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Today we have an interview with Harry Connolly, author of multiple fantasy books, including the new trilogy The Great Way. I've asked him a few questions about himself and the book below. Check it out, and then go check out his books!
1. First, introduce yourself!
I’m Harry Connolly. My debut novel, Child of Fire, was published
by Del Rey and made Publishers Weekly’s Best 100 Books of 2009.
My followup epic fantasy, THE GREAT WAY, was funded through Kickstarter.
As I type this, it’s the ninth-most-funded Kickstarter campaign in the
Fiction category. Book one, The Way Into Chaos, came out in
December, 2014. The Way Into Magic came out in January, 2015. The
final book of the trilogy, The Way Into Darkness, came out last week.
I was born and raised in Philly but I’ve spent most of my life in
Seattle, where I’m a stay-at-home, homeschooling parent.
2. Now give us the Hollywood pitch version of your new book/project.
Two sentences max. Something along the lines of "[Book Title] is
Harry Potter crossed with Aliens, with a touching twist of Knocked Up
humor!"
Wow, I suck at this part. Let me try this: "THE GREAT WAY is about a
sentient curse that causes the collapse of an empire."
3. Give us an expanded description of the book/project. What makes
this project different and worth checking out? What sets it apart from
everything else in the field?
One of the most common tropes in epic fantasy is the Fallen Empire.
Essentially, somewhere in the past there was a continent-spanning empire
that collapsed, leaving nothing behind but a common language, a bunch of
ruins for the characters to explore, and stories of lost art and
technology. George RR Martin’s Valyria (and its Valyrian steel) is a
good example of this.
I thought it would be interesting to show the collapse of an empire like
that.
Not only did this give me a chance to break out of the typical Medieval
setting by drawing on much earlier models, it gave me the opportunity to
write about empire itself, and the way that people find themselves
identifying with power, even if they believe they’re opposed to it.
4. What part of the writing process for this book/project did you
struggle with the most? Why was that particularly difficult? What did
it teach you about the writing process (if anything)?
I have two point of view characters for this trilogy: a middle-aged male
soldier and a teenaged female spell-caster. Being a middle-aged man
myself, capturing the voice of the soldier wasn’t too difficult (even
though we’re nothing alike), but that fifteen-year-old girl required
extra care. Too many adult male authors sound like creeps when they try
to write teenage girls.
Obviously, I needed to draw on my own experiences of my youth, back in
the misty dawn of time, to capture that fierce loyalty to friends and
the tendency toward strong emotional response that every teenager feels.
Also, I decided I was not going to write a romance plot for her;
frankly, too many female characters of every age are defined by who
wants to kiss them. In these books, there’s attraction, but the
main focus is on a small group of female friends. I also tried to make
her character as specific as possible. Readers will sometimes see a
female character as a stand-in for all women and girls, usually because
the female character is the ONLY one. So, not only did I try to make her
situation specific to her, I made sure to include a bunch of female
characters who are just as specific.
Finally, I sought out and read a few online journals written by young women.
Did I mention creepiness above? I felt a little creepy doing that, but I
made sure I was looking only at public accounts and I didn’t interact
with the writers in any way. I looked at the things they shared with the
world and how they talked about it, and I went away.
Based on early responses, it seems to have worked out pretty well.
5. What was your favorite part of writing this book/project? What
gave you chills when you wrote it and made you think, "Oh, this is
GOOD!"?
The climactic confrontation in the second to last chapter of the last book.
I’m not going to spoil it, obviously, but I will say that with the way I
work, I do a fairly detailed outline of the beginning and middle of the
book, then I’ll start on the first draft—well, it’s really the second
draft, since any outline is basically an abbreviated first draft.
Usually, I don’t know what the ending is going to be.
When it suddenly occurred to me how the trilogy should end—how it
had to end, honestly—I was startled and delighted.
Which is perfectly normal for me. I’ve found time and again that, if I
don’t know what the end of a book is going to be, I can trust that the
beginning and middle will provide one. A few books, like my upcoming
pacifist urban fantasy A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark, come
with an ending already attached. That’s less fun, but every creative
choice an author puts into their work is a resource to be used later,
esp when the ending is needed.
That’s how I work, anyway. It keeps things lively.
Readers interested in learning more about The Great Way, ("Epic Fantasy
that reads like a Thriller" — Kat Richardson) can find out more about
book one, The
Way Into Chaos here, and I offer sample
chapters on my blog.
1. First, introduce yourself!
I’m Harry Connolly. My debut novel, Child of Fire, was published
by Del Rey and made Publishers Weekly’s Best 100 Books of 2009.
My followup epic fantasy, THE GREAT WAY, was funded through Kickstarter.
As I type this, it’s the ninth-most-funded Kickstarter campaign in the
Fiction category. Book one, The Way Into Chaos, came out in
December, 2014. The Way Into Magic came out in January, 2015. The
final book of the trilogy, The Way Into Darkness, came out last week.
I was born and raised in Philly but I’ve spent most of my life in
Seattle, where I’m a stay-at-home, homeschooling parent.
2. Now give us the Hollywood pitch version of your new book/project.
Two sentences max. Something along the lines of "[Book Title] is
Harry Potter crossed with Aliens, with a touching twist of Knocked Up
humor!"
Wow, I suck at this part. Let me try this: "THE GREAT WAY is about a
sentient curse that causes the collapse of an empire."
3. Give us an expanded description of the book/project. What makes
this project different and worth checking out? What sets it apart from
everything else in the field?
One of the most common tropes in epic fantasy is the Fallen Empire.
Essentially, somewhere in the past there was a continent-spanning empire
that collapsed, leaving nothing behind but a common language, a bunch of
ruins for the characters to explore, and stories of lost art and
technology. George RR Martin’s Valyria (and its Valyrian steel) is a
good example of this.
I thought it would be interesting to show the collapse of an empire like
that.
Not only did this give me a chance to break out of the typical Medieval
setting by drawing on much earlier models, it gave me the opportunity to
write about empire itself, and the way that people find themselves
identifying with power, even if they believe they’re opposed to it.
4. What part of the writing process for this book/project did you
struggle with the most? Why was that particularly difficult? What did
it teach you about the writing process (if anything)?
I have two point of view characters for this trilogy: a middle-aged male
soldier and a teenaged female spell-caster. Being a middle-aged man
myself, capturing the voice of the soldier wasn’t too difficult (even
though we’re nothing alike), but that fifteen-year-old girl required
extra care. Too many adult male authors sound like creeps when they try
to write teenage girls.
Obviously, I needed to draw on my own experiences of my youth, back in
the misty dawn of time, to capture that fierce loyalty to friends and
the tendency toward strong emotional response that every teenager feels.
Also, I decided I was not going to write a romance plot for her;
frankly, too many female characters of every age are defined by who
wants to kiss them. In these books, there’s attraction, but the
main focus is on a small group of female friends. I also tried to make
her character as specific as possible. Readers will sometimes see a
female character as a stand-in for all women and girls, usually because
the female character is the ONLY one. So, not only did I try to make her
situation specific to her, I made sure to include a bunch of female
characters who are just as specific.
Finally, I sought out and read a few online journals written by young women.
Did I mention creepiness above? I felt a little creepy doing that, but I
made sure I was looking only at public accounts and I didn’t interact
with the writers in any way. I looked at the things they shared with the
world and how they talked about it, and I went away.
Based on early responses, it seems to have worked out pretty well.
5. What was your favorite part of writing this book/project? What
gave you chills when you wrote it and made you think, "Oh, this is
GOOD!"?
The climactic confrontation in the second to last chapter of the last book.
I’m not going to spoil it, obviously, but I will say that with the way I
work, I do a fairly detailed outline of the beginning and middle of the
book, then I’ll start on the first draft—well, it’s really the second
draft, since any outline is basically an abbreviated first draft.
Usually, I don’t know what the ending is going to be.
When it suddenly occurred to me how the trilogy should end—how it
had to end, honestly—I was startled and delighted.
Which is perfectly normal for me. I’ve found time and again that, if I
don’t know what the end of a book is going to be, I can trust that the
beginning and middle will provide one. A few books, like my upcoming
pacifist urban fantasy A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark, come
with an ending already attached. That’s less fun, but every creative
choice an author puts into their work is a resource to be used later,
esp when the ending is needed.
That’s how I work, anyway. It keeps things lively.
Readers interested in learning more about The Great Way, ("Epic Fantasy
that reads like a Thriller" — Kat Richardson) can find out more about
book one, The
Way Into Chaos here, and I offer sample
chapters on my blog.
