Interview A. C. Warrilow

by

Trisha FitzGerald

1) Your novel, The Familiar’s Tale, sounds very intriguing. How did you come up with the idea?

The story is basically a compilation of all the coolest things I have ever wanted to include in a book tied together by a plotline of fantastical ideas, dance numbers, car chases, wrestling matches and cheap gags. The geneses of the story is me being inspired by things around me, people I interact with, a mild interest in mythology, awe-inspiring pictures/photos (lightening strikes, lighthouses around wild seas), some history, modern music (not R&B or techno).

Incidentally, the book was originally called ‘Eddie and the Return of the Geckos but apart from the fact it might make a good name for a band, it’s a rubbish title for a book.

2) Is there one particular character in your novel you can relate to personally?

Sam the main character is my son’s name. I always loved the fact that Rohl Dahl named the character Sophie in the BFG after his granddaughter. What a lovely gift to give someone. This is my gift to my son.

Sam, the character in the book, well let’s not beat about the bush, it’s me. I’m the star, the main character. I’m the dude who walks around through the eyes of the reader and says ‘what do you mean and what happened then?’ He’s a plot device so the reader knows what’s going on while this new world is explained to you. He’s the sane/straight man encountering the world of outrageous adventures, meeting weird and wonderful people, and loving every minute of it.

3) When did you first discover your talent for writing?

I have a talent for touch typing and for thinking up strange things. I have a commitment for sitting in front of my laptop every spare second I get and working away at something that might never see the light of day.

My teachers never told me I was good at writing, in the days before computers they told me that I was let down by my spelling, grammar and poor handwriting.

In my heart I’ve never really felt that I’ve discovered my writing talent.

I think what I’ve done is produce and edit an awesome movie in my head with great special effects and a thumping soundtrack. Because they haven’t invented the brain transfer Television set yet I can’t show you my movie. So I’ve just spent a lot of time meticulously writing it out for you all. Thank you Andrew!

4) Is there any particular genre you hate?

Not really, each their own. As long as the writer does their best and writes for the people that like that genre. I gave up a long time ago trying to impress everyone. Although it sounds strange some people just can’t get to grips with talking animals, travelling Islands created by Mother Nature or fantasy fiction in general. So no, I don’t hate other genres, I just realise that we are all different.

5) Have you ever thought of writing something completely different?

A chiller, thriller, murder mystery with lots of dark undertones of waking nightmares and electronic voyeurism. Still based on Invisus, but with a more adult feel.

I would love to write a Dr Who novel/episode or be a TV scriptwriter for the WWE.

I want to write full-time so if you have any offers in marketing, advertising, or writing of any sort, you can contact me on acwindauk@hotmail.com

And I’m a Facebook and Myspace whore so add me and be my friend!

6) How did you react when you received your first contract?

It was in 2005 and the book was being released in October 2007, so my reaction was TWO YEARS!!! I am extremely grateful that Wings liked my book and were willing to give me a chance. Plus, those two years gave me time to write book two and begin book three, of which I’ve been able to do some funky plotlines interlocking the series, which I’m sure future fans will love when they spot them. For example, there is a scene in the beginning of book one that goes full circle in book four. Don’t worry, it’s not like the X files where you kind of lose interest after five years, it all makes perfect sense in the end.

7) Are you inspired by any particular author?

Terry Prachett makes me laugh and some of his series within Discworld are fantastic: the Witches, Death and the Guards novels are my favourite. I recommend them if you enjoy fantasy with a touch of humour. I think some of the Harry Potter books are wonderful, book three and four are great. I used to read Dean Koontz and Dr Who books when I was a teenager, but the best book I have ever read, which inspired me like no other on creating great characters is ‘The Power of One’ by Bryce Courtney.

8) Are your stories planned from beginning to end before you start, or do you get new ideas as you go along?

The first book was all over the place, I started midway through the book, as that was the only thing I could think of, then I wrote around that chapter, then it became a game to link up all the pieces. As time went on, I began to understand a few things, learned to patch plot holes, learned to treat each word carefully and not to waste them. I learned to self edit and to be ruthless. If anything, book one was a massive learning curve. Now that book two is finished, I have a good idea of what will happen in book three and four. The characters are already established, I just need to make sure I come up with a brilliant ending. The ending I have planned for this series is pretty amazing. You will have to wait and see.

9) You have an amazing book cover. Did you work together with an artist?

The book cover itself is 90% oil painting and 10% computer-generated in Photoshop. The artist’s interpretation of Eddie’s face (the dog) looked too much like a skull, so we ended up using a photo of my real dog, Eddie.

I chose Alex, the individual who did the painting because he was interested enough in the book to read it before working on the cover. Note to artists: if you are approached to do a book cover, offer to read the book, it will impress the pants off the writer. Alex and I sat together for many an hour playing with tones and ideas. It was a painful process because I wanted the cover to stand out and truly represent the story, it was frustrating I’m sure for him because he was dying to paint it, but I was wanting it to be just right. Hopefully, I have achieved this objective.

This cover’s visual theme is the template for the rest of the books, each edition will feature different colours and different characters, it will look great as a set on your bookshelf.

10) Will this be the beginning of a series, and if not, what are your plans for future novels?

I’ll see how well this book does. If I have more time to spend writing the books, then who knows how many I could write. If I still have to get up each weekday and go to the office to jobs I don’t have true passion for, then perhaps I may complete four or five books. But now that I’ve started, I want to keep going, Writing has become an important part of my life and defines who I am.