New interview with novelist David Meredith

Author David Meredith is back with a new interview. Today we’re talking about Aaru, a young adult, new adult sci-fi fantasy novel.

His first interview was about his fantasy novel The Reflections of Queen Snow White.

Bio:

David Meredith is a writer and educator originally from Knoxville, Tennessee. He received both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, Tennessee. He received his Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee. On and off, he spent nearly a decade, from 1999-2010 teaching English in Northern Japan, but currently lives with his wife and three children in the Nashville Area where he continues to write and teach English.

Welcome back to Reviews and Interviews, David. Please tell us about your newest release.

Aaru is first and foremost an entertaining and emotional YA/NA SyFy/Fantasy novel. It is at its core a story about the love of two sisters, and how they struggle to cope as the paradigms of what they’ve always been taught is true and good is challenged and shifted in a monumental way. However, Aaru also explores a number of what I think are fundamentally human questions: What happens when we die? What happens when religion and faith conflict with technology and science? Is there a way to reconcile the two? What constitutes a human being or human soul? What would happen to religion and faith if the fear of death was removed from society? How would that change the way individuals choose to live their lives? In a world where people in power can essentially choose who is and is not saved, how should that determination be made? Who should be saved? Is the act of choosing winners and losers, judging who is righteous and worthy vs. who is not, in and of itself even a moral act at all?

I suspected that the answers would be a lot messier and more complicated than the utopian realization of John Lennon’s Imagine lyrics and lead to a great deal of conflict as people try to hash it all out. In the end, Aaru doesn’t really answer any of these questions, nor is it intended to, but it does speculate on what the answers of different people from different circumstances and indeed society at large might be. I also plan to explore this more in depth in subsequent volumes of the series. In the end, what I most want people to get out of Aaru is an intensely emotional experience that stimulates some productive introspection even as they enjoy it as a compelling story about the fierce love of two sisters transcending even death.

What inspired you to write this book?

A lot of it was personal questions I’ve had about my own faith and spirituality and my dislike of absolutist answers to those questions. I have a deep suspicion of anyone who claims to be the sole possessor of all spiritual truth regardless of what they claim that truth is. It struck me both that the prime function of most (though certainly not all) religions is to ameliorate the fear of death. I wondered what would happen if that fear was suddenly removed. This then led me to ask myself; how could that believably happen in the real world? What I came up with was Aaru.

What’s the next writing project?

I’m about 110 pages into the Aaru sequel: Aaru: Halls of Hel. It will delve deeper into the world of Aaru and the lives of the people who live there as well as all the controversy surrounding it. I’m hoping to put it out sometime in 2018. I also have a fantasy series on the back burner that I want to release at some point. It’s based on Japanese mythology and legend instead of the European model that is so prevalent in fantasy literature today. I wrote most of it while I was living in Japan from 1999 – 2010. The first three volumes are basically finished, so as soon as I can find some time to sit down and polish them, they’ll be released as well.

What is your biggest challenge when writing a new book? (or the biggest challenge with this book)

In the actual writing itself, I think my biggest problem is impatience. Getting that initial draft out is much harder than the editing and revising I do later and which I frankly find to be more enjoyable. In my mind, I usually know exactly what I want my story to say and how it should feel, so I tend to get impatient about the actual mechanical process of writing it all down on the paper.

In terms of being a writer however, I think the hardest thing is not responding to negative reviews. It can be infuriating when you think it’s obvious that someone totally failed to get your work or you feel like their complaints are way off base. For example, I had one reviewer go ballistic on a novel I wrote once because they didn’t like the sexual content even though the query had a clearly written disclaimer expressing it was in there well before the reviewer agreed to look at the book. I also recently had a reviewer accuse me of “thesaurus abuse,” which I took to mean they didn’t know words and couldn’t be bothered to look them up either. When I write, I color with the 144-count box of crayons, not the eight-count. In any case, no matter how far off-base you think a reviewer is, you gain absolutely nothing by arguing with them or starting a Twitter war. You have to remind yourself that reviews are only really meaningful in aggregate and that this is just the opinion of one person, who has incidentally agreed to give up their free time in looking at your work. The only thing that is likely to happen if you shoot off a profanity-laced, visceral tirade is that you’ll get a reputation for being hard to work with, and that makes it harder to get people to look at your work in the future. If you write reviewers back at all it should only be to say, “Thank you for your time”. Then move on with your writing life.

If your novels require research – please talk about the process. Do you do the research first and then write, or while you’re writing, after the novel is complete and you need to fill in the gaps?

For Aaru, I had to do a lot of research. There are tons of references to philosophy and religion I had to review. I also had to look into the technology quite deeply so that the writing regarding the Aaru system itself would come off as believable. There was quite a bit of medical research I did as well so that the opening chapters would come across as authentic. In a general sense, if I’m writing about something that I don’t know a great deal about already I think it really is best to do the research first. If it is something I know pretty well however, I just look things up when I have a question.

What’s your writing space like? Do you have a particular spot to write where the muse is more active? Please tell us about it.

Not really. Especially since I just finished my doctorate degree, I’ve been pretty busy. I usually work on my laptop whenever and wherever I have a couple of free minutes. Home, office, coffee shop, kids’ sports practice, even parked in the car! I’m generally more productive when I can find a quiet space and maybe have some music going in the background, but life is so hectic I can’t afford to be fussy if I want to get anything done.

What authors do you enjoy reading within or outside of your genre?

I have a number of favorites. Most of my reading lately has been required course material for my doctoral program, but some of my favorite authors are Tad Williams, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Robin Hobb. I also like work by Robert Jordan, Liza Dolby, and James Clavell. I think Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke is one of the most creative fantasy novels I’ve ever read.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers today?

Just that I hope they’ll follow my work and check out Aaru. They can find me…

Links:

Amazon Author Page | Aaru Amazon Buy Link | Facebook Author Page | Aaru on Goodreads | Goodreads Author Page

Thank you for coming back to Reviews and Interviews!

Interview with fantasy author David Meredith

Today's guest is indy fantasy author David Meredith to talk a little bit about his newest novel, The Reflections of Queen Snow White.

Bio:

David Meredith is an emerging indy author and veteran educator based in the Nashville area. Before returning to the US two years ago, he spent nearly a decade on and off between 1999 and 2010 teaching English in Northern Japan.

Welcome, David. Please tell us about your current release.

This is a story that moves you 30+ years into the future after the conclusion of the Brothers Grimm original tale. Charming has died and Snow White just doesn’t know how to cope. It’s really about dealing with grief and finding purpose after someone so important to you is no longer in your life.

Now, the question was posed to me: “Why did you choose Snow White – why not Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rose Red or any of a host of other faerie tale princesses you might have chosen to write about? Why kill the prince? Well, First, let me note that I understand upon initial examination, she might seem a little bit vanilla as a choice. After all, she is probably the first faerie tale princess that comes to our minds when we think of the faerie tale genre. She’s been nearly exploited and merchandised to death by the Disney Company. There have already been almost innumerable retellings and riffs on her story in modern media – TV, movies, other novels, short stories, and even an old Rammstein music video. Who doesn’t know Snow White?

However, I felt like this intimate familiarity we all have with her actually works perfectly in helping the reader connect with her older self in The Reflections of Queen Snow White. To me, it felt rather like catching up with an old friend whom I hadn’t seen in years and years. Just like those friends from grade school or university, I still care about her.

All of us must deal with death and grief to varying degrees throughout our lives. Half of us at least will have to cope with the passing of a partner. Who better to demonstrate the idea that loss and the redefining of a life that necessarily must occur as a result happens to everyone – Even faerie tale princesses?

In addition to that, I also felt like Snow White had a particularly and mostly untapped potential (at least by Disney) for some really interesting darkness. After all, she had a pretty horrible upbringing – the tragic death of both parents, left in the care of an abusive woman who despised her, disassociation from her peers, isolation, loneliness, depression… I think these are all elements that really work to elevate the level of drama and move the story forward in a way that is especially gripping and impactful.

What inspired you to write this book?

Well, I think to properly answer this question, you should really know something about where I was emotionally back in 2006 when I originally wrote the source short story. In the space of about three or four months, both of my grandfathers died unexpectedly. During the same period, my wife also lost a grandmother and a grandfather, so there where a lot of funerals going on over a very short amount of time. Now funerals, by their very nature lead to a certain introspection about one’s own mortality, but particularly with the sudden passing of both grandfathers and, as a consequence, how hard my grandmothers took their deaths, it led me to wonder on their behalf – “So… What now?”

They had both had wonderful, loving relationships – many long, happy years together (over 60 years). In the case of my maternal grandmother and grandfather, they had never loved anyone else, having married straight out of high school. There was no question in my mind, nor indeed anyone who knew them, that theirs had most certainly been a real-life “happily ever after”. Now it was over. It made me wonder, “When your life has been so closely tied up with and centered upon one other person for so long, what do you do when they are no longer a part of your life? How do you pick up the pieces and move on?” That was the original kernel of the idea for The Reflections of Queen Snow White.

What exciting story are you working on next?

As a matter of fact, I have a HUGE project I started WAY back in 2004 that is nearly complete. It is a fantasy series based upon Japanese myth, legend and folklore, rather than the European model that is so prevalent in fantasy literature today. Originally it was a 406,000 word behemoth, but I've edited it down to three volumes that are between 95,000 and 120,000 words each. Here's a synopsis:

On the happiest day of the year, Taro’s world ends. His people and his family are slaughtered. His lands are brutally laid to waste by merciless, imperial forces. Taro is certain that neither he nor the ghosts of his lost loved ones can rest until he has visited the same devastation tenfold upon the heads of the vile collaborators. Consumed with grief for the fallen and guilt at his own survival, he gathers his scattered people and solemnly vows bloody revenge on the allies of the Emperor in the neighboring barony.

At the same time, young Naomi, cherished daughter of the doting Lord of Numanodai, is blissfully unaware of the chaotic world spinning out of control all around her. She fervently studies the arts of dance, music, and poetry as she dreams of being accepted into the distant imperial court. However, when disaster visits her very doorstep and she loses everything that she holds dear, Naomi must learn what it truly means to be a woman and a ruler. She must come to grips with her own gnawing grief and paralyzing doubt if she is to have any chance of saving her beaten and bedraggled people from Taro’s unreasoning fury.

In the process, both she and her pursuer discover a magical world of vengeful akuma demons, fierce kitsune fox-people, droll tanuki badger-folk, and the mysterious, arcane power of the ikioi. Taro and Naomi must decide whether to use this power for healing or destruction, revenge or redemption. They must choose whether to react to their pain and loss with wrath or with love. In the end, both must come to understand that the only thing that really makes them different is the choices they make and what they are willing to sacrifice in attaining that which they desire.

I'm hoping to release the first volume, Shirobara Falls, sometime next year.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I think I have always considered myself a writer, but an author… Now that’s a different story. I actually did not feel comfortable characterizing myself an author until very recently – shortly after the release of this book actually. There was so much weight to the term.

When I think of the word “author” I have visions of Poe and Emerson or even Steven King or Tom Clancy. It frankly felt a little pompous to claim that I belonged among their mighty literary company, which is what I felt like the word “author” implied. However, once I really began promoting my work in earnest, once I had the ISBN number and the web site and reviews coming in and requests going out on a daily basis, I really started to feel like my writing had suddenly ceased to be a hobby and instead was now a vocation and priority of mine. That’s when I really began to feel like an author.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I’d love too, but no. I am an English teacher in my “real job,” but at least there’s some cross over.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I don’t know about quirks, but I try to listen to music that is in the mood of whatever piece I happen to be writing at the time. It helps get me in the right mindset. I also carry a little black journal-type book around with me everywhere I go. Whenever I get hit by an idea, I immediately write it down. Some of those ideas turn into characters or stories.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was very young I think I went through the usual progression of policeman, fireman, soldier, cowboy, astronaut... By high school I had notions of being a writer, but was really bad about self-doubt. My undergraduate degree was actually in economics – about as far removed from fiction writing as you can get, but I was never really happy doing that kind of work. I like teaching, but I love writing things that can make people FEEL something.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Just that I hope you’ll all go out and buy a Kindle copy of The Reflections of Queen Snow White right away AND send it as a gift to all the book lovers on your Christmas list. So far the reviews have all been great and I really think you’ll love it. Thanks very much for having me and I hope you all read and enjoy The Reflections of Queen Snow White!

Links: 

Amazon | Facebook | Website | Goodreads | Twitter

Happy to have you here today, David!