Wednesday Writer – Novy Interviews Brian Dolton

I originally met Brian Dolton in the writer’s workshop area of Orson Scott Card’s website under the name tchernabyelo.   Brian is originally from the U.K. and now lives in New Mexico.

 

 

For somebody unfamiliar with the work of Brian Dolton, how would you describe your work, and which story do you think is the best introduction to your work?

The majority of my work is probably best described as “adventure fantasy” – stories set in imaginary worlds of my own creation, with more-or-less heroic protagonists, trying to deal with dangerous situations which are rarely all they seem. In some cases the fantasy element can be pretty muted. But occasionally I veer off into more experimental work in terms of setting or voice. In terms of work freely available, I’d suggest “The Man Who Was Never Afraid” (published long ago at Abyss and Apex – http://www.abyssandapex.com/200610-afraid.html) as the closest thing to an ideal introduction to my work, especially as it features the conjurer Yi Qin, without doubt my most successful creation to date. Of course, as it was written a few years ago, there are a few things I’d do differently now…

You are originally from the UK. How does the different perspective that you have on life in the US impact your work?

Since settling here I’ve become very interested in the history of the Americas, and in particular the southwestern region of the US. I’ve got ideas for a series of “weird western” stories which touch on some of the mysteries of the region (the abandonment of many of the settlements such as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, for example), and outside of the SF/F genre I would like to write a series of mystery/crime novels set in the area, though that’s very much a long-term project. It’s certainly been, and continues to be, interesting to compare my English and European-based assumptions against American world-views, and my writing certainly benefits from becoming aware of the many subtle differences even between cultures that are often regarded as similar.

 

How did you end up in the US, and why did you ultimately choose to live in the Land of Enchantment?

My wife is American, raised in California (how we met is a long story in itself), and after she’d put up with the English climate for 11 years we decided it was time to move to the US instead. We ruled out anywhere too cold in winter (for her), anywhere too hot in summer (for me), anywhere too humid (for both), anywhere with hurricanes, anywhere with tornadoes, and anywhere with major earthquakes. What you are left with is New Mexico. Where we are, in the south-west of the state, is a very pleasant, generally mild climate with plenty of vast open space.

I have always been amazed that New Mexico has to actually write “U.S.A.” on their license plate because there are some police officers in other states who do not realize that New Mexico is not a foreign country.  Have you had any experiences with people thinking you live in Mexico?

Yes, but it’s been people in England, who clearly don’t know all of the US states (just as most people in the US couldn’t name English counties). So far, no-one I’ve encountered in the US has seemed unaware of New Mexico’s existence, though many people have warned me that it happens.

 

What does Tchernabyelo mean?

Long ago I wanted to coin an online nickname that would be unique. “tcherna” is a root slavic word for “black”, “byelo” a root word for “white”, so it (sort of) means “black and white”, which seemed suitable for a writer (and I’ve always been a lover of chiaroscuro, both in art and as a more general concept in fiction).

 

Unlike many emerging writers, a lot of your work is set in the same universe.  Tell us a little about the Land Of Wind And Ghosts.

The Land of Wind and Ghosts is a name I coined for stories set in a Chinese-influenced setting. Many of these feature Yi Qin, a conjurer who uses her own blood to power her magic. I’ve always felt magic should have a price of some kind, and sometime back around 2004 I came up with the idea of the blood magic that’s a mainstay of most stories in this setting. It’s a setting with a great deal of structure to it, a very organised and methodical culture (as was the case with China during much of its history), so Yi Qin’s function as a conjurer is to try and maintain order, dealing with ghosts and demons and other unworldly threats. But as with any setting, there’s a wealth of stories that can be told, not all of which involve any fantasy element at all beyond that of the exotic setting.

 

What are the projects you have coming up in 2012 that get you the most excited?

The game is changing constantly in publishing at the moment. The enormous growth in e-publishing is leading to the availability of enormous amounts of material and is changing the way that traditional publishing houses operate. I think that those who try and utilise both the benefits of traditional and self-publishing give themselves the best chance of success. So as well as continuing to submit work to traditional markets, I definitely intend to exploit the opportunities of self-publishing, and intend to produce a number of story collections for the Kindle and other such devices, while continuing to work on novels. And I’m also hoping to get a proper website together, but then I could have given the same answer for at least the last two years, maybe more. I always have far more plans than come to fruition – perhaps not surprising for a man with more than 30 novels planned or outlined…