Hello Readers,
I’ve always liked to think of myself as a bit of a cool kid. I’ve earned a black belt in a martial art, flown a plane, flown a helicopter, drifted a lotus around a skidpan, ridden in a tank, and much more. And as strange as it may seem, I was never interested in reading when I was younger either. Having said this, I’ve been having a think about the things that have influenced my writing, and the more I think about it, the more I feel like I’m actually a bit of a nerd.
When I was around 10 or 11, I’d secretly stay up late watching shows like Hammer House of Horror, Tales of the Unexpected, and The Twilight Zone. I think it’s safe to say that this was my introduction to horror. It gave me a good insight into the genre and scared the pants off me.
In secondary school I discovered I had friends who played D&D. I was blown away by the die cast figures that they had bought to use in their games. While I never really got into playing the game, I was soon spending many nights glazy eyed painting a goblin or a dwarf or some other awesome creature. I’ve always been a bit of an artist, taking pleasure in painting and drawing over the years, and I found it an easy transition to painting figures. I have some old photos of them somewhere, I’ll try to dig them out and add them to a later post.
I watched a lot of cartoons when I was young too, I still enjoy them to be honest. Tom and Jerry, Danger Mouse, Dungeons and Dragons, Arabian Nights, etc. I think it all these factors came together and led me into graphic novels.
As I moved into my late teens I started watching a lot of martial art movies (think Snake in the Eagles Shadow, Drunken Master, Crystal Fist, etc.) and one day I stumbled onto the animated movie Ninja Scroll. I loved it! I’d say this steered me towards Anime.
Some years later my brother introduced me to Magic the Gathering. I love this game and I played it daily for many years. When I moved to Australia I stopped for a while as I couldn’t find anyone else who played it. It was pure chance that about a year later I saw a few guys playing it in the canteen of the organisation I was working for. Needless to say, I introduced myself, started playing Magic with them, and we became good mates.
It was many years later that I became interested in writing and it was only natural that I leaned towards horror and fantasy. While I had read one or two novels over the years, it was actually my writing that pushed me into reading. In other words… the reason I took up reading was to improve my skills in the craft of writing. I once read a quote by J.K. Rowling that went something like this – “If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” I’d take this a step further and say that if you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right author, and it was only a matter of time before I found Joe Abercrombie and the world of Grimdark/Dark Fantasy.
We open many doors on our journey through life, but I can’t say if it was the things I’ve experienced that have led me towards fantasy and horror, or if my interest in fantasy and horror led me towards my experiences. Maybe it is a bit of both, whichever way, I will always have an interest for the scary, the magical, and the mythical. It seems to me that as my writing progresses I may find my fantasy and horror writing blending together and sending me on the path towards Grimdark. Who knows? Only time will tell. Why not stick around and we’ll see how the journey unfolds.
Happy Reading.