Lucy A. McLaren

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing David Ranshaw, a fantasy author I met on Twitter who shares my passion for video games and writes great, insightful posts on his blog on a range of topics literary and philosophical. (Highly recommended–go and read it!)

Read on to find out about David’s novels, from his fantasy series, The Annals of Arrinor, to his current WIP…

Hello! So, first of all – tell me a little bit about yourself!

I’m a Canadian writer, retired a couple of years now after a 35-year career as a secondary school English teacher. I loved teaching (most of the time) but didn’t like the Powers That Be eroding educational standards and Not Listening to those of us In The Trenches… so I finally took my toys and left the sandbox. I miss the teaching and the kids, but not the stupidity of people who don’t teach but think they know best how to.

What’s the name of your book? Can you give a brief outline of the plot (spoiler-free, of course)?  

The first one? Or second? Or third? (LOL) My first novel, self-published, is titled Gryphon’s Heir. In it, Rhissan Griffiths leads Thoreau’s ‘life of quiet desperation’ in 1924. A disillusioned English schoolmaster and Great War survivor, he fervently wants some magic in his life. But when an intricately carved door appears in a blank classroom wall one rainy afternoon, Rhiss finds that opening that door leads to much more than he bargained for, or could have imagined: a completely new and wondrous world locked in a titanic struggle between the forces of Good and Evil — and where he has an unexpectedly pivotal role to play in attempting to defeat the armies of darkness.

It was inspired by musings during a particularly difficult time in my teaching career, when I really did look at a wall in my classroom one day and wish a door would appear in it and take me away to another world. Looking back on it now, though, it really is proof that things happen for a reason — that difficult time allowed an entire new part of me to bloom.

The sequel, Gryphon’s Awakening, is ‘under construction’ and currently sits at just over 178,000 words. It’s almost done, and would have been finished by now, but about a year ago, another character rose to the surface of my imagination and demanded her story be told. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, so Gryphon’s Awakening has been on hold over the last year — Rhiss has been very patient — while Areellan’s Tale (the current working title) takes shape. Set in the same world as Gryphon’s Heir (but — I think, although my protagonist hasn’t yet told me — at a different point in time), Areellan’s Tale focuses on the scrappy 19-year-old girl of the title, and her adventures. Her humble beginnings turn out to be not quite as humble as she thought, and it’s not long before she’s drawn into that same titanic (and eternal) struggle of good and evil that Rhiss was. Areellan’s Tale is written in first person, so I’m really enjoying the challenge of telling the tale from a very different perspective.

When is your book available? Where can we get our hands on it?

Gryphon’s Heir has been out in both hard copy and e-book since 2015, and is available on Amazon, all the major e-book platforms, and a number of other places as well… check out the bookstore tab on my website.

Why do you write in your chosen genre? What’s your favourite thing about it?

The corollary of that question (‘why do you write?’) was answered best by Isaac Asimov, who said, ‘for the same reason I breathe… if I didn’t, I would die.’ As to the question of genre, I always think it’s rather a funny thing when I’m asked that; my response is, “what makes you think I have any choice about it?” You write the stories from the ideas that come to you. Simple as that. I enjoy a number of genres — science fiction is a close second to fantasy for me — but haven’t felt any driving urge to write SF for a while now. One thing I enjoy about writing fantasy is that it’s not quite as constrained about characters, places, and situations as our own mortal and rather drab world.

What got you into writing? What do you enjoy most about it?

I’ve always loved to read and write, from the first moment I could. I think some of us are just born to tell stories, and it comes naturally to us. I was writing stories pretty much since I learned to write. I still have some of my embryonic efforts, written lo, many more decades ago than I’d care to admit. Writing is an escape, an adventure, and a comfort, all rolled up into one.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

My ideal day is broken up into several parts: writing, gaming (Xbox, Playstation), working on my model railway (yes, I play with trains), reading, walking… and eating.

What’s your favourite book from childhood? Has it influenced you as a writer?

Well, like a large number of people… I first read Lord of the Rings when I was 12, and was utterly enthralled. More than that, I wanted to create my own world, too — not a slavish copy of Middle Earth, but mine, with its own peoples, cultures, and history.

Where can we learn more about you and your books?

My website is drranshaw.com which I update regularly. I maintain a blog talking about writing and all sorts of other things.

Thank you for your time!

You can also read my interview with David on his website.

If you’re an author and would like to be interviewed for my website, please get in touch with me on Twitter.