Tell us a little about yourself and what you like to write.
I have a day job as a graphic designer and try to fit the writing in when and where I can. At the moment that means early morning stints before work, plus as many other sessions as I can squeeze in. I guess my comfort zone is novels, but every time I force myself to write short fiction I’m always surprised by how much I love it. I’m generally labelled as a fantasy author (although I’ve written crime novels too) but I’ve never had much truck with labels. I just write what I write, you know?
What was the idea behind “A Night to Forget”?
The story’s about Old Father Time. Most people see him as this old geezer with a scythe who bumbles around at the end of the year looking lost. I just got to wondering who he really is. At the same time, I was thinking about how sometimes people put their lives on hold – maybe following a traumatic event, maybe just because they’re waiting for some change to come. Sometimes we just want to stop the clock. Those two things came together in my head, and this story was the result.
How urban do you like your fantasy and who are your must-read authors?
I don’t necessarily think of my taste as ‘urban’, but I do prefer my fantasy to be grounded in reality. I like to have one foot in the real world and the other in, well, another. The books on my shelves that look the scruffiest – and which are therefore the most loved – are those written by Robert Holdstock, John Crowley and Stephen King.
You’ve worked as a multimedia producer for theme parks and visitor centres – what was involved in that and have your experiences there contributed to your fiction?
Some theme park rides use video content as an integral part of the ride experience. I’ve written storylines and scripts for such rides, and sometimes directed and created the content too, mostly using CG animation. The same with sit-down shows for heritage attractions, or simulators in science centres. Most recently, I wrote the script for the horror ride Nemesis Sub-Terra at the UK’s Alton Towers. My love of speculative fiction has certainly fed into that work, but I’m not sure the reverse is true. Yet.
What are you up to next?
My new novel Talus and the Frozen King will be published by Solaris Books in March 2014. It’s a Neolithic murder mystery and I suppose it’s my attempt to push the boundaries of historic crime fiction as far back into the past as they’ll go. Right now I’m hard at work on a sequel. Also, as a card-carrying VFX gee, I’m thrilled to be writing a long article for visual effects journal Cinefex, taking a behind-the scenes look at Ron Howard’s new film Rush.
[Graham Edwards is the
author of two fantasy trilogies – Dragoncharm and Stone & Sky
– as well as a number of novels published under various pseudonyms. His short
fiction has appeared in Realms of Fantasy, while The String City
Mysteries, a series of fantasy detective novelettes, is available as a
range of ebooks. Graham’s new novel, Talus and the Frozen King, will be
published by Solaris Books in 2014. Graham blogs regularly about his writing. Also on
his blog, he’s published an acclaimed series of articles reviewing the first
forty issues of visual effects journal Cinefex. Visit him at graham-edwards.com ]
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