The
Black River Chronicles: Level One
David
Tallerman is the author of the YA fantasy series The Black River Chronicles, which began in late 2016 with Level One, the Tales of Easie Damasco series, and the Tor.com novella Patchwerk. His comics work includes the absurdist
steampunk graphic novel Endangered
Weapon B: Mechanimal Science and
the Rosarium miniseries C21st Gods. David's short stories have appeared in around
eighty markets, and a number of his best dark fantasy and horror stories were
included in his debut collection The
Sign in the Moonlight and Other Stories.
He can be found online at davidtallerman.co.uk.
1. What really
inspired you to write your book, to force you from taking an idea or experience
and conveying it into a book?
This
was an unusual case, in that the initial concept came from my co-author and
editor Michael Wills, who had an idea that he was enthusiastic about but hadn't
quite figured out how to develop; Michael approached me because we'd worked
together a few times and because I had some experience writing the kind of
story he had in mind. But it wasn't long
- maybe twenty-four hours - before I was just as excited as he was. It was such a fun notion; how could I say
no? And by then I already had a strong
sense of the characters, which thereafter were my main inspiration; I fell in
love with them immediately.
2. What is it
about and whom do you believe is your targeted reader?
The
concept Michael approached me with was, how do the classic fantasy characters -
the rangers, wizards, rogues and fighters - learn to be those things? Could it be that there's a school somewhere
that takes young would-be heroes from well-meaning incompetence to the point
where they can explore dungeons and challenge dragons and stand a hope of
walking away afterwards? So The Black River Chronicles: Level One
follows new student Durren Flintrand as he discovers to his horror that, if
he's to progress beyond his first level, he's going to have to learn to work
with a party of other students: a wizard who's afraid of using magic, a rogue
who can't tolerate others and a fighter who's so dumb that he refers to himself
by his own first name. As for target audiences, Level One is nominally Young Adult fantasy, but so many adults seem
to be enjoying it that I don't think that's a bar to entry. So anyone with a fondness for fantasy, I'd
say, and if they're young enough to put themselves in our heroes' shoes or old
enough to get some of the more obscure Dungeons and Dragons jokes then all the
better!
3. What do you
hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book? What
should remain with them long after putting it down?
I
hope that the characters are what will stay with the reader after they've
finished; all of our core cast are straightforward on the surface, but all of
them have a lot more going on that's revealed over the course of the book. They each have their secrets, their quirks
and their strengths and weaknesses.
Certainly the response we've had so far has been that our four
protagonists and their interactions are what readers are eager to see more of.
4. What advice or
words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers?
Writing
is a trade, and takes as long to learn as any other. But it's also something that just about
anyone can do badly, which makes it that bit harder to stand out. So, above all, aim to produce great work,
whatever great works means for you.
Learn the industry. Read as much
as you can - both fiction and non-fiction, and not just in your genre(s) of
choice. Study grammar. Understand language. Know the tools at your disposal. Fight for your work, even when no-one else
will; but do so respectfully, because once you earn a bad name you're probably
stuck with it. Be patient; understand
that to write well and to sell work are tough goals and won't happen
overnight. And always try to hang onto
the reasons why you love what you do, because that love is one of the things
that will make your writing shine.
5. What trends in
the book world do you see and where do you think the book publishing industry
is heading?
I
try not to predict too much; I've seen too many predictions proved badly wrong,
and it's easy to hone in on the worst trends and to miss the positives. I think that, as a writer, your role is to
produce the best books you can and get them into the hands of as many people as
possible, and the ideal ways to do that can vary even year by year. The trick is to understand that what works
for one project might not be right for another.
6. What great
challenges did you have in writing your book?
This
one? Not so many. Co-authoring was a new challenge, but Michael
was (and is) a dream to work with, so that went more smoothly than I could have
hoped for. Writing a novel is never
going to be easy, but Level One went
more smoothly than any of my others; with the characters and the concept in
place so early, the style and story grew from those foundations.
7. If people can
only buy one book this month, why should it be yours?
Tough
question! All I can say is that I can't
imagine anybody with a fondness for fantasy fiction not having a good time with
Level One; it's fast and fun and
grounded in a real affection for the classics.
I don't know that there are many books out there that manage to tell an
original story with complex characters while still poking fun in the way that
we do. In essence, The Black River Chronicles: Level One is a comic fantasy novel
written by two people with a deep and abiding love for the genre, with all its
quirks and clichés and excesses, and there aren't as
many of those around as there should be.
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Brian
Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and
not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email
him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in
the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and
raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book
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