Indie fantasy authors to watch: DAVID DALGLISH
David Dalglish is a self-published fantasy author living in southwest Missouri. He is best known for his assassin-filled Shadowdance Trilogy, which has sold over 50,000 copies.
Fantasy Book Critic said they "heartily recommend the entire Shadowdance trilogy to all lovers of dark, action packed fantasy stories".
He was remarkably friendly, considering I was approaching him from a shady back alley of the internet. I wasted no time, hooded my wink, swept back my cloak and produced an unsigned digital copy of my blog. I asked him some pointed questions, expecting some barbed answers.
ON THE PAST
Mathematics to fantasy: was that a calculated move?
(I see what you did there). And technically I had a minor in English, so this wasn't as completely out of left field as it sounds. But yeah, I thought Math would give a job to fall back on, and the lit classes would just help me in the dream of being a writer. Things kinda didn't go as planned…
What drew you to writing about half-orcs?
I spent forever telling my wife these stories, the whole overall plotline, always in sort of a "when I write it, this'll happen…" way. Finally she said either write the stories, or never tell her them again. I couldn't live without these characters, so I set about to writing, like I always knew I should.
ON WRITING
They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but wouldn't you make more as an assassin?
I'd be a terrible assassin. I can't get to the fridge and back without waking my wife, let alone stabbing a guy in a tall tower without him noticing me laboring up the side.
It looks like you released six books of roughly 350 pages each in 2010, and four in 2011? Did you work on those for years before or are you an incredibly fast writer?
I had three of the Half-Orc books finished when I first started, so that helped a ton in 2010. As for this year, it's actually just five novels, and technically Sliver of Redemption came out in January, with the bulk written the previous year. So that's sorta cheating to count that one. But for six days a week I go to the library and write. Nothing magical about it, and I'm hardly the most prolific writer out there. Since I have no one holding me back to any sort of publishing schedule, it's just full steam ahead to get my stories to my readers.
How do you maintain that sort of speed?
Caffeine, and the terror that tomorrow, this magic carpet ride will come to a crashing halt, and I need to get just one more book out to readers.
ON FANTASY
Lord of the Rings had dragons. Inheritance has dragons. Skyrim has dragons. Do you have dragons?
I have no dragons native to my world, but I do have a single dragon in Sliver of Redemption. I threw him in there at the request of a hardcore fan. He's made of bone and shadow, and was terrific fun to kill. I might have to sneak in more.
How do you stop your magic from blowing up your world?
Hahahhaahhaha.
I do blow up my world. Nothing stops it.
ON PUBLISHING
Blogging, tweeting, facebook, forums = time not writing. Is anything effective for an indie author?
Well, it helps that I do this full time. But the hours at the library I write are sacred. Everything else is just bonus. And truth be told, I don't blog often, update my website only when I have a new book, and don't have a twitter account. I think some magic is involved with my success.
ON THE FUTURE
What's next for David Dalglish?
About to release the third paladin book in December, and then onto a new Trilogy. Returning to apparently everyone's favorite character, Haern the Watcher, and his friend, Zusa.
Thanks for taking the time to share a little of your success story, David. I look forward to watching an extended reign for you on the Kindle Fantasy Bestseller lists!
Support an indie fantasy author by checking out David Dalglish's website or dive into one of his titles below:
