Ask the Author: James Lever
Answered Questions (9)
James Lever
Through the glass door to the dining room, backlit by the soft glow of the wall lights, a manic figure approached: his face contorted with rage; his body blood-splattered, for in his right hand he carried a machete that had obviously seen recent use - as witnessed by the body lying on the floor behind him with the head partly dismembered - surely I was about to become the next victim.
Then, horror of horrors, I recognized the body as that belonging to my wife; and worse, I realized that the dining room was in complete darkness and the image before me was a reflection!
Then, horror of horrors, I recognized the body as that belonging to my wife; and worse, I realized that the dining room was in complete darkness and the image before me was a reflection!
James Lever
Hundred Acre Wood.
I'd re-unite Pooh bear with Piglet, a small person that seems to have been left out at the end of House at Pooh Corner. It's been ferreting away in the back of my mind for most of my life.
I'd re-unite Pooh bear with Piglet, a small person that seems to have been left out at the end of House at Pooh Corner. It's been ferreting away in the back of my mind for most of my life.
James Lever
Summer has been and gone. Re-reading "Rogue Herries" by Hugh Walpole;
"The Voyage" by Charles Morgan; and also "The Flashing Stream" a play by Charles Morgan. {Charles Morgan provides an interesting treatise on "Singleness of Mind" in the forward to this play - a theme I am developing in the second book in my trilogy "Serpentine Labyrinth" - "Warrens". As an ongoing study I am three parts through "Divided Houses", book three of Jonathan Sumption's series "The Hundred Years War". In somewhat lighter vein, I am currently in the middle of "The Crow Road" by Iain Banks.
"The Voyage" by Charles Morgan; and also "The Flashing Stream" a play by Charles Morgan. {Charles Morgan provides an interesting treatise on "Singleness of Mind" in the forward to this play - a theme I am developing in the second book in my trilogy "Serpentine Labyrinth" - "Warrens". As an ongoing study I am three parts through "Divided Houses", book three of Jonathan Sumption's series "The Hundred Years War". In somewhat lighter vein, I am currently in the middle of "The Crow Road" by Iain Banks.
James Lever
Same as everything else in life. Give it a go. If there's any spark there, it'll take hold like wildfire. As Charles Morgan put it: "To men of ideas, ideas are like the young of white mice. They appear often and without great difficulty, but, if they are disturbed, their parents have a tendency to eat them before they grow up."
James Lever
Concentrate on writing rather than on getting published.
James Lever
I could say, seeing a stack of books on the bookshelf bearing my own name, but this isn't what I'm about. I l love the way you can put something across in so many different ways - and rely on feedback (critique!) to test my instincts. The creative aspect is best - developing new themes; reinventing existing ones; letting my imagination run free. On the other side of the same coin, I find I have become more critical and intolerant of other people's works - the main reason why I started writing in the first place - "I could do better than that!" Based on sales figures, maybe that6 was an idle boast.
James Lever
Not anything I've experienced so far. In possession of a plot and characters, I let the characters and circumstances tell the story. Once the keyboard is active, ideas flow. My problems are: to hang onto new ideas while still developing others; and to go back and ruthlessly edit out / rewrite the unnecessary dross. I "live" the characters.
James Lever
Magic / sorcery: In place of wands and spells, what if the universe is built on Ward energy - a function of magic - instead of the convoluted theories put forward by astrophysics? And what if natural selection resulted in arcane magic became embedded within the DNA. Imagine a conflict between two cultures - arcane magic versus high technology. A no brainer, surely? Not if the laws of physics are but a subset of arcane magic.
James Lever
I'm working on Book 2 of The Serpentine Labyrinth, that started with "At The Crossroad". Taken me a while to get going: not because of writer's block (my mind is buzzing with new ideas) but because of other stuff (eg life). I love writing and also experimenting with different genres. At The Crossroad is a modern-day, stand alone thriller with a few, well-hidden links to the Magesty trilogy that precedes it and its sequel, "The Serpentine Labyrinth".
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