ARCANA CREEK INTERVIEW AND NOVEL DISCOUNTED FOR DEBUT!
Posted on November 24, 2019
Arcana Creek is your 27th book, is that right?
– If you count Burnt Jesus, which I wrote under the pen name of Landon Alspiret, then yes. It's also the book that pushed my total word count for all my published works past two million words.
That's a huge accomplishment. Congrats.
– Thanks. I should hit three million in about four to five years. This is my ninth year of being an indy writer, and I'm enjoying the heck out of it.
During the pre-interview yogurt time, you mentioned this book was very special. Could you elaborate?
– Well, I didn't start trying to make it a tradition but it just happened. A few interviews back, I introduced yogurt as a pre-game snack and it's been with us ever since.
No, I meant could you elaborate on why Arcana Creek is special?
– Oh, sure. My grandmother's house is the source of inspiration. She had a creek behind her house, and it regularly flooded. The cousins played along it, and we did the boat and stick races almost every time we got together. There was a baseball field on the other side. I did add the meadow between the creek and ball field simply to give the fox character a home and also be able to feature meadow faeries. There was a huge sycamore tree, the biggest tree I've ever seen in my life, and it was always dropping ginormous leaves.
You fill the book with little childhood observations. I really liked the leaf-raking mention and how you relate that walking along tree roots was like performing a tightrope act with the ground becoming pretend hot lava. That's really getting into how a child thinks.
– Thanks. Max was a fun character to write.
Now this is a dark faerie tale. Why go with that tagline? Is this novel grimmer than your other books?
– I think so. My recent novels have started moving out of the realm of MG and YA and into straight fantasy. The God Wheel and Bring on the Magic feature grown-ups dealing with magic in their life. While Arcana Creek has a boy lead, it's still telling a story for grown-ups. Think of it as a PG It. There's a creep factor and a general evil vibe with how the story unfolds.
You definitely have one of the most intense 'fetching a can of green beans from a dark basement staircase' scenes I've ever read.
– Yes, suspenseful vegetable retrieval is a big part of my wheelhouse.
And you've really never done talking animals before, have you?
– Tolvo is my first. I knew I wanted to write about a talking fox. It's just such a fun fantasy stereotype. And Tolvo is quite a memorable kit.
Something that struck me was how the settings were so crucial to the story, and I really enjoyed hearing about them. The garage is a standout. The chapter where they are getting ready for a yard sale has such a strong sense of place. Did your grandmother really have a giant anvil?
– No, my grandmother was a very tame woman. The character of Lola shares a name with her, but she is much more of a firecracker in the book. I did take details about my real grandmother and slide them in. She really did freeze all her chocolates, which drove me bananas. And, while there was no anvil in her garage, it was like the neatest old place to explore. So many odd, ancient items socked away. It always felt like a true treasure was just around the corner when I would forage through her garage. I never found any spell books like Max, but there was always the hint such could happen that infused the garage with its own brand of magic.
Is Arcana Creek a generational story?
– Yes, it really has a limited cast. Max and his grandmother are the only humans present for most of the story.
I found the quiet moments between Max and his grandmother were among my favorites.
– Thanks. I wound up with far more of those than I had originally thought would show up.
The magic in the story slowly seeps into the chapters. I like the gradual infusion of darkness and threat.
– That was a very conscious decision. I didn't want to hit Max with magic from the onset.
It plays out very well. My favorite two scenes are when Max has to use a baseball field to escape the nasty creatures you dreamed up. I also loved the grindylow. Not many stories have delved into that fantasy creature.
– Those are my two favorite scenes as well.
No surprise. I mean, I am you simply pretending to interview you.
– Why'd you go and share that? We were almost done here and then you had to go and screw things up.
Well, secretly you wanted me to.
– I did not.
Did to.
– Enough. Let's wrap this up.
So would you say Arcana Creek is a pivotal book among your works?
– Yes. It is a clear key novel in that it truly moves me into the category of fantasy. Not that I won't write MG and YA again, but it's just an evolution. My next book is a science fiction piece, With a Side of Universal Destruction, and then the one after that is a fantasy that explores the Hereafter. Both will be written for adults but still be accessible to the advanced younger readers, like those who take on the challenge of Tolkien or Gaiman in fifth grade.
I'm looking forward to both. Now you have a special deal going the first few weeks of publication. Care to spill?
– My books are always reasonably priced at $4.99, but until December 15th, Arcana Creek will be priced at $2.99.
Thanks again for taking the time to chat, Brian. Now what do you say to some post-interview sushi?
– Yes, I think that would be a wonderful tradition. Thanks for thinking of it.
Hey, you know me. Never going to say no to sushi.
Get the dark tale now at a reduced price before December 15th! Arcana Creek for $2.99 on Amazon