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Above The Fold - July 5, 2010
ROBERT AUTY
Imaginative Fantasy Fiction Author
ROBERT AUTY spent his formative years living in Canada, but he now resides near his birthplace of Lancaster, England. The Trance Warriors series came into being some six years before his first book was published, in the form of a two-page premise drafted in the midst of writing a completely different novel. Self-taught, Robert is currently busy writing the sequels to The Siege of Scarn. When he is not busy writing, he enjoys walking in the Yorkshire Dales and Lakeland Fells.
To learn more about Robert, visit his website at:
BOOK VIDEO TRAILERS:
The Siege Of Scarn
(Robert Auty)
Connor's Folly
(Robert Auty)
The Siege Of Scarn
(Robert Auty)
Connor's Folly
(Robert Auty)
Official Apex Reviews Interview: Robert Auty (The Siege Of Scarn, Connor's Folly)
Apex Reviews: Robert, thanks for joining us for this interview. We're looking forward to sharing more about your books and other efforts with our readers.
Robert Auty: Thank you too, it was nice to receive your excellent reviews.
AR: The pleasure was all ours. What inspired you to craft such imaginative, captivating fantasy tales?
RA: I have loved Fantasy books from an early age, and devoured many as a teenager. The premise for my own ‘fantasy tales’ came about slowly but developed quickly. I began writing a contemporary fantasy novel a year or so before Trance Warriors, and quickly grew uncomfortable with its premise and development. I was at the time writing for short story competitions and wrote a two page ‘intro’ for a novel competition but instead of entering the work I started to extend and embellish it, and from that the Trance Warrior novels appeared.
AR: Is Connor based on someone you know or have known in real life?
RA: Connor is an amalgam of many of my favourite characters from books, TV, movies, and many other things, but as well, he is original, and very human, ordinary in some ways and exceptional in others. And he is still growing and developing in my mind.
AR: Is it difficult for you to come up with such vivid, lifelike characters?
RA: Not at all, they can grow and come to life very quickly for me. My main difficulty with developing characters is actually naming them, this I find incredibly difficult at times.
AR: The battle scenes in the books are quite gripping and detailed. Did it take you long to put them together?
RA: The battle scenes are by far the easiest, although the extended siege in ‘The Siege of Scarn’ took some considerable planning and storyboarding. I am a strong believer in reducing the verbosity of the reading page, and getting quickly to the action, and find these scenes the easiest to write, indeed it is more difficult to write the connecting scenes and I often have to be very disciplined not to jump straight to the battle and action scenes and begin writing these before the rest of the story.
AR: What kinds of reactions have you gotten to the books thus far?
RA: I have had many good reviews, some critical but still good and a couple of very constructive ones. I find all reviews helpful and have found a surprising audience in my female readers, in fact very good reactions from female readers.
AR: What can we look forward to in future installments of the Trance Warriors series?
RA: Well the third book is being written, about halfway done, but messy and still needing some considerable work, hopefully due 2011. Provisionally called ‘Janice’s Choice’, you can see the excellent book cover displayed on my website, www.trancewarriors.com. Book four is at the idea stage, it will probably complete the current series, but book five has a possibility dependent largely on how three and four develop.
AR: Who are some of your chief writing influences?
RA: The late great David Gemmell, and David Eddings were strong influences. Frank Herbert, Tolkien, Terry Brooks, Julian May, Christopher Stasheff, Stephen Donaldson, and Raymond E Feist, have all helped to develop my love of the genre and desire to write myself.
AR: Please share more with our readers about your publishers, 2QT Publishing, and Book Guild Publishing.
RA: 2QT Publishing took my previously published first novel, The Siege of Scarn, and republished an updated version. It was their first title and they have a unique and fresh approach to publishing which allows the author complete control from start to finish. Their project management style allows you to choose your own book cover design, font, layout and anything else you can think of in the complicated process of publishing a book. They published my book in anticipation of the sequel, Connor’s Folly, for which Book Guild Publishing had already acquired the rights.
Book Guild publishing are a more traditional publisher, professional and thorough. A pleasure to work with so far and the publication date of Trance Warriors: Connor’s Folly, is officially on 03-25-2010.
AR: What's next for you?
RA: Well along with 2QT, we have just produced an amazing Audio book version of The Siege of Scarn, the first book in the series. It was an exciting process, with an award winning reader who characterised nearly every character in the book. As well, there are five pieces of incredible thematic and incidental music, all combining into a truly memorable Audio Book experience.
Also there will be more writing, more books, and audio books, and an exciting future with 2QT publishing, I liked the process so much, I’ve joined the company!
Book Guild have made a promising start with Connor’s Folly already and with two publishers working for me, prospects are looking good.
AR: How can our readers learn more about you and your ongoing efforts?
RA: Information and books for sale can be found at www.trancewarriors.com, www.bookguild.co.uk, and www.2qt.co.uk.
AR: How can they contact you directly?
RA: Readers can contact me directly via my website, www.trancewarriors.com.
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
RA: Only to say thank you for listening - and for the great reviews!
AR: Thanks again, Robert, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!
Apex Reviews: Robert, thanks for joining us for this interview. We're looking forward to sharing more about your books and other efforts with our readers.
Robert Auty: Thank you too, it was nice to receive your excellent reviews.
AR: The pleasure was all ours. What inspired you to craft such imaginative, captivating fantasy tales?
RA: I have loved Fantasy books from an early age, and devoured many as a teenager. The premise for my own ‘fantasy tales’ came about slowly but developed quickly. I began writing a contemporary fantasy novel a year or so before Trance Warriors, and quickly grew uncomfortable with its premise and development. I was at the time writing for short story competitions and wrote a two page ‘intro’ for a novel competition but instead of entering the work I started to extend and embellish it, and from that the Trance Warrior novels appeared.
AR: Is Connor based on someone you know or have known in real life?
RA: Connor is an amalgam of many of my favourite characters from books, TV, movies, and many other things, but as well, he is original, and very human, ordinary in some ways and exceptional in others. And he is still growing and developing in my mind.
AR: Is it difficult for you to come up with such vivid, lifelike characters?
RA: Not at all, they can grow and come to life very quickly for me. My main difficulty with developing characters is actually naming them, this I find incredibly difficult at times.
AR: The battle scenes in the books are quite gripping and detailed. Did it take you long to put them together?
RA: The battle scenes are by far the easiest, although the extended siege in ‘The Siege of Scarn’ took some considerable planning and storyboarding. I am a strong believer in reducing the verbosity of the reading page, and getting quickly to the action, and find these scenes the easiest to write, indeed it is more difficult to write the connecting scenes and I often have to be very disciplined not to jump straight to the battle and action scenes and begin writing these before the rest of the story.
AR: What kinds of reactions have you gotten to the books thus far?
RA: I have had many good reviews, some critical but still good and a couple of very constructive ones. I find all reviews helpful and have found a surprising audience in my female readers, in fact very good reactions from female readers.
AR: What can we look forward to in future installments of the Trance Warriors series?
RA: Well the third book is being written, about halfway done, but messy and still needing some considerable work, hopefully due 2011. Provisionally called ‘Janice’s Choice’, you can see the excellent book cover displayed on my website, www.trancewarriors.com. Book four is at the idea stage, it will probably complete the current series, but book five has a possibility dependent largely on how three and four develop.
AR: Who are some of your chief writing influences?
RA: The late great David Gemmell, and David Eddings were strong influences. Frank Herbert, Tolkien, Terry Brooks, Julian May, Christopher Stasheff, Stephen Donaldson, and Raymond E Feist, have all helped to develop my love of the genre and desire to write myself.
AR: Please share more with our readers about your publishers, 2QT Publishing, and Book Guild Publishing.
RA: 2QT Publishing took my previously published first novel, The Siege of Scarn, and republished an updated version. It was their first title and they have a unique and fresh approach to publishing which allows the author complete control from start to finish. Their project management style allows you to choose your own book cover design, font, layout and anything else you can think of in the complicated process of publishing a book. They published my book in anticipation of the sequel, Connor’s Folly, for which Book Guild Publishing had already acquired the rights.
Book Guild publishing are a more traditional publisher, professional and thorough. A pleasure to work with so far and the publication date of Trance Warriors: Connor’s Folly, is officially on 03-25-2010.
AR: What's next for you?
RA: Well along with 2QT, we have just produced an amazing Audio book version of The Siege of Scarn, the first book in the series. It was an exciting process, with an award winning reader who characterised nearly every character in the book. As well, there are five pieces of incredible thematic and incidental music, all combining into a truly memorable Audio Book experience.
Also there will be more writing, more books, and audio books, and an exciting future with 2QT publishing, I liked the process so much, I’ve joined the company!
Book Guild have made a promising start with Connor’s Folly already and with two publishers working for me, prospects are looking good.
AR: How can our readers learn more about you and your ongoing efforts?
RA: Information and books for sale can be found at www.trancewarriors.com, www.bookguild.co.uk, and www.2qt.co.uk.
AR: How can they contact you directly?
RA: Readers can contact me directly via my website, www.trancewarriors.com.
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
RA: Only to say thank you for listening - and for the great reviews!
AR: Thanks again, Robert, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!