Author Interview: John F. Raines
Reviewed by: Gary Sorkin, Pacific Book Review
June 2011
Today we are talking with John F.
Raines, author of the new fantasy novel, In
the Shadows of the Gods, The Rise of the Guard. Thank you for joining us John.
JR: Thank
you for giving me the time for this interview. I'm grateful for this
opportunity.
PBR: You
certainly have a flair for factious characters morphed with mythology. Tell us a bit how you developed your
imaginary world?
JR: Well,
it all started with the hybrids. They were the center of this novel's origins.
They were an idea carried over from an earlier book attempt before I had even
thought of In the Shadows of the Gods. In that earlier book, they
appeared as just a side role. When I scrapped that book, I took the hybrids and
started a novel with them as the core subject. The rest of the world just built
up around them from old ideas I had. The Kingdom of Shale drew a lot of
inspiration from when I used to make sand castles as a kid and from some of the
lego kingdoms I had built. The mythology of the book received much of its
inspiration from a trip to Hawaii that gave me an introductory look at the some
of the ancient Hawaiian gods. The world in the book was constructed from a
hodgepodge of various thoughts and experiences from throughout my life that all
simmered together.
PBR: How did you get started in writing?
JR: My
first attempt at a book was, I believe,
around the first grade. Among my family, it's just referred to as the “Vampire
Bat Book.” I was too young to know how to really write for myself, so my
parents and siblings all took turns acting as scribes for me as I dictated my
thoughts. The book had some definite grammar as well as plot issues, and only
amounted to about eight or so hand written pages, but it was my very first
attempt at story telling. There were other writing attempts here and there as I
grew up, but I really began to pick up writing at the age of thirteen with a
story I entitled, It's a Start. I named it that because I figured any
attempt at writing I made at that age would be fodder for future embarrassment,
but I decided the practice wouldn't hurt, and no one would ever need to read my
early work. I'm not going to lie, as I began to write it, I thought it was
genius stuff. It was only in rereading it that I was reminded of its actual
simplicity. I was around fifteen years old when I started writing In the
Shadows of the Gods. It too started with a skeletal plot, but as the years
passed it grew some actual meat to it. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing.
With only one chapter left to write, I decided that it needed so many edits
that it was beyond saving, and I slated it to pass into the same oblivion as It's
a Start had. It stayed that way until one night in college after class when
I had nothing to do. I decided to read through some of my old stuff, and I
opened up In the Shadows of the Gods. I was surprised to find myself
actually entertained by my own writing. Normally, I tend to dislike the
majority of my writing, but this time I legitimately enjoyed myself. I realized
that if I was enjoying it, there must be others out there who would be
entertained by it. I decided to finish up the last chapter and look into
publishing.
PBR: What were some of the books, or perhaps I
should ask, who were some of the authors which inspire you?
JR: I
have from a very young age been a die-hard Tolkien enthusiast. My father read The
Lord of the Rings to me in kindergarten. I still remember being frightened
by the Nazgul, and getting excited whenever Aragorn came on the scene. He was
by far my favorite character, and became my picture for what a true hero should
be like. I've read The Lord of the Rings trilogy three times through
since then. I would say that I was also heavily influenced by Brian Jacques' Redwall
series. I read and reread every book of his I could get my hands on all the way
up until high school. I would say those are the two main authors who gave me
inspiration.
PBR: Your fanciful characters, with magical
powers, seem to jump off the pages with moments reminding me at times of video
game creatures. Do you play these
“dungeons and dragons” types of video games?
JR: I am
guilty as charged. I loved video games as a kid, and probably played them a bit
too much for my own good. My favorite genre was a toss-up between science
fiction and medieval fantasy, and I certainly believe that all those hours of
playing video games has had an impact on my writing style—especially when I was
younger. When I first started writing, I thought a scene without any swords
being drawn was a terribly dull affair. I'd like to think I've grown up some
since then. But yes, the action driven stories of video games has definitely
helped to shape my writing.
PBR: The castle in the Kingdom of Shale took on a
character of its own as I was imagining at times a chess game, with the Royal
Guard being the players. Tell us, are
you a fan of chess?
JR: I'm
delighted to hear that Castle Shale stood out so prominently to you, and I can
tell you that it comes to play a fairly key role in the plot. As for chess, I
have always had great respect for the game, and I'm tolerable at playing it,
but unfortunately I don't get the opportunity to play it very often. I've
always been more of a Diplomacy player, and I feel that the tactics I've learned
from that game are going to be instrumental in the writing of the sequel.
PBR: This book is the first of a series. What are your plans for its sequel?
JR: Well,
I can't tell you everything I've got planned for the next one, but I can tell
you that it's going to take place on a much grander scale than the first. The
first book only showed a fraction of the map, and only really focused on the
actions of a small group of people. The sequel will be called In the Shadows
of the Gods: The Fires of War, and the name is going to deliver what it
promises. There is still going to be the character-against-character dynamic
that was established in the first one, but now the characters' conflict will be
against the backdrop of nation-against-nation. Where in the first book battles
tended to only involve a few characters and maybe a battalion or two, in The
Fires of War, whole armies are going to clash. There is also going to be a
lot more exposition for characters who were on the bench until now. I'm also
going to give the reader a better look at the perspective of the “baddies,” and
hopefully bring out their goals and ambitions to a greater extent. So, to sum
it all up, I've got a lot planned for the sequel.
PBR: We certainly wish you the most success in
your writing career, and look forward to your continuing stories. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts
with us.
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