Author Interview : James Tallett
Today it is my absolute pleasure to introduce you all to a man who has already firmly planted himself on my favorite authors list, and I am only half way through his novel.
James was kind enough to take a few moments and sit down with me and share his thoughts on writing, publishing and the books that have helped make him the writer he is today.
When and why did you begin writing?
I was sitting outside one morning on a beautiful summer's day chatting to my mum
about books, primarily fantasy, and she said something along the lines of "You're a good writer, you've read enough, why don't you give writing a fantasy book a try?" It seemed like such a good idea we sat down and built a map for a continent, and jotted down the names of the major cities. An updated version of that map is here, and the place names are still the same. I've been writing in the setting we created that day for about eight years now, give or take a few months.
Did you know straight away that it was what you wanted to do?
Not really. Writing was a very on and off process for me at first, and it still is to a great extent. I'm well aware it's never going to be my primary career, but I do love to spin a good tale, and I'm trying to average one published novel (and one smaller work) every year.
What inspired you to write your first book?
Being told I should give it a try. The setting arrived over the next couple weeks, and by the end of the first month I more or less had the idea for the story in place, or at least the opening chapter. The beginning of Tarranau has changed very little in plot from when it
was first conceived, although I didn't yet know where the rest of the story was going to end up.
Do you have a specific approach to you writing? (plotting, scheduled writing times etc)
I plot out every story before I write them (well, every story longer than about 5k), and I generally try and write in the mornings before I go to work, but aside from that, there isn't a lot of structure in how I write. Everything is in order though, I always start at page
1, scene 1, and write from there to the end of the story.
How did you come up with the title / name of your main character?
I borrowed the name of Tarranau from an online gaming colleague of mine during the high school days. He was an Englishman who had the username Tarranau, and when I asked him what it meant, he told me it was Welsh for thunder. I liked it so much that years later I remembered the name, and the main character has had it from the first day he hit paper.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
If there is, it's not there intentionally. I don't want to bring conscious moralizing to a story, I want to tell a good story. If there's a message in there, it evolves out from how the tale is
written, and the actions of the characters. And each of them has their own outlook on the world that usually isn't the one that I have. My stories would be pretty boring if all of the characters were carbon copies of me.
What made you choose the independent route for your writing?
Time and royalty rates, mostly. And control. As an indie author, I control the art, the publishing, when it goes on sale, marketing, etc. It's nice to have control over all these aspects of the novels, but it also means a lot more work in some respects. And the money is
more visible in coming out of (and hopefully going back into) my pocket.
If you had to choose, which writer(s) or what book(s) has inspired you the most?
The first true fantasy story I can ever remember reading was Lord of the Rings, in 3rd grade. It's almost certainly the tale that kickstarted my love of reading and writing fantasy. But in terms of time spent reading, it's probably the Wheel of Time. I can still remember the bookstore where I got the very first book in the series when it was published. At the time, there were little free teaser novels they gave away that had the first couple chapters in them. I grabbed one, read it, and went right back for the huge tome that was the first book. I've read every one since, for the last twenty years.
What are you currently reading?
I'm most of the way through Glen Cook's Black Company series. I finished up book
8 (She is the Darkness) last night, and I'll probably start Water Sleeps tonight. It's an interesting series, and its influence on the Malazan Book of the Fallen is very clear.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Well, I could hardly call Glen Cook new, since he's been writing longer than I've been alive, but I had the opportunity to snag the first four anthologies of the Black Company all at once, and I've barely put them down since I've got them.
As for new authors, Chris Evans' Iron Elves series really captured my imagination. I won't spoil much of the story, but there's a scene where an evil object is turned into a nicely carved sideboard with a lace doily cover. I was so creased with laughter I had to stop reading. The story is that good.
You reference three different novels on your website, but with a series called the Four Part Land, can readers expect another novel?
There are six novels and one anthology plotted for The Four Part Land. I know, it doesn't fit in with the whole Four ethos, but it wasn't planned that way. The story is currently unfolding as two different trilogies. Tarranau is book #1 of the Tarranau trilogy, while Chloddio (the next book to appear) will be book #1 in that trilogy. I'll be alternating
the publishing of each series, so overall Tarranau's series will be books #1, #3, and #5, while Chloddio will be books #2, #4, and #6. They run concurrently in the setting's time, and there is a fair amount of overlap. For instance, Tarranau takes Chloddio's job when he gets fired, for various reasons.
Finally, the last book is Unfolding a New Continent, and is the anthology collection of all the short stories and novellas that I've written about The Four Part Land. Longer tales from this will be published individually in ebook formats, as well as the final print collection.
What can your readers expect from you once the Land series of complete?
Well, there's a few things going on and planned, but I already have plots for 4 short novels in the Arhosa setting (a grim fantasy setting), Our Land (a gunpowder fantasy novel), a SF setting as well, and whatever else catches my fancy between now and then. There's a lot
I've got in mind, and it's a matter of which gets written.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
With Tarranau? I'd tweak some of the opening chapters, add in one or two aspects of the world that are slightly hidden. I've also always had a hard time displaying the religion of Bedwar Barthu Dirio in the books, although it's there. Some of the short stories cover it better, especially A Desert of Fire and Glass.
I am currently approaching the midpoint of Tarranau, how long do your readers have to wait for Chloddio to come out?
My guess would be until the mid-point of next year. I need to rewrite part of the ending section of Chloddio, and I'm also trying to finish up the first draft of Laeccan Waters, which is the 2nd book in the Tarranau series. I should be able to get both of them released next year though.
There's also Breaking an Empire on the way, a novella set in the past that covers much of the history and bloody conflict that lead to this current turmoil within Bedwar Barthu Dirio.
What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of writing?
Staying committed. The words come fairly easily if I take the time to sit down and hammer away at the keys, but keeping myself at the keyboard and writing has always been the hardest part. I either come up with a new idea, or get distracted, or burn out on the current story.
The creation of Deepwood Publishing has done very little to help, but it has slowed down the process of burning out by giving me many more things to work on in small doses.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their
work?
Currently, I'd probably say Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Glen Cook and Steven Erikson. With all of them it's the scope and the layers of mythology and history that exist behind the stories, even in single novels. There's always this sense that a world exists,
and that there's always more of it over the next horizon.
The Tarranau cover is great, who designed it for you?
It was done by Aidana Willowraven, who did both the artwork and the cover design.
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
That I need to plot more when writing. Or, at least, that I write more skillfully when I plot the story out beforehand. And that if you give me a setting, I will create plots till the cows come home. It's almost more fun than actually doing the writing itself, since each plot is
a story in miniature.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Write every day. It makes the writing smoother, easier, and more connected between
sections. Letting the writing lead where it must is also important. I have never plotted the death of a main character. But sometimes they die, and that is how the story should be.
Also, I try and provide some writing tips on my blog here. They're usually focused around various aspects of creating a fantasy setting, and what I do that might help others.
Do you have anything that you want to say to your readers?
A story isn't a complete story until it's been through the hands of the writer and the reader. I've put a strong framework into place, but until the reader's mind fills in all the little details and scenes and fleshes the world out, it doesn't truly come alive.
That's why readers are so much fun as an author – they bring the world alive again for us
as well. After eight years poking around the inside of The Four Part Land, I can see every mound of terrain and the daily lives of the people so well it's like wandering around my local town – it's all so normal I don't notice the extraordinary. Questions and comments from those who see the world for the first time bring back the magic for me.
Thank you for the support and the kindness you've shown over the years.
James Tallett is the author of a series of fantasy novels set in The Four Part Land. The first of these,Tarranau, will be published by Deepwood Publishing in Summer 2011.
James is the founder of Deepwood Publishing, a small fantasy and science fiction imprint, focused around anthologies and short stories. Currently he's working on three projects
there with fifteen authors and counting.
He also created the Splintered Lands anthology project, a shared world fantasy anthology. Quickly recruiting five different writers, over the course of several months James guided the birth of the Splintered Lands, a land full of kingdoms born anew, struggling to pull themselves out of a magical and natural apocalypse.
During the days that James isn't working on his writing, he's putting the polishing touches on his MBA (specializing in entrepreneurship). He's hoping to put it to good use in business soon enough (once he gets the ever elusive job of his dreams).
James loves skiing and the outdoors, and if you can't find him on the weekends, it's because he's skiing. And Fridays. And Mondays. And any other day he can squeeze it in.
Outside of being addicted to going down snow at highway speeds, James combines his passion for hiking and travel with his writing by putting places he adores into his novels.
If you're looking to stalk James on the web, you can try Twitter, Facebook, his other Facebook, Goodreads, or email him at jamestallett@thefourpartland.com
