Eye on Ashenclaw

Peter Guy Blacklock Interview

2018-05-03T15:13:00.007-04:00

First off, tell us a little bit about you

I was born and raised in an unremarkable town in the north-east of England by a remarkably supportive and well adjusted working-class family. After 14 years of ineffective education I found himself in Art College, which led to twenty years employment as an Archaeological Illustrator in which I produced a wide variety of technical illustrations for publication as well as more general illustration, design and copy work on educational and display materials intended for schools and the general public. Eventually the hunt for a half decent salary within that occupation led me to the Museum of London and a move to the capitol where I still live today in happily married bliss. I am passionate about genre fiction, film and games, have a fervent interest in history, mythology and folklore and am fascinated by the deeper meanings behind ritual practice, ceremonial magic and occult lore. I am a keen Ripperologist, a devout Lovecraftian and a determined new writer of dark-genre fiction and non-fiction books. A good deal of my spare time is spent online where, under my user-name of choice ‘Harbinger451’, I am creating a website and writing a blog that explore the alternative worlds that encompass my passions. I have one published novel and am currently writing the second.

Tell us about your books/What genre do you consider your books?

I have one published book so far – Rose Blood: The Phantasmagoriad Book One, the first in a proposed Gothic Horror, Dark Fantasy trilogy. I write dark speculative fiction that covers the gamut of horror, fantasy, sci-fi, occult, noir and weird ... usually with a twist of humour (that’s not always black) and a frisson of sex (that’s not always erotic), for such is life.

When did you start writing?

I wrote the first draft of my debut novel a long, long time ago after leaving Art College, then shelved it as life and work took over. A little over a year and a half ago I decided to look at that first draft again, edited it, rewrote parts and added a whole lot more - then figured I would publish. I started approaching agents with that end in view but soon became disenchanted with the whole process and self-published instead, and boy is it a steep learning curve – writing it was the easy part.

Why do you write?

I write because I’m so full of ideas that it is often the only way to get them out.

What would be your choice for a superpower?

Speed-writing.

Who is your favorite author?

Raymond Chandler.

What are you reading now?

I’m reading ‘Mabon and the Mysteries of Britain’ by Caitlin Mathews and ‘Chronicles of the Black Company’ by Glen Cook.

Who is your favorite character to write?

Arkturon, a wizard and agent of the state in my Phantasmagoriad trilogy. Wizards are a blast and writing them is equally so.

Do you have a writing process?

I try to write something every day whether it’s just a few words, lines or, if I’m lucky, pages. Failing that, I at least try to read through something I have already written and edit it.

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?

Keep reading and writing, listen and learn from the world around you... and always take notes. Get your work out there in as many places as possible. Talk about your work on social media, write a blog - get yourself out there online and keep writing, writing and more writing, hone your skills and be sure to learn from your mistakes.

What inspired you to pursue writing?

I’m driven to writing by a desperate and vain-glorious need to be loved by a certain cultish clique and thought to be absolutely and dangerously notorious by everyone else.

What are your favorite TV shows/Movies to watch in between writing?At the moment I’m watching two TV series, Altered Carbon and Knightfal, interspersed with practically any classic horror movie you could mention.

What are your current projects?

I'm working on the second book in my debut trilogy, The Phantasmagoriad, it’s called Moon Shade and I'm hoping to release it at Halloween this year (fingers crossed). I also have an ongoing work of web-fiction, Gaea Parallaxis: the chronicles and testaments of Citizen No Name Kane - a FREE tech-noir, Gothic, sci-fi, fantasy-horror-comedy which is up to chapter five at the moment, working on the sixth. AND - working on a third short story that will complete my publishing house's second volume of their Dollar Dreadful ebook series.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to readers?

I’d like to warn all my potential readers that my work will invariably contain extreme themes and situations of a profane, violent, horrific and sexual nature. Expect adult language and situations as well as overt violence and gore!

Quick Fire:Cats or dogs? - Cats definitely ... though I don’t mind dogs.
Coffee or tea? - Both
Favorite food? - Fish ‘n’ Chips with Curry Sauce.
Vanilla or chocolate ice-cream? - Neither, don’t really do ice cream, rather have cake ... mmm, cake.
What are 3 things you never leave home without? - Keys, wallet, mobile.
Laptop or desktop? - Laptop
Who are 3 famous people you would like to hang out with? Lemmy, Johnny Cash and Hendrix.
TV or Movies? - Movies, TV shows usually get boring after 6-10 episodes ... and that’s the good ones.

Visit me on my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE to borrow any of my books for FREE!

Best-selling author of Wake the Dead! On Amazon Kindle here!

All Artwork and covers of my works by William J. Kenney & Carlos Cara

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2014 unless otherwise noted.

G.L. Cromarty Interview

2018-04-10T20:19:00.002-04:00

First off, tell us a little bit about you~

I grew up in the UK and move to Perth, Western Australia eleven years ago, where I now live with my husband and my two oddball cats. I love exploring historical sites from all cultures, but I’m English so I definitely have a soft spot for old ruinous castles.

Tell us about your books/What genre do you consider your books?

My books are sci-fi with a touch of fantasy. I love reading both so it’s not surprising that my books crosses over between the two.

When did you start writing?

I never wrote as a child, but I read lots…it was pretty much all I wanted to do. Once I finished university and I had free time I started writing. I don’t think I have gone more than a few weeks without jotting down something since. I only dabbled in it for many years, mostly playing about with ideas and scenes that I never finished. Five years ago I moved into my current home, and on New Years Eve I set myself a goal to finish a story and publish a book.
It took my four years to get the book out there! But there is a world of ‘stuff’ going on between a draft and a finished book that I knew nothing about when I started.

Why do you write?

Like most writers, I love it, pure and simple. I think I started reading as an escape from reality, and writing is a continuation of that. That doesn’t mean I dislike my life, I love it! Just that there is power in controlling a world you create yourself. In a book you get to play god with your imaginary characters. It’s an amazing feeling when you’re writing, and all the little threads come together and somehow out of nothing a whole story unfolds. We all desire to create something, for me, I like creating imaginary worlds.

What would be your choice for a superpower?

To not need to sleep.

Who is your favorite author?

I would have to pick Tolkein, simply because I first fell in love with fantasy books after reading the Hobbit when I was about 13 years old. That book guided a good decade of reading habits.

What are you reading now?

I’ve just finished Feral by PJ Post, and I’m moving on to book two. Post-apocalyptic and not for the faint hearted! Loved book one and can’t wait for book two.

Who is your favorite character to write?

I feel bad parent saying I have a favorite…but well...It would have to be John Tanis from my Divided World trilogy. There’s a lot of fun to be had in writing an antihero. They just do things their own way. He has been exiled from his home world and ends up fighting for their enemy. He’s fiercely protective of his new people and will stop an nothing to keep them safe. And torn, because there are people he still loves in his former home. He has a code, but it’s not what you would consider normal. And violent…definitely violent.
A close second would be Nate, who is a bio-engineered man with cybernetic implants that allow him to infiltrate system. He comes with a few quirks and adds a little humor.

Do you have a writing process?

I’ve become more disciplined over time. My first book turned into a trilogy, so I need to put a container around the idea or it never has an end!
· I start out with an idea.
· Brainstorm some key points, including the rough beginning and end.
· I usually get the beginning and end done fairly soon and then slot everything in between. It’s not a linear process and I jump around as new ideas emerge. Even though I plan a beginning and end I’m not worried if they change. I just need something to contain it before I start otherwise it just goes on…
· I have a comprehensive self-editing routine.
· And a wonderful bunch of beta readers (several are authors). I love people who poke holes in the story and challenge it.
· It takes me a long time from start to end, and there are many, many iterations before I even start thinking about fun stuff like covers!

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?

Be prepared for the long haul.
You’re never going to be rich, don’t expect it.
Get a blog, twitter account and Facebook page set up early, but don’t be a slave to it…little and often.
Enjoy every stage.
Get feedback early, preferably from someone who does not know you personally and is prepared to give you good constructive feedback.
I am not a person awash with writerly confidence, and if you are anything like me, sharing your inner world is hard. I could have so easily spent the rest of my life writing bits and pieces and never shared with a soul. I am forever glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone. Someone telling you they loved your story is the most amazing feeling. Yes, not everyone will love your book, some people might even hate it, but that’s okay. Those who love it will make it all worthwhile, don’t deny yourself a chance to experience that.
JUST DO IT.

What inspired you to pursue writing?

Toughie. I think I just have an active imagination, and writing my stories down naturally followed on. At the heart of it, a desire to share.

What are your favorite TV shows/Movies to watch in between writing?

I don’t watch a lot of TV, but when I do I tend to binge watch a whole show. Probably more TV than movies although I tend to go and see any big Sci-fi movies that come out.
Altered Carbon is my current favourite! But I also love GoT, 12 Monkeys, Daredevil, Westworld, and the Expanse series.

What are your current projects?

I just finished the trilogy with the final book released on the 10th April.
And drafted book one of a new six book series set in the same universe. All new characters so it has been a lot of fun getting to know that. The premise is a war torn universe. One side is about to lose, and they know it. They send a series of colony ships to a distant planet identified as habitable. But when they arrive they find their barren planet has already been terraformed with a city under construction….the mysterious creators are not home.

Quick Fire:

Cats or dogs? Cats
Coffee or tea? Coffee
Favorite food? cherries
Vanilla or chocolate ice-cream? Vanilla
What are 3 things you never leave home without? Sunglasses, my phone, kindle
Laptop or desktop? laptop
Who are 3 famous people you would to hang out with? Can I stay at home with a good book?
TV or Movies? TV

Visit me on my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE to borrow any of my books for FREE!

Best-selling author of Wake the Dead! On Amazon Kindle here!

All Artwork and covers of my works by William J. Kenney & Carlos Cara

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2014 unless otherwise noted.

Hope For The Walking Dead?

2017-12-30T18:11:00.003-05:00

As anyone who visits here periodically knows, I am a huge Walking Dead fan. Wake the Dead was inspired by it, and that book poured out of me in 3 months, I have honestly never been more inspired by any source material in the past before except for the R.A. Salvatore Drizz't series. Long story short, I do love the series despite the latest happenings that has left many fans less than satisfied...

***SPOILERS AHEAD, DUH!***

I don't mind when the TV show strays from the comic book source material that much, and kind of applaud Scott Gimple for at least having the fortitude to attempt doing so, no doubt wanting to leave his own mark on the TV series. Clearly the show has lost viewers, and it can be narrowed down to season 7 and beyond. But, is the ratings dive solely resting on Gimple's shoulders...or are we simply just numb to the show in and of itself? I feel strongly that it is the latter.

I am of the belief that the Negan War is partially the reason that the ratings for The Walking Dead are so abysmal. I know for a fact that after fan favorites died in episode 7.1 was not received well, or the fact that Negan, a sociopath in the eyes of 'Joe Public', was 'winning'. I tried seeing this personally, putting myself in the perspective of 'what if i had been watching Negan from day 1' camp, and kind of equated a lot of the same things that Rick's group did (perhaps not so joyfully). It is more than interesting to me to flip that switch, and as someone who writes, put myself in that perspective--quite an exercise in unbiased viewpoint. Is Negan a narcissist? Clearly. A Sadist? Indeed. A charismatic figure? hell, yes. But, i digress as I feel the Negan story-line has absolutely nothing to do with the decline in quality story-telling and feel that the show can come back from where it is now

I cant help but liken it to the Game of Thrones series in that it is very dark in nature, heroes die, evil seems to gain the upper hand more often that not, but the biggest contrast is perhaps that the horrors in Game of Thrones have a clear resolution coming, whereas the Walking Dead does not have an end point defined.

The looming death of Carl Grimes has had a tremendously negative effect on the audience, some going so far as to create online petitions to get Gimple to resign. Other seemingly needless deaths and happening s have been unpopular with the TV fan base, such as the Negan kill scene between season 6 and 7, as well as the 'Glenn under the dumpster thing', etc., and i feel that the fact that the show makes the misery linger over season or mid-season finales mistaking this cliffhanger for 'buzz', but what it really does instead, is it prolongs the suffering perhaps too much. The 'Red Wedding', Ned's death and Bran being pushed out a window in of Game of Thrones, all set so early on in the series seemed to have a shock factor so great that fans didn't have much time to stew about them, followed source material almost explicit, AND there is a conclusion that is coming that seems will satisfy its fan base. Conversely, the Walking Dead deaths seem trivial and less impactful, (Glenn, Tyreese, Sasha, to name a few) as they only exist so as to spur changes in another character's decision making process in order to drive the story in an alternate direction, or more realistically, resolve contract negotiations with AMC.

All that said, The Walking Dead is still one of the best shows to ever hit the airwaves, will remain so, and I am hopeful that it will right the ship sooner rather than later.

What are your thoughts? Sound off in the comments below.

Visit me on my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE to borrow any of my books for FREE!

Best-selling author of Wake the Dead! On Amazon Kindle here!

All Artwork and covers of my works by William J. Kenney & Carlos Cara

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2014 unless otherwise noted.