Please welcome David Brown

Our special guest today is David Brown, author of Fezariu's Epiphany.

David M. Brown was born in Barnsley in 1982 and first conceived the idea of Elenchera in college. His love of history and English led him to read these subjects at Huddersfield University. David is inspired by medieval history, Norse mythology and Japanese role-playing video games and anime films. He lives in Huddersfield with his wife Donna and their six rescue cats.

Welcome to Of Ink And Quille

Thanks for having me.

As an author, what scares me the most...

I call myself a fantasy writer and that’s what I’d always like to be. However, with the novels set in Elenchera I am trying to do something a little different with the genre. Does the sci-fi/fantasy genre need improving? I don’t think so, but what I want to do is make it more accessible to other readers. This is a venture I may not succeed in but I will certainly try my best and just see what happens.

My debut novel, Fezariu’s Epiphany, encompasses the sort of stories I want to tell in the future. Though set in a fictitious world the characters at the centre of the novel are more important than Elenchera itself. I dearly hope that readers will fall in love with the world and indeed the historical context that is revealed through the main plot but my primary concern is the story itself and I want that to grab the readers.

 My hope is that readers that pick up Fezariu’s Epiphany or any other Elenchera novel will be seasoned sci-fi/fantasy fans but also readers that wouldn’t normally pick up a book from this genre. I want to remain accepted in the fantasy field but I want to branch out and touch the hearts of other readers, give them a story they enjoy and a very different world to escape into. Hopefully, if they like Elenchera they may go further and try other fantasy novels too. The genre is rich in versatility and talent, I honestly think many more readers could find books to enjoy in the field.

With my ambition comes fear, of course. In trying to make my work accessible to more readers I don’t wish to alienate myself from the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I believe I am a fantasy writer and want to be known as such but with the added element of trying to do something a little unique and not just trying to recreate the masterpieces of my peers. I would hate to be left in literary limbo, dismissed by the sci-fi/fantasy genre and difficult to slot into any other section in the bookshops. That’s my biggest fear as a writer but at the same time it’s my biggest motivation to take such a huge risk because if I can make a handful of readers give sci-fi/fantasy a try then I’ll have succeeded in my ambition.