Eric Slade – Fantasy Writer with a Twist
Today we learn about Eric Slade. He’s a fantasy writer from Chattanooga, Tennessee where he often goes fairy scouting in the locations featured in his novels Havenwood and The Fairy Killers. This guy is a phenomenal writer and rarely will you ever see anything less than a 5 star review for his books.
What is “fairy scouting”?
Fairy scouting includes all the best aspects of scouting, trekking, hiking, and camping … while looking for evidence of fairies and elves in the woods. I’d like a better word for it; something along the lines of a lepidoptera. A lepidopterist is someone who collects, classifies and observes moths and butterflies in a study known as lepidoptera. I am open to suggestions from the linguists among us.
Tell us what inspires you?
I’m inspired by the geography of East Tennessee, the Smokies — the woods, the mountains, the rivers; the history — Native American, colonial, Civil War. I’ve been playing in the woods all my life, looking for fairies and doorways to other worlds. I feel if they exist anywhere, they must exist here in my own backyard.
What makes your protagonist different from the industry standard or genre standard?
I’ve always loved British fantasy. From J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis to Philip Pullman, J.K. Rowling, and Susanna Clarke. And while there are so many classics of fairy lore, as a child, I always wondered why these adventures only seemed to happen in the U.K.? Why can’t American kids stumble into other worlds? So, I have sought to fill that gap by writing about characters from the Southeastern United States.
Tell us about your books.
HAVENWOOD is the story of a woman who emigrates by airship to Fairyland from Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1916. She finds herself in a magical world ruled by remnants of the old plantation-era south, besieged by dark fairy hoards who do not want the humans there … (1st book in a series)
THE FAIRY KILLERS, currently available for free during this week’s Huge SF/F Giveaway, is the prequel to the epic series. Set in contemporary times in the rural American South, it is both an introduction and a culmination of the war between the elven tribes of the Green and the humans who try to colonize their world.
https://www.instafreebie.com/free/YZGqS
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I’ve always loved episodic story telling, epic world building, and long term character arcs. I’m a huge fan of series fiction, but I also particularly love it when authors place less obvious links, like secret winks to the reader, between their books. I’ve spent fifteen years discovering a story that has an internal timeline of a hundred years and spans four generations of characters. I want readers to escape into my world with me for as long as we both can.
What is the one thing you can’t write without?
Earl Grey Tea, hot.
Eric Slade
http://eric-slade.com/
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