Author Interview with Paul Lavender
Welcome to my first author interview of the year! Let us make this a great 2018 for us all. If you would like one, get in touch! Simple as that.
Today’s interview is the one and only Paul Lavender, a fellow Geordie, and author of The Eighth God. We took the time to chat last week. Here is his replies.
First of all, tell me about yourself! What do you write?
I’m a fifty year old self-exiled Geordie who lives in Worcester, UK. I am married and have a little boy of eight who has Asperger’s Syndrome and sensory processing disorder. I support Gateshead F.C football club and indie authors.
I am a stay at home dad, but before that I was a manager at a logistics company that delivered vehicles all over the UK.
How do you develop your plots and characters?
I tend to see where my writing takes me rather than plot anything. The characters in my books are a mix of old roleplaying game characters and new characters (some of which I know in real life and have had features / traits mixed with other people I know).
Tell us about your current project.
I am currently writing the sequel to Tales from Ashen Falls which is Return to Ashen Falls (More and longer stories).
Who would you say is the main character of your novels? And tell me a little bit about them!
The Eighth God is written from several viewpoints but if I had to pick one, I would say Saethryth is the main catalyst. He is one of two Orcslayers, who are a group of seven powerful warriors that the elves believe protect them from the orcs that live over the mountains. He has just returned from fighting the orcs single handedly and is looking to rest and recharge. As the book is titled The Eighth God we learn things aren’t always as they seem in relation to the Orcslayers and more revelations take place in The Sect of Seven.
I’ve also found that different readers have taken a liking to different characters in The Eighth God as well.
What advice would you give new writers on how to delve into creative fiction?
Read, read and read some more. Then join groups on Facebook. There are a lot of nice, friendly folk who will offer great advice if you ask.
What real-life inspirations did you draw from for the worldbuilding within your book?
There isn’t a lot of worldbuilding in The Eighth God as it only has about seven locations in it. It’s supposed to read like a 1980’s movie, with fast paced action and one of those really naff horror movie endings. The other thing I wanted to do was expand on the world as our heroes went through it. So in The Sect of Seven we will see more locations as the main character is more travelled.
When I was younger I did a lot of hill / fell walking around the borders and the lake district so I do tend to try for that vibe. In Return to Ashen Falls I bring in the concept of the bastle, which is a fortified barn that was popular in the border region.
What inspires you to write?
The voices in my head told me to do it!
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
My son. He was going to a mainstream school and he couldn’t take all the noise. This would make him run and within half an hour I would get a phone call to collect him. He is now in a school which only has eight pupils in but only goes for five hours a day.
I also think that as I’m at home I should do all the ironing, hoovering, polishing, cooking etc., so they get done first before any writing gets done.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
The second short story from Tales from Ashen Falls is called The Dove’s Head Inn and stars two bouncers called Pock & Cock, who are a lot more than they seem. It reads a like a Terry Pratchett story but with a Viz (British comic for adults) twist.
Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it?
I need to get an editor! You have to bear in mind it’s been a long time since I went to school and the brain is getting a little rusty.
It’s sometimes difficult to get into understanding the characters we write. How do you go about it?
I understand most of the main characters pretty well because a roleplayed a lot of them for years, but I have little character index cards that I can refer to if I need to.
What are your future project(s)?
I have The Sect of Seven which is the follow up to The Eight God, Helekose (which will finish the trilogy), Last Orders at The Dove’s Head Inn (which will finish THAT trilogy), and Lastly I have a tentatively titled Assassin (which is set in a magical 19th century).
If you couldn’t be an author, what ideal job would you like to do?
Games designer. I try and dabble with this every now and again.
What is your preferred method to have readers get in touch with or follow you (i.e., website, personal blog, Facebook page, here on Goodreads, etc.) and link(s)?
My website is https://pslavender.wixsite.com/the-orcslayers where you can find my Facebook and Twitter details!
A pleasure to have you here Paul! He is quite the awesome character, check out his stuff!
