We interviewed Gadralneure, the winner of Short Story Category with their book 'The Edge Of Darkness'
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What inspired you to start writing?──────
Writing fulfilled a need. It was just something I had to do. I’ve been doing it my whole life, poetry, short stories, novels. It calms me and makes me happy and what more can you ask from anything?
What time of the day do you usually write, and why that time?──────
I basically have vampire hours. I wake up in the afternoon I don’t go to sleep till after the sun is up, so most of my writing occurs in the deep of night when there are few distractions and the ghosts of my imagination are fluttering around.
Do you have a favourite character that you have written? If so, who? And what makes them so special?──────
I have a few characters that I am very personally attached to. Probably the most similar to my mindset is a character named Chumley Bilgespike , a black rat and recurring character in my trilogy of novels, The Last Wizard, The Secret King, and The Dark Enchanter. He’s an optimist, loyal to his friends, but aware of all the bad things around him. I have to confess I also have a fondness for many of my villains who reflect the darker temptations of our personalities that we, as decent people, strive to suppress.
Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing?──────
My friends have always been very supportive, but as I mentioned, writing is a need and I would do it even if I were alone.
What famous author do you wish would be your mentor?──────
I was actually encouraged by Brian Jacques, the author of the Redwall series to write my novels. For my short stories, I would love to be able to get tips from Edgar Allen Poe or Isaac Asimov.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal, and why?──────
Well, my first name is Wolf and quite honestly that would be my spirit animal. I function well both alone and in a pack, and I’ve been known to occasionally howl at the moon.
Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?──────
The ability to feel strong emotions, to be empathetic and to be able to put yourself into the minds of characters that are totally unlike yourself are really vital to writing good stories. That having been said, I think that there are types of stories where an unemotional narration and interpretation of events can be quite effective.
Name an underappreciated book that you love──────
Wow, there are so many. Still Life With Woodpecker, by Tom Robbins as well as any of his other books comes to mind.
Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about?──────
I'm slowly finishing the third book of my Arishan trilogy, entitled The Dark Enchanter , and I’m always working on short stories and poetry.
Finally, how do you celebrate when you finish your book?──────
I buy myself a nice meal, mix myself a Manhattan, which is my favorite cocktail and don’t write for about a week.
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Thank you very much for your time!