Today we’re shining the speculative spotlight on David Hambling, author of The War of the God Queen, an epic military fantasy novel entered into this year’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off.
Welcome to the Fantasy Inn, David! How are you and how have you been?
As a writer working from home, I seem to be the only person whose work life has not been hugely disrupted by the pandemic. Except I now have my veterinarian wife working next to me…
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what types of stories you write?
I’m a science journalist and author, and as well as nonfiction I write Lovecraftian-inspired adventure/horror/SF and now fantasy. Much of it, especially the 1920s Harry Stubbs series, are set in and influenced by local South London history and folklore.
Pick three books: One that is the most memorable to you as a reader, one that had the greatest influence on your writing career, and one that you just love.
When I read Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror as a teen it was a real eye-opener, partly from the story but mainly from the almost -hallucinogenic prose and the uncompromising determination to create a wholly different world.
Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo is not just an outstanding, rip-roaring adventure – and the first modern superhero story? – it shows how you can transcend genre and go to amazing places as a writer.
Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is an unforgettable piece of literally urban fantasy, which is chilling, mind-expanding and hilarious.
How did you first fall in love with the fantasy genre?
Reading LoTR (and playing D&D) many moons ago as a teenager. I didn’t grow out of it, and now the world has caught up and fantasy has become mainstream , largely thanks to the LotR movies, and Game of Thrones.
What made you want to become a writer?
Some people just have to write to get the stories out of their heads. It’s probably a pathology. I’m one of those.
Do you have any fun hobbies you’d like to share?
Photography, travel and birding — which sometimes means going to exotic places to take picture of birds. When there isn’t a pandemic on.
Tell us about the book you entered into SPFBO this year!
War of the God Queen starts with Jessica Merton plunging out of our world and transported back in time to the ancient Middle East. The hideous parasitic Spawn want her as a host-mother; Jessica has other ideas, and escapes to try and raise an army of local nomads against them. She has no fighting skills, and in fact seemingly no relevant skills at all, but with the aid of other escaped women from different time periods she finds there are other ways to wage war than swinging a sword….
Try this if you’re looking for something that’s somewhere between Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and Stephen Donaldson’s The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
How did you acquire the cover art for your book?
After a lot of searching I found the talented Jacqueline Abromeit at Good Cover design http://www.goodcoverdesign.co.uk/ – she read the book and came up with a cover which was exactly what I wanted.
Why this particular story, of all the stories you could have written?
I wanted to overturn some of the clichés of portal fiction, explore the dynamics of a highly varied group of female characters, give an army of Spawn of Cthulhu a good run as monstrous opposition, introduce more subtle relationships than usual in the genre and deal with the interesting complexities of ancient warfare usually glossed over in favor of one-dimensional Hollywood fight scenes.
What key takeaways do you hope readers walk away from your book with?
I’d like them to feel they’ve been on a journey where they had seen things they had never before imagined and met people who made them think differently about the world.
Why did you enter SPFBO? What are you hoping to get out of the competition?
Everybody else was doing it 🙂 Hoping for some good feedback for the rest of the series.
Which do you enjoy most: outlining, drafting, or editing?
Drafting: that pure flight into the blue.
What does your drafting process look like?
Very scrappy. There are a vast number of rewrites at every level, from chapters and scenes right down to individual sentences and words. “I spent the morning adding a comma; I spent the afternoon removing it.”
Any advice you wish you could give to your earlier self when you were first starting to write?
One day self-publishing technology will mean you can get to readers without having to go through publishing houses.
What has been the best business decision you’ve made for your writing career?
I don’t think I made any actual decisions, I just got here.
What does a typical writing day look like for you?
8-6 at my desk with breaks for walks and lunch
What are you working on right now?
The sequel to War of the God Queen, City of Sorcerers; two Stubbs novellas and the fifth Stubbs novel.
Thank you for stopping by the Inn, David!
About David Hambling
David Hambling is a journalist and author living in deepest South London with his wife and cat.
