Interview-Lee Duigon

Today I'm interviewing an actual, published author! Lee Duigon is the author of a series of Christian fantasy books. While I haven't read his books, I would love to; they sound very good :)

So, without further delay, the interview :)

How long have you been writing?

My friends and I were telling each other made-up monster stories by the time I was 10. I wrote my first novel (in composition notebooks) when I was 13 or 14. So let’s say 50 years, at least.

What was your first (written) story about?

Back in grade school, we were assigned to write stories in class. This would be second or third grade. The teacher would tell us what to write about and how to write it. The earliest one I can remember was “The Adventures of a Dime.” I rebelled against writing what the teacher wanted me to write, so in my store, a stray cat swallowed George the Dime; and he would’ve been stuck down there, only he met a character named Mr. Vomit who was on his way out and offered George a lift. I got into a tremendous amount of trouble for that! But to my amazement, my mother sided with me. Not an elegant story, I admit: but at least it showed a little flash of creativity.

When did you start writing Christian fantasy? What inspired you to do so?

“Bell Mountain” was my first Christian fantasy. It came along as a response to one of the officers of the Chalcedon Foundation saying, “What we really need is novels.” That remark got back to me, and I wondered if I could write the kind of novel Chalcedon needed. I should add that my editor, Susan Burns, who knew about my earlier books, made sure that remark got back to me.

Do you remember how you first got the idea for Bell Mountain?

In “Bell Mountain,” the boy, Jack, dreams he can hear the mountain singing. Well, I had that dream first! And quickly on its heels followed the image of a bell standing on the summit of a mountain, in the snow. That was all I needed to start writing the story—a radical departure from my usual procedure of thoroughly doping out a novel before I began to write it.

Who are the main characters in Bell Mountain?

In the land of Obann—once a kingdom, once a powerful and wealthy empire, now a medieval oligarchy—live my two protagonists, Jack and Ellayne, a poor boy and a rich girl. These two children believe God has commanded them to climb Bell Mountain and ring the bell on the summit. Their quest is based on a powerful dream Jack had, and some scriptural teachings by an old man who never intended for Jack to take them literally.
    Obst is an elderly hermit in Lintum Forest, who believes God will end the world once the bell is rung. His first impulse is to stop the children, but he winds up being their guide and helper.
    Lord Reesh, the First Prester of the Temple, heads the institutional church in Obann. A thoroughgoing humanist with a gift for making the ends justify the means, Lord Reesh tries to ensure that the bell on Bell Mountain—if it really does exist—is not touched except on his orders. Reesh will take over as the dominant villain in the sequels.
    So Reesh sends his assassin and secret agent, Martis, to follow the children up Bell Mountain, find out whether there really is a bell up there, and stop Jack and Ellayne from ringing it, either by killing them or capturing them and bringing them back to Reesh as prisoners.
    Wytt—a little, hairy, manlike creature no bigger than a squirrel—appoints himself the children’s guardian on their travels. He is one of the “hairy ones” mentioned in the scriptures as inheriting the shapeless ruins that once were the great cities of Obann.
    Helki the Rod, the wild and highly eccentric woodsman, will play a much-expanded role in the sequels.

How much development have you done for your world, such as maps, cultures, different religions, etc.?

I do have a map—it gives me pleasure to begin a fantasy with a map—and I did start with a kind of vision of what kind of book I wanted to write. But in contrast to my usual procedure, I “discovered” the world of Obann as I wrote about it. This is funny—some reviewers have praised my description of the various peoples and cultures of my fantasy world, as if I’d spent years inventing them. Not so! This world’s history, geography, and natural history reveals itself to me as it unfolds. To me it seems to have an independent existence. Some of the details, as they emerged, surprised me. I know that seems a strange thing for a writer to say, but I can’t think of any better way to say it.

What is your main theme in these books? Do you have a certain point that you try to make throughout the whole series?

It took me quite some time to realize what my theme was. At first, one of my intentions in these stories was to “re-normalize religion.” You know, in almost every piece of fiction we read or watch (movies, TV), the characters in it live in a complete absence of religious belief and practice. No such world as that has ever existed, in real life; I pray it never will. I wanted to write a fantasy tale—I’ve always loved fantasy, but had never had one of my fantasies published—based on something like this: “What if God—our God, the God of the Bible, Jehovah—created a world other than this one that we live in? A world for other people who would live following a completely different arc of history from our own?” This world would have the same God as we have, but it would be very different from ours in all sorts of interesting ways. In my “Bell Mountain” books, I have set out to explore this world and tell its story.
   It was only after the first three novels were published that I understood I had a theme common to all the books that are and will be in this series. They are about people who have lost God reconnecting with Him—learning how to speak to Him, learning how to hear His voice, learning how to seek Him with all their hearts. It is, of course, the power of God that calls them to Him. So I believe I can say my books are about redemption.

What role, if any, does feminism play in your books?

One of the truly wonderful things about writing fantasy is that you can leave all those “isms” behind, as if they didn’t exist. So I am happy to say feminism plays no role whatsoever in my books—although I do enjoy writing about strong and interesting female characters. After all, I want girls and women to enjoy reading them as much as boys and men.

How supportive is your family of your writing?

My wife, Pat, has always believed in me as a writer, and never wavered—not even during those long years when I was cranking out story after story, book after book, and getting nothing but rejections. As for the rest of my family... well, just try impressing anybody who knew you while you were in diapers.

Have you ever met a famous author, or one that you admire (whether famous or not)?

I met Arthur C. Clark once, at a science fiction convention (just to shake hands with), and Isaac Asimov even more briefly. I never met T.E.D. Klein in the flesh, but we corresponded back and forth for several years and talked together on the phone sometimes. Maybe you haven’t heard of him, but he was a truly gifted and original horror writer—had a New York Times best-seller once, “The Ceremonies.” As editor of the old Twilight Zone Magazine, he published one of my best short stories, “The Last Voyage of Sinbad.” Mr. Klein was always very encouraging to me, never failing to offer helpful suggestions. Unfortunately for readers, his own output was always a trickle when we would have loved a steady stream. As true an artist as he was, I learned that he much preferred editing to writing; and I think he prefers his privacy to his editing. God bless you, Ted, wherever you are.

How many books will there end up being in your series?

I’m thinking seven (there are five written), but who knows? I have a whole world to explore. If I write about it for the rest of my life, I still won’t be able to write everything there is to tell.

It's difficult to portray Christianity in a fantasy setting without making it sound stiff or 'preachy'; can you give us any tips on how you do it?

You’re right—it’s very difficult. Or at least it seems it should be. My habit is to read 5 chapters of the Bible every day, so as to steep myself in it, and to pray, asking the Lord to give me the story He wants me to tell.
   Taking a cue from C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia,” I don’t try to portray Christianity per se. After all, I’m not writing about our world, but a completely different one. Its history is different. The people in my fantasy world have not yet met their Savior. He has not yet been revealed to them—except in a few prophecies that they are a long way from understanding.
    Instead, I have tried to infuse my fantasy world with a Biblical spirit—hopefully, prayerfully, with the Spirit of God. I am happy to say that a number of readers have told me that in this I have succeeded. One reader has said she finds it very hard to believe that the “scriptures” quoted in my novels are not actually hidden somewhere in the Bible, where’s she’s overlooked them. Comments like that tell me I’m on the right track.

Who is your favorite author?

I have a lot of favorites. C.S. Lewis excels in refreshing for me the image of Jesus Christ, and reminding me how much I love Him. I turn to Agatha Christie for insights into character; to Edgar Rice Burroughs as the master when it comes to juggling a complicated plot and keeping up the pace of the action; to Walter R. Brooks (“Freddy the Pig”) for gentle and unexpected humor; to Sir Walter Scott for confirmation that good really can triumph over evil, even in this fallen world; to J.R.R. Tolkien for simply igniting my imagination; and to other writers for other things. But the one book I read from every day, without fail, is the Bible. It’s the one book that can never get stale—positive proof it’s not an ordinary book! There’s always something new to discover, some fresh insight, in the Bible.

Thank you so much, Mr. Duigon. This has been a very enjoyable and informative interview :) God bless!

For more about Mr. Duigon, you can visit his blog/website at leeduigon.com

You can find his Amazon page here and an archive of his articles here and by searching his name here.

I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did. I think interviews are a lot of fun. Now, go and check out his books!

Interview with Author: Kestrel

I want to welcome Kestrel, (known as Galadriel on her blog), a young lady who has written quite a few things that I really enjoyed. I think the thing that most impresses me is her ability to write allegory in a very beautiful and powerful way. I was floored by Sakuntala when I first read it, and her other short allegories are just beautiful. So, without further ado, here’s Kestrel.

You’re allegorical fantasy is really great. You’ve written that some of them, like Sakuntala, are based off of dreams you had. What do you read that might possibly influence dreams like those?

For those who haven't read it, Sakuntala tells the story of an outcast from a nomadic desert tribe who stands up to the leaders of her clan. Some of my other short stories, such as Ragged, Seeking and River are also dream-seeded. Some of my dreams' sources are easy enough to identify--a Time Lord here, Aslan there, a dragonback adventure or a Global Community sometimes. Others...I have no clue.

You are writing a novel called Three Dark Roses. Can you give us a little info on that?

Well, it's been set aside for the time in favor of fanfics, but it began as a short story. It focuses on Micah, the shoshannah (think pastor mixed with faith healer), his son Joel, and his (eventually adopted daughter) friend Abigail. Joel rebels against the teachings of his father, which leads to the deaths of Abigail's entire family. Later, the whole world descends into an apocolypse as evil is unleashed.

What other genres beside fantasy do you read? How do they influence your fantasy writing?

I read what I can find at my local library: Amish Christian contemporary, historical, Biblical, sci-fi...I guess they show me how characters and writing carry so much of the story. For example, I love Madeline L'Engle's "A Live Coal in the Sea" because the writing is very poetic, even if the story is slightly soap-opera like.

At what age did you begin to write seriously?

My freshman year of high school, I joined the offical forum of author Bryan Davis, and began writing for an audience as well as myself. In 2009, I completed my first NaNoWriMo, and have done two more since then.

What was the first story you wrote after realizing you wanted to be an author?

I'm not sure...maybe Skye?

If you could be one character from a favorite book, who would it be?You saved the toughest one for last, didn't you?  Well, I'll go with safety as factor, maybe that will help me narrow it down some. One series that comes to mind is the Mistmantle Chronicles by M.I. McAllister. Think of it as Redwall characters in a more Narnian setting. I'd love to be one of the characters, like Urchin or Sepia, because the setting is lovely and the characters really care about each other.

Well, Kestrel, I'm so glad I had the pleasure of interviewing you! I hope you had fun answering the questions, and I hope to read more of your work in the future.

Kestrel's blog:The Wordsmith's Blog

Her writing can be found here.

Go on and read it. She's an excellent writer!

Author Interview--Mary Pursselley

Hello, everyone! I am excited to bring you the first author interview of this blog. Our guest is Mary Purrselley, a young lady and homeschool graduate. I very much enjoy her writing, and you can check it out in the links below the interview.
And thank you to Mary for agreeing to be interviewed (although I'm sure she had just as much fun as I did doing it)

*Drum roll*
The Interview

Welcome, Mary!

When did you first begin writing? I don't mean, writing with publishing in mind, just scribbling stories in notebooks when you wre six or something like that.
Honestly, I don't remember ever not creating stories in my imagination. But as far as actually writing them down goes, I guess age six was when it first started--on primary notepaper in colored pencil.

So, do you remember the first completed story you wrote, whether five or a hundred pages?
The first story I ever remember completing was about eight or ten pages long, I think, but I did my own illustrations which took up at least half of each page. I don't really remember what the plot was (it might not have had one), but I do remember that the main character was a baby moose named Mindy.

What's your approach to 'moralizing' in your stories? Do you just assume the reality of God, or do you have your characters debate about it at times?
You know in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, when Aslan says that he is in our world too, he just has a different name? That's the principle I work off of in building fictional worlds. God is the same God in every world. He has different names, and different ways of manifesting Himself, but He is still the same God of the Bible. Now, that doesn't mean that all of my characters believe in or follow Him, but it does mean that He is the Creator, He is in control, and everything that happens is part of His plan.

Yes! I love Voyage of the Dawn Treader! What is the name for God that you use in your stories?
In Reyem, the world where where my current work in progress is set, God's name is Azor (or Hazur, depending on what country you're from), but He is commonly referred to as The Shield, kind of like we refer to God as The Lion of Judah. And the 'Christians' in that world are called the Protected.

What novel are you currently writing for publication?
The title is Son of The Shield, and it's an epic fantasy, first in a series of seven. It's currently in what I hope is the final stage of editing, and (God willing) I would like to start talking with editors/publishers about it this fall.

What role does feminism or the lack thereof play in your stories?
Wow--great question! The whole feminist mindset and attitude really bother me. In my writing, I do my best to follow the Bible's outlines for women's roles in society and family. That's not to say my female characters can't get out there and take part in the action--no way! In Son of The Shield, for instance, I have a female character who is a diplomat, and a female character who's a prophetess. 'My girls' get themselves into all kinds of adventures, just like the male characters do, and I think women in real life should be able to buckle down and deal with problems. But, there is not total equality between men and women either. In Adelfia, the country where Son of The Shield takes place, women are not allowed to join the military, or hold political authority (serving as a political diplomat is the exception). Deborah (in the book of Judges), Anna (the prophetess in the New Testament), and godly women like them are kind of my inspiration for the female characters I write. 

What's another example of how Son of the Shield differs from most contemporary fantasy?
Well, of course it's openly Christian, which automatically separates it from the vast majority of fantasy. But, within the Christian fantasy world, I think Son of the Shield and the series following it are unique because they don't just tell the story of something that happens in a God-based fantasy world. They are the story of the God-based fantasy world. Each book tells its own individual story, but together they tell the story of God's (or, in this case, Azor's) overarching plan; not just the stories of the people in the world, but also the story of the world as a whole.

If you could choose to be one character from anything you've written, who would it be?
Oh boy, that is an insanely hard question to answer! I really love my character Shekiah; she has such a beautiful spirit. But, she was also a really horrible person for the first thirty-some years of her life, so I don't know if I'd want to be her. I guess if I had to choose one character to be, it would be Lhia Oroash, from Son of The Shield (she also makes appearances in later books in the series). She's just a really bright, sweet, gentle personality, very wise and intuitive.

Alright, cliche question time! Which author has influenced your fantasy writing the most?
Well, my answer is going to sound cliche too, but honestly C.S. Lewis is probably my biggest influence in writing. I just love the fact that he was a writer and wrote great works of classic fantasy literature, but he was also a scholar and wrote amazing theological works. Most importantly, he always had something to say. He never 'talked' just to hear his own voice. That's a gift I admire and hope to develop in my own life.

Thank you, Mary, I've really enjoyed this. I hope to see your writings on bookshelves and Kindle someday soon. Keep writing!

Mary's writings can be found on
Mindflights
Apricot Pie
Avenir Eclectia (Science Fiction)
Falls the Shadow (As Co-author)
She also blogs at The Writer's Lair