The Writer's Life Chats with David Brown, author of "Fezariu's Epiphany"
About David Brown
David Brown was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and first conceived the idea of the Elencheran Chronicles at college in 1999. He spent ten years compiling the history of Elenchera, resulting in 47,000+ years of events, 500+ maps, 2000+ pages, several short stories and many much-needed acquaintances with Jack Daniels.
David also has a blog, The World According to Dave (http://blog.elenchera.com), which features reviews, stories and dramatic tales of the horrors of owning cats.
David now lives in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with his wife, Donna, and their six cats.
Fezariu’s Epiphany is his first novel. David is currently working on his second.
A: I was born in Barnsley, a former mining town in South Yorkshire, England and started writing in 1999 when studying at college. I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six rescue cats – Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.
Q: Can you please tell us about your book and why you wrote it?
A: Fezariu’s Epiphany is the first in what will be a series of stand-alone novels set in the fictitious world of Elenchera. I intend these to be a different kind of fantasy novels, where the layout of the world takes a backseat to the characters who will be at the forefront of every story. I chose to start with this particular novel as it features the Merelax Mercenaries – one of my favourite institutions from the world of Elenchera – but most of all it was the story that screamed the loudest at me when I was mulling over several novel ideas.
Q: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced writing it?
A: Fezariu’s Epiphany took two years and six drafts to complete and even towards the end I was making key changes. Most of the novel worked well but some elements were inconsistent with the rest of the story. It was a case of ironing out the weak points and ensuring the novel was as good as I could make it. I’m happy with the end result.
Q: Do you have a press kit and what do you include in it? Does this press kit appear online and, if so, can you provide a link to where we can see it?
A: I don’t have a press kit as such but I do try and make as much information as possible available on my website, including the trailer, book cover, interview and review links and so on.
Q: Have you either spoken to groups of people about your book or appeared on radio or TV? What are your upcoming plans for doing so?
A: So far most of my publicity has been aimed at US readers; however, I’m in the UK so it does make it difficult to arrange phone interviews because of the time difference. Now that the book is becoming more readily available in the UK it’s certainly something I’d look to pursue.
Q: Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is? If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?
A: My wife, Donna, is my agent. I was sharing ideas with her when we hardly knew one another and she was an excellent critic: never afraid to tell me something didn’t work but always constructive with it. When I began writing this book in 2008 she became my editor and critic, in 2009 she became my girlfriend and in 2010 she became my wife. She acts as my agent and publicist now the book is out and life has been so much easier having that kind of support. I’m not sure it’s necessary to have an agent as such but the backing of your partner, friends or family makes it less of a lonely pursuit towards your writing dreams.
Q: Did you, your agent or publisher prepare a media blitz before the book came out and would you like to tell us about it?
A: I think I was a little naive when it came to pre-publishing promotion and didn’t really know who to approach so I didn’t do much at all until the book appeared. Donna has arranged several blog tours since and these have been excellent. She also arranged for a trailer to be made and has recently arranged a cover redesign to ensure consistency across the ebook and paperback editions (which currently have different images). At the same time she had the cover art done for my second book so I can start promoting that before it comes out!
Q: Do you plan subsequent books?
A: I’m currently working on my second novel, A World Apart. This will be set many centuries after Fezariu’s Epiphany and focuses on a trio of friends – Demetrius, Eleyna and Halcyon – who find themselves in a love triangle in their teens before some impetuous actions split the trio up. When they’re reunited as adults they find they have all changed significantly but that doesn’t stop old feelings rising to the surface. Throw in pirates, magic that comes at a cost and bounty hunting and it all gets a little messy!
Q: Thank you for your interview, David. Would you like to tell my readers where they can find you on the web and how everyone can buy your book?
A: Many thanks for having me. It’s been a great pleasure. You can find out more about me, Elenchera and Fezariu’s Epiphany at www.elenchera.com. The book is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords (and a fuller list is available on my website) Feel free to find me on Twitter (@elenchera) and Facebook if you have any questions. I’m always happy to hear from readers and writers alike.
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