Ask the Author: Ed McDonald
Answered Questions (26)
Ed McDonald
I wish there was a more useful answer than "I just make it up," but unfortunately that's the truth. Redwinter's magic system is vaguely tied to Existentialism and my own understanding of physics, but overall it's magic. Most world building is something I do as I write the story, e.g. it's needed for a particular plot point so I create it at that moment. I don't plan out any of it (locations, magic, creatures etc.) before I start writing. That way, the things I create serve the story rather than the story serving the world.
Ed McDonald
I decided to wait 4 years to answer this question because the answer is... I really don't know. They just come out that way ^_^
Ed McDonald
I'm hoping it will!
Ed McDonald
Hi Abdul,
Galharrow was a character who had just emerged into my mind - I never really planned him, I just knew him inside and out the moment I conceived him. He needed to be older so that he could have significant regrets and a past that haunts him. I prefer characters who have seen a little of the world, and writing a younger character is a really different task. With older characters like Galharrow, the story tends to be about how they deal with the sorrows, guilt and mistakes of their past, whilst with a younger one they've yet to do anything significant enough to have them so it's all discovery.
I have a new fantasy series in the works, but can't share anything more just yet.
Thanks for reading,
Ed
Galharrow was a character who had just emerged into my mind - I never really planned him, I just knew him inside and out the moment I conceived him. He needed to be older so that he could have significant regrets and a past that haunts him. I prefer characters who have seen a little of the world, and writing a younger character is a really different task. With older characters like Galharrow, the story tends to be about how they deal with the sorrows, guilt and mistakes of their past, whilst with a younger one they've yet to do anything significant enough to have them so it's all discovery.
I have a new fantasy series in the works, but can't share anything more just yet.
Thanks for reading,
Ed
Ed McDonald
UK paperback should be out in April I think
Ed McDonald
I'm working on something... not really sure exactly what it will be when it's finished. At the moment I want to say that it's a fantasy spy thriller... but that could all go on its head and be completely wrong at any time.
Glad you enjoyed the book and thank you :)
Glad you enjoyed the book and thank you :)
Ed McDonald
There is a new book in the works right now - it's another epic fantasy set in a new world.
There are a couple of Raven's Mark short stories available - one in Issue 16 of Grimdark Magazine and one in the Art of War charity anthology.
There are a couple of Raven's Mark short stories available - one in Issue 16 of Grimdark Magazine and one in the Art of War charity anthology.
Ed McDonald
Hmmmm
I think that Mark Lawrence's Red Sister fits the category - it's nowhere near as dark as Prince of Thorns, but it has both that gritty edge and characters that you can root for.
It's not grim at all but I really enjoyed Chris Wooding's The Ember Blade. It's more like traditional quest based epic fantasy but well worth a read.
Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars is a really excellent series that has quite a hard, realistic sense of the world and plenty of hard scrapes for the characters, but there's definitely a lot of hope in them too. There's some sexual violence in it, but handled very well as I remember, addressing the oppression and trauma suffered by the victim properly.
Oh, and I always have to recommend the Sword of Shadows by J.V.Jones. It features the richest world building in the genre in my opinion.
I think that Mark Lawrence's Red Sister fits the category - it's nowhere near as dark as Prince of Thorns, but it has both that gritty edge and characters that you can root for.
It's not grim at all but I really enjoyed Chris Wooding's The Ember Blade. It's more like traditional quest based epic fantasy but well worth a read.
Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars is a really excellent series that has quite a hard, realistic sense of the world and plenty of hard scrapes for the characters, but there's definitely a lot of hope in them too. There's some sexual violence in it, but handled very well as I remember, addressing the oppression and trauma suffered by the victim properly.
Oh, and I always have to recommend the Sword of Shadows by J.V.Jones. It features the richest world building in the genre in my opinion.
Ed McDonald
Hello!
Crowfall is out in the UK on the 27th June and in the USA on the 2nd July!
Crowfall is out in the UK on the 27th June and in the USA on the 2nd July!
Ed McDonald
At present I'm working on a book that I'd describe as a fantasy spy thriller. Lots of action, three main PoV protagonists, a big world with a lot of history, but aiming to keep up the pace all the way through. Hoping to have it done before summer's over.
Ed McDonald
Probably mostly a reflection on my own thoughts about parenthood and the decision as to whether I wanted to have children or not at the time. It's something that nearly everyone thinks about when they're in their thirties, especially if they find themselves in a relationship that is making them happy.
Ed McDonald
Hi Steven!
The cover art is pretty much entirely down to the publishers and their art departments. I had a very, very small amount of input but like 2% maximum. There are lots of factors to consider - how it fits onto a bookstore shelf, what it seems comparable to, how it looks in a thumbnail, and more besides.
The cover art is pretty much entirely down to the publishers and their art departments. I had a very, very small amount of input but like 2% maximum. There are lots of factors to consider - how it fits onto a bookstore shelf, what it seems comparable to, how it looks in a thumbnail, and more besides.
Ed McDonald
She is certainly the lead candidate for a spin off once the Raven's Mark books are finished. Assuming that she survives the final battles...
Ed McDonald
There are three books contracted at the moment. I would love to write more!
Ed McDonald
Hi Thomas!
Although Blackwing works as a standalone novel, there are three books in the initial Raven's Mark series that will complete all of the story arcs for Galharrow and the other characters introduced in Blackwing. Ravencry will hit the shelves in summer 2018 (June for UK, August for US) and the third instalment, Crowfall, will follow in summer 2019. Crowfall is about 3/4 written as of now.
It's possible that I might get to add more books to the Raven's Mark series down the line but we'll have to wait and see whether that gets to happen. If I do then they will likely follow a different character in the same world.
Although Blackwing works as a standalone novel, there are three books in the initial Raven's Mark series that will complete all of the story arcs for Galharrow and the other characters introduced in Blackwing. Ravencry will hit the shelves in summer 2018 (June for UK, August for US) and the third instalment, Crowfall, will follow in summer 2019. Crowfall is about 3/4 written as of now.
It's possible that I might get to add more books to the Raven's Mark series down the line but we'll have to wait and see whether that gets to happen. If I do then they will likely follow a different character in the same world.
Ed McDonald
My husband looked surprised, but didn't look to have aged a day since his last birthday.
The taxidermist had done an excellent job.
The taxidermist had done an excellent job.
Ed McDonald
Complexity. Short stories make a single point simply - they haven't the words to do more; novels tend to make a single point in a more complex way, or deal with multiple points.
But I'm no expert in this!
But I'm no expert in this!
Ed McDonald
I've always wanted to write epic fantasy. I've been reading it for about 30 years in one format or another. Epic fantasy lets the writer explore themes on a scale that other types of fiction often can't, and that means that the stakes can be much higher.
Ed McDonald
Hi Caleb, it's on Audible now for UK listeners. I expect it to be available there for other regions as the book is released there too.
Ed McDonald
Hi, and thanks very much :)
I have finished the first draft of the second book and I'm currently hammering it into the shape of something that actually resembles a novel... I am a very inefficient writer and I have a tendency to hugely over-write, then cut a lot out, add a lot more in, change locations and characters and so on. Eventually (hopefully within a couple of months) it can go off to my editors.
The plan is to release one book each year, so hopefuly BW2 will be hitting shelves around June next year!
I have finished the first draft of the second book and I'm currently hammering it into the shape of something that actually resembles a novel... I am a very inefficient writer and I have a tendency to hugely over-write, then cut a lot out, add a lot more in, change locations and characters and so on. Eventually (hopefully within a couple of months) it can go off to my editors.
The plan is to release one book each year, so hopefuly BW2 will be hitting shelves around June next year!
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Mar 19, 2024 04:44PM · flag