Taran Matharu's Blog - Writing Tips and Thoughts

Interview with Dark Readers

This interview was originally posted on Dark-readers.com, I highly recommend checking out their reviews!

Where did the inspiration for The Novice come from?
That's a tough one! History was a big influence, especially the 18th century with the rise of muskets and the clash of eastern and western cultures. Then there were my own experiences as a boy, especially in the themes that revolve around racism, bullying, trust and loyalty. My love for mythology, legendary creatures and cryptids definitely crept in with the different species of demon that exist in the Summoner world. Finally, I combined different tropes and elements from my favourite fantasy books, movies and videogames, while making sure to add my own twist to each. For example the multiple races in LOTR, Warhammer and Skyrim, the pet companions in Pokemon and How To Train Your Dragon and the training of mages from the Earthsea Cycle, Harry Potter and Discworld, to name but a few! Ultimately, I had this idea for a book that I desperately wanted to read, but could never find anything that included all of these elements. So I decided to write it myself! 

How did you decide how you wanted your system of magic to work? I've always had a deep distrust for Deus Ex Machina style magical solutions to problems. For me, magic should have rules, different power levels and expectations of what can and can't be done for the reader. As such, every summoner and demon in the book has a different power level, with varying amounts of mana depending on the demon species. The way magic works in videogames was a big influence on how I designed the magic system in The Novice.

Is you could summon or capture any demon, what sort would you like? Although I do love the Salamander Ignatius, I think it would have to be a Griffin like Lysander. They are big, powerful creatures, while still being majestic and beautiful. Not to mention the fact they can fly! 

You started off The Novice writing for NaNoWriMo, has your writing process changed now you're not so constricted? Is this reflective of your normal writing process? I like to work under pressure, it keeps me honest! I think that with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) helped me stay more succinct in my writing and make sure the plot is constantly driven forward. It is easy for many authors, especially when writing high fantasy, to get lost in the lore you are creating and leave the plot by the wayside. I have had a lot more time to add another level of richness to the world since The Novice, such as expanding the demonology, putting together family trees and beginning to put a map together! 

How does it feel to already have FanFiction about your work out there? It's very cool and quite humbling to be honest. I love reading my fan fictions and already have a collection I put together, which you can see here: The fascinating thing is seeing what aspect of the Summoner world they write about, as often it is something that was only briefly mentioned in The Novice but will be explored in more detail in the next two books. I like to see their interpretations of it all. 

 

What is it about fantasy that you enjoy writing? I think it's how a fantasy world can be truly epic, which is something that other genres don't always get right, though Scifi and Historical Fiction often manage it as well. I also like how fantasy can explore a variety of different themes and issues in these epic worlds, often through metaphor. Finally, it's just cool! Creatures, ancient weaponry, magic, new cultures, what's not to love? 

Who is your favourite character to write? Don't tell Fletcher but I do look forward to writing the scenes with Othello. Captain Lovett is another favourite of mine, she's actually inspired by my mother in a lot of ways. 

 

There are some strong, what you could say are 'common' themes in Fantasy included in The Novice, such as the Orcs as the great evil, and the class divide with the nobility, was this something you wanted to intentionally look at within the novel? The class division was more based on my own experiences at private school rather than inspired by fantasy tropes. With the Orcs, I did feel that there needed to be a common enemy to unite the dwarves, elves and humans. I also wanted to use them as a vehicle to explore some of the cruellest acts in human history, for example their enslavement of the Gremlins, barbaric executions and slaughtering of innocents. That being said, without spoiling book 2, the Orcs are victims of the culture they form a part of rather than being inherently evil themselves. 

 

You've talked about the gamification elements of your writing; do you think there's a gap in the market for more books like this? I think so. Videogames are becoming more and more popular and I think that by adding these elements, readers find it easier to put themselves in the characters' shoes, as they do, quite literally, in videogames. For me, the elements of levelling up, making friends and allies, exploring the world and acquiring new equipment are all things that are inherent in fantasy games and should be made more explicit in books. 

 

What are you top 5 fantasy books? That is a very difficult question! If it's okay, I would prefer to use fantasy series, as it's so difficult to pick my favourite out of each one! They are, Discworld by Terry Pratchett, Harry Potter by J K Rowling, The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan, The Redwall Series by Brian Jacques and the Edge Chronicles by Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart.

If you liked this, don't forget to vote! I hope you enjoyed reading a little more about me and the Summoner Series. Book 1, The Novice, is out now!