I haven't had the chance (or the time!) to do an author interview for a while now, but today it's great to welcome Liam Taylor, author of The Shard Chronicles. First, can I ask what your book is about?
It’s
about the life of Austin Cooper, a boy growing up in present-day Colorado.
Loved and respected by his family and friends, he’s keeping a terrible,
disheartening secret from them all. He’s not like everyone else. He has a
unique ability that ensures his role as future protector of a powerful object, an
object in the ownership of a man, the only other human like him. An object
with a true origin lost over the span of time. An object that wants him dead.
After a
troubling incident involving Austin, the man departs, searching for answers,
and leaving the boy to deal with a new set of problems. He’s
displaying more abilities... impossible without possession of the object... and
the worst one yet, the school bully, intent on destroying the one person
capable of stopping his vicious deeds.
It is listed as
being Book 1, so can we expect more books in the series?
Oh,
yes! It’s a big story, so I envision there to be at least five, possibly six.
In fact, right now, amid the remarkable, fascinating, and often time-consuming experience
that is marketing, I am currently finishing Book Two and prepping for the
polish. So for the readers who are enjoying the series thus far, stay tuned,
because things are about to get very intense in Crescent Lake!
Where does the inspiration for
your stories and characters come from?
Good
question! It’s one I’ve asked myself on many an occasion, and I’ll attempt an
explanation in the following way. Personally, stories just seem to pop into my
head from nowhere (mostly when I’m in a situation where I can’t immediately
write them down. I’ll refer to that as Sod’s Law!) Of course, the inspiration
must come from somewhere, whether it be something read, seen, or heard, et
cetera, and I put it down to the subconscious mind dredging that thought seed
from its depths and implanting it within the conscious. The idea can appear at
any time, possibly launched by the very thing that started it in the first
place. An observation, an article, a feeling, smell, sensation, anything that
eventually triggers it. However, in the case of The Shard Chronicles,
inspiration most definitely came from my personal point of view that we are not
alone in the universe. It’s indisputable, I think. And for those who consider
our species the only intelligent life on a planet, well, that’s pretty absurd,
even arrogant. As for the characters who make the story, that’s an easy one. I
mentioned observation before, and that’s how I source my characters, creating
them from all the quirks and personalities that are the wonderful people I’ve
met and/or observed.
Why did you choose the genre you
did to write in?
Since a
very early age, I have had a deep fascination with space. In fact, when I got
the inevitable question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” my answer
was always “An astronaut.” I’m sure that must have brought on fits of merriment
when I wasn’t around. New Zealand’s space program in the early to mid-1970s
wasn’t quite what it is today! From there, the cosmological attraction expanded
to include everything... the certainty of alien life, planets, stars, galaxies,
asteroids, interstellar travel, and so on.
What are you
reading at the moment?
Actually,
at the moment, I’m not. Although, after the publication of Book One, I did
manage to get through Richard Matheson’s, ‘7 Steps to Midnight’. Right now,
I’ve got my hands full with Book Two, but once I have the time, I think I’ll be
perusing ‘Servant of the Bones’, by Anne Rice, a book I’ve been meaning to read
for quite a while now.
Who is your all-time, favourite
author?
Now that
is an extremely hard question to answer! There are many, many authors I admire,
through a number of genres. I’ve enjoyed horror by the King himself, Stephen, Dean
Koontz, Lovecraft; fantasy by the master, JRR Tolkien, David Eddings, Tracy
Hickman, Margaret Weis, and Raymond E. Feist; humor by Doug Naylor and Rob
Grant, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams; and the literary lords of science
fiction, Jules Verne, Herbert George ‘H.G.’ Wells, Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke
to name but a few. Even though I’m writing science fiction, I have never
limited my reading to one particular genre. However, a reply I must give! So,
my all-time, favorite author would have to be Jim Grant, known worldwide by his
pen name, Lee Child. I absolutely adore his style and structure. He takes
everything I’ve ever learnt about writing, throws it straight out the window (the
sort of thing his protagonist, Jack Reacher, would do to the bad guy) and yet
carves out a brilliantly entertaining read with a simplistic, stunning, and stimulating
elegance. Fantastic!
What do you like
to do in your free time when you’re not reading and writing?
Any
large amounts of free time I can acquire are typically spent trying to keep an
acre of land under control. Summertime in Australia has the grass and weeds
growing at an unbelievable rate. I’ll finish the lawn, put the mower away, turn
around and the whole lot has already grown by at least a foot! If I’m not doing
that, then I’m spending time with my children, or catching up on a few, select
TV programs, usually documentaries on anything to do with the cosmos. And TheWalking Dead. Of course. That show has it all. Love it!
Where can
readers buy your book?
Where can
readers find out more about you?
There’s
a concise author biography on The Shard Chronicles website:
I can also be contacted
directly through my email address:
liamtaylor@theshard-chronicles.com
And
if the readers don’t mind being sent bat-crap crazy by my ludicrous prattle, then I can sometimes be found loitering on Facebook, Twitter, and more
recently, Google+
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liam.taylor.3367
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LMTaylorAuthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liam.taylor.3367
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LMTaylorAuthor
Coming soon to an electronic device near you - The Blog. Kind of like The Blob, but not as terrifying. It’s a place where I will compose riveting articles on everything from every to thing. Hope to see you there.
Thank you Liam! And thank you for taking the time to be here and tell us about your wonderful books.
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