Interview With T.C. Southwell

Q. If you weren’t writing, what would your perfect career choice be?

A. I don’t know, really, since I don’t like working. It would have to be something else I enjoy, like art, or perhaps a fighter pilot, since I’m a speed freak. Of course, I’d love to be a space explorer, but that will have to wait for another lifetime.

Q. Has your motivation for writing changed throughout your career, and if so, how?

A. No, not at all. I still write because I love the stories in my head and want to enjoy them again.

Q. What is the most rewarding experience you have had and what made it so?

A. It was probably when Demon Lord was first published in SA in 2006, although that turned into something of a nightmare. The first time I held an actual copy of the book, though, was truly special. Since then, receiving my first paperback copy of The Queen’s Blade has been even more rewarding. There’s something amazingly gratifying about seeing my book in print and showing it to my friends and family.

Q. Who are your top two favourite authors and why? Do you feel they have influenced your own writing in any way?

A. Steven R. Donaldson and C. S. Lewis are my all-time favourites, the former because his Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever series gripped me totally and transported me into his world, and the latter because he introduced me to fantasy when I was a child.

Q. When you were in school, did any of your teachers say anything negative (or positive) about your writing that stuck in your head, and how did that affect you?

A. A teacher accused me of plagiarism once because, apparently, she couldn’t believe I had written the essay she marked. I was never able to convince her otherwise, either; in those days, fifteen-year-olds didn’t argue with their teachers. So I got an ‘F’ for it, but I knew it was original, so it didn’t faze me too much. I also won a school prize for English that year, which made up for it somewhat.

Q. Do you sometimes get the impression that reviewers have written reviews on your books without actually reading the book first?

A. Yes, I’m convinced the one review I got for Demon Lord was based purely on the blurb on the back cover, since the reviewer only commented on what was in that. More often, I feel that some reviewers don’t understand the book, or see what they want in it.

 

Q. If you had to pick between all your characters, who would you rather have as a friend, and why?

A. I think that would have to be Sabre, because he’s got such a great personality with a fabulous sense of humour and fun-loving, helpful nature; a perfect friend. With his abilities, he’d also be mighty useful if I ever needed help! So would Bane, probably more so, but he’d be less inclined to be helpful.

Q. What’s your worst bad habit?

A. Probably smoking, but I also have oddball sleeping habits, which tend to be nocturnal.

Q. What advice would you give to any budding novelist?

A. Write books that you love to read over and over again, without getting bored with any part of them. Cut out any boring bits. Always write for your own enjoyment, and never allow anyone to influence you in a way that detracts from your stories, in your opinion. Polish your writing until it's as good as you can make it, and, of course, self-publish!

Q. What drives you/makes you tick? 

A. I honestly have no idea, although I’d guess the wish to enjoy my life makes me do the things I do in order to have fun, like writing books.

Q. When do you expect your next book, (the eighth book in the Demon Lord series), to be completed, and what adventures do you take the reader on in this book?

A. Demon Lord Book eight is coming along slowly, and I can’t say for sure when it will be finished. Bane is separated from the rest of his group when he goes to the Underworld to rescue an archangel and falls into a black trap. They end up in a strange realm where some of Bane’s powers don’t work, and all he has for backup is the crippled Majelin. Bane also discovers that archangels are even more irritating than angels.

Q. Do you foresee Mirra and Bane ever leading a normal life together?

A. Yes, although perhaps not totally normal, given his nature, but certainly a close approximation of normality, for a time, at least. Being what he is, he can make that happen quite easily, by opting out of his role as a god.

Q. Where can readers purchase your books?

A. All the e-books are available at Smashwords.com, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, Scrollmotion, Amazon.com and Amazon.uk. They will also soon be converted into apps for cell phones. In addition, I’m in the process of converting the books to print-on-demand paperbacks, which will be available at Createspace.com.