entire family lived in my Grandmother's house. The house was very much in the middle of a city street but it was built in the early 1800s and was part of a much larger mansion. Anyway, I would always imagine I saw these shapeless blobs of darkness that would skitter around the rooms at night. It would occasionally take some shape, always frightening and always where only I would see it.
This "creature" made its way into the second book of my Huntress series as a "black, shapeless demi-god named Everdark". My Grandmother would tell me what I saw were angels coming to protect me. The Everdark says he's not evil too, but damnit, I know what I saw!
This "creature" made its way into the second book of my Huntress series as a "black, shapeless demi-god named Everdark". My Grandmother would tell me what I saw were angels coming to protect me. The Everdark says he's not evil too, but damnit, I know what I saw!
Ed Ireland
Most of the time, they don't see themselves in my characters. My wife in particular will say "I'm not the type to rush into a conflict" or something along those lines and I'll remind her of when she's done exactly that. Most of the times, people don't see the very good in themselves. My son is amazingly strong in the face of adversity, but he doesn't see it.
So far none of them are threatening to slap a lawsuit on me. The ex might if she knew my villains were her.
So far none of them are threatening to slap a lawsuit on me. The ex might if she knew my villains were her.
Ed Ireland
Without a doubt! My wife and daughter are pfominant in two characters. My son, my uncle, my grandfather...all of their characteristics have found their way into my books. It's easy to pick and choose what you want in your characters when you have a template so to speak.
And if the character is evil, I have an ex-wife to use.
I think it's just in a writer's best interest to draw upon what is familiar to help build the best characters. Then once they hit the sweet spot, their own personality takes you the rest of the way.
And if the character is evil, I have an ex-wife to use.
I think it's just in a writer's best interest to draw upon what is familiar to help build the best characters. Then once they hit the sweet spot, their own personality takes you the rest of the way.
Ed Ireland
Hi A.R.
Great question. The worlds I create are all composits of places I've seen. Places like the Valley of Fire. It's easy to embellish them for a fantasy world. So I would say it's somewhere between popping over and living there. They're quite real to me. And with people like Vespias running around, it's also quite exciting to be there too.
Great question. The worlds I create are all composits of places I've seen. Places like the Valley of Fire. It's easy to embellish them for a fantasy world. So I would say it's somewhere between popping over and living there. They're quite real to me. And with people like Vespias running around, it's also quite exciting to be there too.
Ed Ireland
Wow, this is hard. Let's start with persistent. Once an idea forms, it takes a mountain to move it. If I think it will work, I'll do it until proven wrong. I'm inquisitive, always wanting to know why. Why do people do that or why does the smell of air change when rain is coming. I just want to know why. I'm hard-headed for sure, but that walks along with being persistent. I'm thorough. I keep lists all over about character names and quirks, army counts and just about anything else. I never want my stories to be out of whack no matter what number in the series it is. I'm patient to a point. For instance, my entire writing routine has been in disorder for the last 6 months, setting all my projects back. Surprisingly, I have not killed anybody. I'm saving that for future books :-)
So, persistent, inquisitive, hard-headed, thorough and patient. That sounds about right even though there are a lot of other words that might fit. Thick-skinned, loud, eccentric...that's polite for crazy...relentless and so on. I guess it doesn't matter much what you describe yourself as. The real test is what your readers use to describe you.
So, persistent, inquisitive, hard-headed, thorough and patient. That sounds about right even though there are a lot of other words that might fit. Thick-skinned, loud, eccentric...that's polite for crazy...relentless and so on. I guess it doesn't matter much what you describe yourself as. The real test is what your readers use to describe you.
Ed Ireland
Tolkien was my first inspiration to stretch my imagination and dream. Other writers (Dickens, Conan Doyle, Defoe, Hugo, Melville, London, ect.) all continued the lesson of using the imagination. The writer that has inspired me to change my style somewhat is Gregory Maguire. His ability to take an extremely well-known tale and change the perspective until it's an entirely new tale fascinates me. Now when I write, I find myself always trying to show different perspectives on critical scenes.
As for a book so awful, if the book is not doing it for me, I put it down. I figure if they make money from it, who am I to change it. And there have been some real dingers I've picked up. It actually makes me angry that they have books in print and I don't.
Great question...thank you.
As for a book so awful, if the book is not doing it for me, I put it down. I figure if they make money from it, who am I to change it. And there have been some real dingers I've picked up. It actually makes me angry that they have books in print and I don't.
Great question...thank you.
Ed Ireland
At this stage, with the appearance being a reddish-brown color with overlaying hues of bluish green, I believe treatment is still an option. However, time is running out and once it reaches the stage of a purple/orange argyle appearance, it will fall off.
Get to a doctor Laddy...
Get to a doctor Laddy...
Ed Ireland
Hands down, it's The Searchers. It's one of the rare occasions that the Duke gets a chance to play a not-so-nice character. A lot of people dismiss him as an actor because he was so type-cast but movies like the Searchers allowed him to show that he could be much deeper than Rooster Cogburn. For a choice in non-western movies, I'll go with The Quiet Man. Anytime Wayne gets to have Maureen O'Hara with him, the chemistry lights up the screen.
Ed Ireland
Sarcasm probably isn't high on the list of desired qualities, but it does add to the character's personality. I know my mother was never thrilled with my sarcasm but it was there. It helped me get through some moments and I use it to get my characters through some too.
Ed Ireland
There is probably a bit more of me in my characters than I would like. While I try to make them distant, I know that my sarcasm is peppered throughout my Vespias character in The Huntress series.
My philosophies on life and family are a mainstay in my Free People series. As long as you don't write an autobiography through your characters, I expect everything will flow smoothly.
I think that any writer will often see their personalities coming through in their characters. It's up to each writer how much they let the world see. I would say I'm an exhibitionist with mine, not quite as bad as a nudist.
My philosophies on life and family are a mainstay in my Free People series. As long as you don't write an autobiography through your characters, I expect everything will flow smoothly.
I think that any writer will often see their personalities coming through in their characters. It's up to each writer how much they let the world see. I would say I'm an exhibitionist with mine, not quite as bad as a nudist.
Ed Ireland
They travel along the path for the most part. The endings are never set in stone...pretty much like the entire story. I just let it take me where it wants to go and record what the voices tell me.
Ed Ireland
In The Last Ranger of Sarn, the story begins in a hunting village in the land of Castia. The reality is that it's Northern California. I spent some time there and fell in love with the forests, rivers and lakes. Without going too much into detail that might give the location away, I simply described the essence of the area, what I perceived it to be.
Ed Ireland
I keep a detailed account of things happening and then as the story progresses, I'll reference my list to insure the proper flow. In my series books, I'll often have lists from previous books open as well to maintain that flow across books as well.
Ed Ireland
The writing is a labor of love. It's that damned marketing and promoting afterwards. Eventually some big book company will stumble across me and scoop me up to be their next author darling. Or, I'll just keep writing and then when I die my books will finally reach that potential.
Ed Ireland
The world came fairly quick for me. I spent some time in the Northern California area and if ever there was a natural setting for a fantasy world, that's it. Other areas contributed like Nevada's Valley of Fire and California's Mojave. All of my fantasy worlds are combinations of places I've seen.
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