Rory B. Mackay has written Eladria.
1. What is your
name and where do you call home?
My name is Rory
Mackay and I live in the North East of Scotland, where I've lived most of my
life. It's nice here. But cold!
2. Do you have a
pen name?
No, I just use
my own.
3. What is the
name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or less words,
what would you say?
My first novel
is called Eladria and is published in May 2013. It's a
science-fiction/fantasy/YA adventure about a young princess who finds herself a
fugitive in a dying world, forced to embark upon a journey that takes her to
the very brink of the human experience.
4. Do you have
plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
Yes! While Eladria can be read as a largely self-contained novel, it's also a
prelude to a series of novels titled The Alanar Ascedent. The first book in
this series is called The Key of Alanar and is already written (it was
actually written before Eladria) and should hopefully be released next year.
5. What or who
inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been writing?
I was creative from a young age. I remember coming up with fantasy worlds,
characters and stories when I was only about six or seven years old. I loved to
play by myself and act out all kinds of adventures from my fantasy worlds. It
wasn't until I was in high school, around 16 years old, that I started to
develop the stories and characters that would form the basis of my books. At
that point I was inspired by pretty much anything and everything; books and
comic books I was reading as well as and films and TV that I loved. I also had
some good teachers who really encouraged me when it came to writing, which
helped give me the confidence to begin. Of course, from those humble beginnings
it was a long time before I got my head together and finished my first novel.
I'm a slow worker!
6. Do you gift
books to readers for book reviews?
I certainly do. If anyone would like a review copy, please let me know.
7. How did you
come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book?
The cover was designed by my publisher but I had some input in the process.
What I love is that the picture perfectly captures the likeness I had in my
head of the title character, Eladria. She's beautiful but quite fierce,
headstrong and determined. I think it's a powerful and eye-catching cover, so
I'm pleased with it.
8. Do you have a
playlist in mind for any of your books?
Even better - I composed my own soundtrack for the book. I create electronic
music, mainly very ambient chilled-out stuff, so I decided I would challenge
myself to create a soundtrack. The soundtrack covers most of the important
parts of the book and was initially inspired by music such as Vangelis's Blade
Runner soundtrack. I don't know if it sounds anything like that, but it
captures the drama and also some of the serene, quieter moments. It will be
available as a free download to anyone who buys the book as a gift to my
readers.
9. Did you
listen to any particular songs whilst writing your books?
If I listen to music when I'm writing, it's generally instrumental, downtempo,
usually electronic music. I find anything too loud or with vocals is
distracting. When I'm editing I can listen to a wider range of music. For this
novel, I listened to a lot of Klaus Schulze, Brian Eno, Vangelis, Ulrich
Schanuss, Solar Fields and Sigur Ros.
10. Is there
anything you would change about your book? And why?
I'm a bit of a perfectionist, I find it hard to finish any project because I'm
always tinkering with details and trying to make every last element perfect,
if there even is such a thing. But I'm very pleased with Eladria and whenever
I read over it, particularly the climatic chapters, I'm very proud of it.
11. Do you have
a book trailer? And what are your thoughts on book trailers?
I do, I just created it last week (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D-qiDT5yrs)
I've seen some amazing book trailers. I think short and snappy is best, so
that's what I aimed for.
12. Do you have
a “Dreamcast” in mind for any of your books?
I don't actually. I've been told by many people that my books would make great
movies as they are very cinematic. As I wrote them I saw them as movies in my
mind. I find it hard to match up my characters with actors and actresses as I
have quite specific ideas of who they are and what they look like. If it ever
did get made into a feature film, I'd like to be surprised - and hopefully
delighted! - by casting choices.
13. Do you
prefer e-books, paperbacks, hardcovers or audiobooks?
I've always preferred paperbacks for some reason. Hardbacks look better but are
heavier. I kind of like reading in the bath (which is sometimes a disaster, as
books have been known to accidentally join me in the tub!), so paperbacks are
fine and light. I was initially resistant to ebooks - too much of a
romanticist perhaps - but I now find I enjoy reading certain types of book on
my iPad. They've won me over.
14. Are you a
self-published / Indie author?
No, I was lucky enough to find a publisher willing to take on my first novel.
It did take many years of searching though. It is something I might consider in
the future though.
15. Have you
ever read a book more than once? And if so what was it?
I frequently do, but I'm more likely to re-read nonfiction more than once as
opposed to fiction. I guess I like the element of surprise and not-knowing when
it comes to fiction, which is lost on a reread. However, if a book is
well-written it'll still be an enjoyable experience and you may notice details
and layers of depth you didn't pick up on the first time.
16. What is your
opinion of novellas?
I like them. It all depends on fitting the needs of the story into the most
appropriate medium - short story, novella, or novel. The story should dictate
how long it needs to be. It should be an organic process I think; these things
can't be forced or coerced!
17. Have you
ever read a book just based on it’s cover?
I don't know if I've read a book based solely on its cover, but there certainly
have been books that caught my attention solely because of a stunning cover.
Once a book has caught my attention, I'll then read the blurb and dip into it
to see whether or not it's for me. I also like being able to read reviews first
so I can have a clearer idea of what to expect. I guess I like to hedge my
bets.
18. Has the
quality of the cover of a book ever put you off of reading it?
Yes. If a book has a really poor cover, I tend to either consciously or
unconsciously assume the content isn't going to be up to very much either.
Which may not be the case, of course. But if a cover looks cheap and nasty or
is badly designed it can be an offputting first impression.
19. What book
are you reading at the moment? And in what format?
I am about to read a short story called Gyaros Book Zero by Rohan and Alex
Healy (a prequel to their first novel) and The Earth Shifter by Lada Ray,
both in ebook format.
20. If you could
invite any four celebrities (alive or dead) to your dinner party, who would you
invite and why?
Oh what a cool
question! I am very much into Eastern philosophy and they aren't celebrities as
such but I'd probably invite Lao Tzu, Buddha and Shankara to discuss the nature
of life and enlightenment and I'd also bring along Leonardo da Vinci as I've
always been fascinated by his creativity and genius. That would be one
interesting dinner party.
21. Do you have
any advice for other writers? And what’s the best advice that you have been
given when it comes to writing?
Have a plan for
your book. Learn about the structure of stories and how to let your characters
grow and develop as the story unfolds. I spent a number of years learning the
theory before I was ready to put it into practise. I think that helped me a
lot, I'd have stumbled down all kinds of blind alleys otherwise - although
that's also a great way to learn. Find a story that captivates you, that you
feel you absolutely *need* to tell and share with the world, and then just keep
writing. And editing. And editing again. Keep the love of what you're doing
alive, and don't give up when you run into the inevitable setbacks and
frustrations.
22. Do you have
any hobbies that aren’t related to reading & writing?
I'm also an artist and also create music as I mentioned.
23. Where can
your readers follow you?
Thankyou so much for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your writing world!
& 
Amazon.co.uk.
& 
& 
