AUTHOR JAMES AUSTIN McCORMICK HORROR, FANTASY & SCI-FI WRITER
Today I have the pleasure of interviewing James Austin McCormick, another of my co-authors of the new Sci-fi and Fantasy anthology, Reality Glitch - 11 exciting stories from 11 authors from around the globe. This is the second interview of the series.
James is a college lecturer from England and a fan of all types of speculative fiction, most notably science fiction, horror, and sword & sorcery fantasy. Whenever possible, he tries to blend these elements in his own writing.
H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Edgar Rice Burroughs were his first writing inspirations. More recently, James is inspired by Frank Herbert and Clive Barker, whose works, he says, he never grows tired of re-reading.
James lives in the rainy city of Manchester with his wife and two young daughters, the eldest of which is something of a budding writer herself.
Welcome James. I'm very happy you're here. Let's get to it, shall we?
Tell us, other than your excellent short story contribution to Reality Glitch, what is your most recent work? And can you tell us a little about it.
Sounds exciting! What else are you working on?
James is a college lecturer from England and a fan of all types of speculative fiction, most notably science fiction, horror, and sword & sorcery fantasy. Whenever possible, he tries to blend these elements in his own writing.
H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Edgar Rice Burroughs were his first writing inspirations. More recently, James is inspired by Frank Herbert and Clive Barker, whose works, he says, he never grows tired of re-reading.
James lives in the rainy city of Manchester with his wife and two young daughters, the eldest of which is something of a budding writer herself.
Welcome James. I'm very happy you're here. Let's get to it, shall we?
Tell us, other than your excellent short story contribution to Reality Glitch, what is your most recent work? And can you tell us a little about it.
My my recent work is titled, Dragon: The Tower of Tamerlane (the third
book in my science fiction series, Dragon)
After the death of the Tuolon Ambassador Lagua and the
failure to bring the non-humanoid worlds into the Alliance, Sillow and Brok’s
long partnership is finally at an end. Now a reluctant solo agent, Sillow is
called upon to undertake his first mission, investigate the Tower, a high-tech
prison complex along with the oligarch who runs it, a mysterious nobleman who
calls himself Tamerlane.
Seeking evidence to prove Tamerlane is responsible for a series of terrorist
attacks, Sillow quickly uncovers the sheer scale of his plans, a lethal
military strike on all four humanoid home worlds.
Caught and imprisoned however, the Sylvan finds himself helpless to warn the
Alliance of the coming danger.
All the while, something has been evolving, growing stronger inside the Tower,
something intangible yet far more dangerous than Tamerlane ever could be, a
being implacably opposed to all life in the galaxy.
And only Sillow has any chance of stopping it.Sounds exciting! What else are you working on?
At present I’m writing a sort of steam punk fantasy. I’ve always
enjoyed mixing genres but I’ve not tried anything like this before. It’s very
slow going especially as it keeps evolving and forcing me to constantly revise,
but it’s also great fun.
What other
novels have you written?
I write a lot of short stories but my longer works tend to be
between twenty to sixty thousand words, so novellas up to short novels. I’ve
six novels/ novellas out to date and these cover horror, fantasy and science
fiction.
What is the
single most powerful challenge when it comes to writing a novel?
Pacing. To deal with this I sometimes set out the plot points as
if it were a screenplay (for example, the inciting incident, plot point/turning
points 1 and 2 and also break it into three acts).
What are you
planning on writing in the near future?
Without doubt more Dragon novels. So far these have been fast
paced, action orientated and somewhat comedic in tone. I feel however that the
next one needs to have a harder edge and a darker tone than previously. It’s
something I’m figuring out at the moment.
Do you have
another job outside of writing?
I’m a college lecturer and teacher trainer. I taught abroad for
many years but I’ve been working at a college in my home town for over ten
years now.
What
motivates or inspires you?
Escapism. I write mostly speculative fiction and the more I can
create my own landscapes, worlds, characters and back stories the more I enjoy
it.
What has
been your greatest success in life?
Having the courage to pack in my supermarket job and go to
university when I was in my mid-twenties. Many people at the time told me I was
making a mistake but it was something I knew I had to do. It was the best
decision I ever made.
And I'm certain your fans would agree with you. Okay, now comes the part of the interview where I ask three quick questions and hope for three quick replies. Ready?
My best
friend would tell you: I’m a worrier. I work hard at not
being one, and normally I do a reasonable job at it, but the natural tendency is
always there.
The one thing I cannot do without is:
My morning
cup of Earl Grey tea. I allow myself one caffeine drink a day and I wouldn’t be
able to get going in the morning without it.
My biggest peeve is:
I tend to
have more of these as I get older but queue jumping is close to the top of the
list.
James has been gracious to give us an excerpt from his most recent work, Dragon: The Tower of Tamerlane.
“Take
a good look Drake,” the guard said as the craft closed on the gigantic, ornate
structure resting between frozen mountains. “This is the end of the line for
you. I hear Tamerlane wanted you personally.” The man grinned, splitting his
ugly face in half. “Which ain’t good for your scrawny ass, believe me.”
The
prisoner remained indifferent to the mocking tones or indeed the attempt to
scare him, but then Darius Drake was a most unusual figure. Small and
malformed, his owlish eyes nevertheless exuded an absolute, unshakable
confidence, a haughty detachment that often unnerved those around him. The
guard was one of them. It was partly for this reason he felt compelled to say
something to the perfectly silent prisoner who’d got so deep under his skin.
Drake
regarded the structure below. The closer they came, the more like some bizarre,
oriental tower it appeared. After some moments he turned his watery gaze back
to the guard. There was no aggression, no challenge, just a cool contempt.
The
smirk crumbled from the other man’s lips. “You be taking those psycho eyes off
me freak,” he warned, lifting his rifle.
Drake
blinked impassively back, his wrinkled, wizened features unreadable.
Those
damned eyes, the man thought. He couldn’t stand them anymore. He moved
forward, stopping the rifle butt an inch or so in front of Drake’s face.
The
little man didn’t flinch.
The
guard’s knuckles whitened around the weapon and for a moment he looked as if he
might use it. Then he sneered. “You ain’t worth it. Little cripple like you.”
He shook his head, sitting back down. He made a point of avoiding the
prisoner’s eyes.
A
derisive snort made him whirl round, a large blue vein bulging in his neck. The
guard stared at a powerfully built, buxom woman with long auburn curls that
fell to her shoulders. She was a striking sight, and as he was aware, she’d
caught him more than once ogling her during their half day’s journey to
Tamerlane’s prison complex. One of her shoulders and arm was completely
cybernetic yet the metal was so smooth, so perfectly formed it seemed almost
like a bodily adornment rather than an artificial appendage. A thin silver line
ran across one of her cheeks whilst above it the eye glowed with an artificial
soft ruby light. That eye was mocking him.
“You
got a problem?” he snarled.
The
woman sneered. “Real tough guy, aren’t you Kerry? Bet all the ladies are real
impressed by you.”
The guard’s nostrils flared. “Shut your bitch mouth.” Narrowed
eyes swept over her. “Look at you, Titanya, the Pirate Queen. Least that’s what
they call you, ain’t it?” He slid along his bench, moving towards her. “Well,
you don’t look so noble to me. More like a slattern.” He placed a gloved hand
to her throat. “Don’t look so damn tough, neither.”
Great! James, I want to thank you for the excerpt and for the interview.
Here are a few ways to connect with author James Austin McCormick:
Book online sales links
You can connect with James on Twitter: Jimbomcc69
Or on his Facebook Author Page:
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