We sit down with Author David Green to chat about his upcoming release In Solitude's Shadow and what we can expect from him next!
Thank you so much for sitting down with us! So, who is David Green, and what started this writing journey?
Hello, thanks for having me! I’m just a fairly normal bloke, though I did see rumours in a recent video of me being an android, which I can’t rule out 100%...
I live on the west coast of Ireland under a perpetual downpour of rain, but the two weeks of sun we get a year is just lovely. Before that, I grew up in Manchester where we just get rain. It’s probably affected my writing in some way but that’s all cool, right?
When my son turned 5 months (he’s now 3 years old) I changed gears and became a stay-at-home Dad, which has been wonderful and I feel very lucky to do it. But, I needed something else to do! Being an avid reader all my life, I harboured ambitions to write but the doubt monster lurking in my brain (he’s still there and says hi) always told me I couldn’t do it, but I started a creative writing class that was more poetry slanted. Then in March 2020 I sent out my first work and it’s gone much better than I’d hoped since then!
You have a busy year coming up in 2021. Tell us what we can expect from you!
Yes, 2020 was busy, but 2021 is insane, really. In the best possible way! I have quite a lot of things coming with Eerie River Publishing; some that haven’t been announced yet… mwhahahaha! Midnight Shadows just came out, next up is my story “Master and Apprentice” in With Blood and Ash which I’m very excited about, followed by five drabbles in Dark Magic, and a story I’m actually quite fond of called “Into the Depths” which appears in It Calls From The Sea.
Your series “Empire of Ruin” is being released in 2021 by Eerie River Publishing, the first book “In Solitude’s Shadow” coming up quickly in June. Without giving too much away, tell us a little bit about the book and what inspired you to write it?
The first book is very much a story about choices and their ramifications, in an epic dark fantasy setting that has very personal stakes between the characters. It tells its own story with a very defined arc in book one, but leaves things set up for the larger story going into book 2. At its core, it deals with the relationships between parents and their children when an Empire built on war escalates an already bloodthirsty mindset to unheard of levels when faced with an ancient foe.
In terms of inspiration, the personal relationships were definitely inspired with recently becoming a father and the decision you have to make each day for your child. They don’t understand, but you have to do what you feel is right for them. Other than that, I’m a huge fantasy nut so it’s a story I’ve had living in my mind for a number of years and I’m delighted to get the chance to tell it.
Do you have any writing rituals?
I listen to music, the click-clack of the keyboard makes me go all Jack Torrence otherwise. I also close down any other browser that isn’t to do with what I’m working on, and throw my phone to the other side of the room for a while so I can avoid the temptations it holds...
What piece of writing are you most proud of and why?
Definitely In Solitude’s Shadow at the moment. I think the story was in good shape when I initially submitted it, but it’s much stronger now with the whole process Eerie River has put it through. It’s still my tale and my writing, but it’s just more refined than anything I’ve done before and I’m so excited for people to read it.
You write in a few genres, do you have a favourite to read or write?
My favourite to read and write is fantasy, and I enjoy all types of fantasy! I started with Arthurian legends as a kid, before moving onto Tolkien then Robert Jordan. Wheel of Time is still my favourite, but I’ve gone to urban, low, high and grimdark from there, and a shade just above grimdark is what I write, though my Holleran series is noir urban fantasy and I absolutely love writing that character.
But I do a few other genres; I have a soft spot for SciFi and horror. Horror’s always fun; I find writing it a release and quite relaxing, which is odd really, isn’t it? With fantasy, I have to build worlds, nations, history and all that fun stuff, so with horror it’s great to just create some characters and tell a story.
Any advice for people who are considering becoming an author?
Get your work read by others. It’s a nerve wracking prospect that first few times, getting someone else to read and critique your work, but it helps so much. The story lives in your head, and we fill in the gaps when we read it ourselves - it makes perfect sense to us! But does it make sense to others? Do the characters act in a believable way? Does the plot move smoothly? Is there information repeated? Is there crucial aspects not repeated enough? These are the things are great beta reader can pick up on, and you’ll have a greater chance of success - and more confidence in your own writing as you’ll pick these things up yourself - by getting a reader before you submit something.
Tell us about the first piece of writing you had published and how that impacted you?
The first thing I had published was a real-life tradicomedy about when I was in my mid-20s. I’d had a couple of things accepted already, but this was the first bit of work I had out that people could read. It’s called “A New Challenge” and is obviously quite personal and very different to what I usually write (I did it as homework for a creative writing class) but it was a good way to get out first. It’s a story people can laugh at, and making people laugh is a great gift to give to people - and the idea of me dressed up as a six-foot-tall bunny named Dot really amuses people.
It’s almost cliche that authors live on black coffee and hard liquor. What are you drinking right now?
… Coffee…
Right now, that is. I am a red wine drinker, and have been known to have a glass or two when writing. However, when I’m editing or nailing something down after the first draft, it’s tea all the way. ALL THE WAY.
Ok, now the fun question. You are trapped offshore at a deserted lighthouse. You rummage through the cupboards and find one board game and one book. What are they?
The board game is Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective and he book is one called “How to Escape a Deserted Island Lighthouse with a Copy of Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective in Three Easy Steps.”
Oh, you mean a real book? Okay, same board game, and The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan. Bliss.
You can preorder this ebook right here: https://books2read.com/Solitudesshadow
Hardcover and Paperback preorders can be done right though our book order form! Check it out!
Follow all of Davids Adventures here:
Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/y6ah8brp