Ms. McPhail lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, their twin daughters, and two very large cats.
CEPHRAEL'S HAND is the award-winning first book in her series, "A Pattern of Shadow & Light."
M.M.: Thank you so much, Andre. It was a great honor to explore these thoughtful questions.
1. Would you share several societal, cultural, or "random" influences from when you were growing up, that have made you into who you essentially are today?
M.M.: It's such an interesting question to look at the experiences that we believe have defined and shaped us and try to determine if we would be different without them. My love of Fantasy started with The Chronicles of Narnia, when my grandmother read the series to me as a child. The idea that magic might be all around us, that we might find talking animals and nymphs living in the trees if we but look for them--this is what I took away most from those stories. This idea is more valuable than one might think on first glance. Our lives are only as beautiful as we conceive them to be.
The day we stop waving our hands and making life appear magical to us is the day our lives become a little dimmer, a fraction sadder, a lot more mundane. "A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him an image of a cathedral." Antoine de Saint-Exupery was speaking of the magic inherent in art, yet the concept applies to life more broadly just as well.
I can't possibly name all of the influences that contributed to this complex mixture of me. All of us are amalgams of a host of experiences vast and varied. But I can say that Ayn Rand had a profound influence on me as a teenager. "Atlas Shrugged" has been both gilded and vilified in the media of late, an unfortunate consequence of the US Republican party's abuse, but the book offers more lessons than those categorized beneath Rand's Objectivist Philosophy. "Atlas Shrugged" is the story of a few isolated people who exhibit monumental integrity in trying to achieve their goals. I looked past the philosophy of living only for oneself and saw a struggle to uphold one's own code of ethics in the face of terrible odds. This is a struggle we all face at times in our lives. I came away from "Atlas Shrugged" wanting to know such people as Ragnar, Francisco, and Dagney. I enjoyed and admired them as characters who showed an equal vigor for pursuing the course they felt was right.
2. How did you prepare or research for the epic world-building of CEPHRAEL'S HAND?
M.M.: I've long loved history, and enjoy researching other cultures and their religious philosophy. Much of my inspiration for the varied races of Alorin grew out of my interest in different cultures, including looking at how their religions impacted their ideals, language and mores.
3. Which key concepts emerged - theoretical, philosophical, or metaphysical - that fired up the imagination generating your world's unique rules?
M.M.: Oh my - the entire story is based on philosophies I've studied! As I was planning "Cephrael's Hand" I had been reading about game philosophy (which is different fro game theory). Game philosophy talks about the importance of games in our lives and takes a look at their composition (barriers, purposes, and freedoms). It's a compelling concept with abundant applications, and I became immediately interested in exploring the ideas more via the story of "Cephrael's Hand."
Balance is another concept that threads throughout my story. Exploration of this idea comes out of my study and practice of yoga. If ever a concept permeates our lives, the pursuit of balance is one. Whether seeking to balance work and parenthood, our social commitments and our private lives, or even just the juggle of that list of a thousand things we'll never get to, every one of us is seeking balance in a fashion that has little to do with making time for exercise. Placing this concept within the framework of a fantasy story just gives it more prominence.
4. In the persona / perspective of one of your fascinating characters (name the character), express your specific relationship to or feelings regarding the stars of Cephrael's Hand.
M.M.: Wow, what a great question! If I were Fynnlar val Lorien, I would explain how Cephrael's Hand is absolutely the Hand of Fate doling out injustice with prejudice against anyone trying to make a decent living. But the character whose response is atypical is Tanis. My young truth-reader feels a strange and unsettling connection to Cephrael's Hand and looks upon them a little like an uncertain relative, the kind you feel you ought to recognize but at the same time are glad you need not speak to because their very presence makes you feel uncomfortable.
5. Who are several of those veteran Fantasy authors you have been influenced by, or contemporary indie-peers you admire...and what contributions have they made to your appreciation of Story-Telling?
M.M.: I love lyrical writing, so my bookshelves are an eclectic mix (albeit heavily weighted with Fantasy and Science-Fiction), but those who first come to mind from the Fantasy genre are Anne Rice, Patrick Rothfuss, and Jacqueline Carey, all of whom carry on a great and fabulous romance with the English language, much to the ecstasy of millions. Being able to string words like pearls into a story that reads at times like poetry in motion seems the greatest pinnacle of story-telling skill.
I'm just beginning my love affair with indie-authors, but I admire the ingenuity of AE Marling, the Dickensian prose of Stephan J Myers and Joanna Penn's ambitious research as detailed in her Pentecost series.
6. Did you run into any frustrating learning curves regarding self-publishing, and do you have any insightful suggestions you would share with all those who plan on self-publishing for their first time?
M.M.: Oh boy, yes: Look before you leap!
I think by our very natures, many of us indies go about re-inventing the wheel as we forge out on our own paths to self-publication, never realizing a well-worn cart-track replete with wagons for hire is just on the other side of the hill. If I have any advice to offer, it's to make an effort to explore not only your options for self-publication but the learning experience of those who've already made the trek. The pile of reinvented wheels probably reaches halfway to the moon, and most of those wheels look about the same.
7. THE DAGGER OF ADENDIGAETH, Book 2 in your "Patterns of Shadow & Light" series, has just been published...without spoilers, how has your vision expanded from book 1 to book 2, and what kind of creative growth / enjoyment have you experienced in your process, this second time around?
M.M.: We grow as writers with every novel--at least I believe that's the goal. Many of the things I gained in writing The Dagger of Adendigaeth are intangible, ineffable understandings of myself and my creative process. I think of those times of being fabulously, and fantastically stuck and the final moment of inspiration that launched me out of that depressing well. I think of the plot twists that came to me completely without warning, and the absolute magic that is the creative process.
The thing I loved most about writing this book was being able to explore so many viewpoints--especially the viewpoints of those characters who might be viewed as antagonists. But I don't and never have seen them that way. It's my greatest purpose in writing this series to be able to show the motivations and ideals that mold and shape each character. The more we can understand each other, the closer to a peaceful coexistence we will find, whether in the microcosm of our lives or the broader political and religious zones.
8. Do you have any fantastic recipes for a fine-dining meal to share, your style?
M.M.: Oh goodness, I owe my entire culinary success to Martha Stewart! LOL.
Truly my honor, also, to share in this exchange, Melissa, with your fascinating insights regarding creativity, magic, and philosophy!
To discover Melissa McPhail's CEPHRAEL'S HAND with Outskirts Press further:
http://www.amazon.com/Cephraels-Hand-Pattern-Shadow-Light/dp/1432759671
To continue with "A Pattern of Shadow & Light," book 2: THE DAGGER OF ADENDIGAETH:
http://www.amazon.com/Dagger-Adendigaeth-Pattern-Shadow-ebook/dp/B009YD5ZZE
No comments:
Post a Comment