It is my pleasure to have a guest post by author Rory B. Mackay, who answers the question...
What scares you the
most or makes you the happiest about writing?
RBM: I've known most of my life that I wanted to be a writer. I
knew I had stories, characters and worlds inside my head that I wanted to be
able to bring to life and share with the world. As a kid, my first love was
comic books and I used to write, draw and compile my own comics throughout my
childhood. This was the start of my writing career, I guess! I don't even know
why I did it. Somehow, to create and tell stories was as natural to me as
breathing.
I don't know if writing makes me happy as much as it's
simply something I have to do. If I stop too long between novels I start to experience
an itch—a burning desire to write more—and it only gets worse until I finally
scratch it. It can be a long, hard slog at times; and it can be a lonely
endeavor too. Maybe one day I'll find another writer to collaborate with, but
for now it's an entirely solitary effort; a process of excavation in which I'm
digging deep into my own mind and transcribing what I see, hear and visualize
into words on a screen. There's no one there to hold my hand as I'm doing it,
because no one gets to read anything I write until it's gone through successive
and often countless drafts.
The hardest thing with writing is to simply keep
persevering; to keep churning out words in the hope they will form something
worthwhile and something that people will enjoy. Writers often struggle with
immense, and at times almost crippling, self-doubt. I used to think I was alone
in that respect, but I'm certainly not! To write and to continue writing
requires not just an incredible investment of time and energy, but also continual
leaps of faith. I've had to learn to trust my vision, my abilities and my
skills. Some days writing can be effortless, and then there are the days when
it's a struggle to get out any words at all. Such days usually require extra
coffee (I'm very fond of amaretto coffee at the moment), and cutting myself a
little slack. While sometimes it's necessary to crack the whip, on the days
when I'm struggling to get into the flow, it's usually counterproductive to
beat myself up.
I'm very much inspired by Taoist philosophy and know that
everything in life has its own ebb and flow. You can't try to force the tide;
you can only get yourself into the right position to take advantage of the next
wave. Sometimes I experience self-doubt so terrible that I never want to write
again. I convince myself that my books and terrible and no one will ever want
to read them. During the writing of both my novels, The Key of Alanar, and my debut novel Eladria, I got to a point where I was ready to bin them! I'm glad I
didn't though, because both have received such wonderful feedback from readers.
If I'd killed those books I'd have killed a little part of myself.
Writing has taught me the art of patience and perseverance—both
essential skills for life. A writer's journey isn't always an easy one (we just
make it look like it is!). But it's one we must undertake, because, quite
simply, it is our nature. It's my nature to tell stories, to share the visions
in my head and the ideas and reflections in my heart. I've tried quitting
writing before and it just made me feel utterly miserable. I realized that, if
nothing else, I had to at least do it for myself. For me, to quit writing would
be like trying to quit breathing.
My latest novel, The
Key of Alanar, took me the best part of two decades from inception to
publication. It's been with me the majority of my life—my own private little
world. Now it's finally time to share it with the world and it's the most
exciting, terrifying and gratifying feeling in the world. To create is to be
almost godlike in a way! As a writer I strive to create works that benefit and
enhance the world in some way; stories that I feel need to be told and ideas
that need to be shared. Being able to share my heart with the world in this way
is such an amazing thing and reinforces why I am a writer—and why I will
probably always be a writer.
by Rory B. Mackay
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Fantasy / Science Fiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Lasandria.
An ancient, advanced civilization, consigned to oblivion by the greed and power
lust of its own people. The coming apocalypse heralds a new evil that will
ravage the world of Alanar for an entire age. Yet on the eve of Lasandria’s
destruction, the ethereal overseers of the mortal realm grant a dispensation—a
promise of hope for the future.
That hope lies with an orphaned
teenager named David, born some ten millennia later; a boy whose isolated and
uncertain existence leads him on a journey upon which hinges the fate of not
just his world, but countless others.
On the run from a brutal military
force, David’s quest is one born of shattered dreams and tainted by the thirst
for revenge. As an inter-dimensional war that has been waged since the
beginning of time threatens to consume his world, the dark force that destroyed
Lasandria lurks in the shadows, ready to take possession of the one thing that
will either save Alanar or destroy it — David.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
Although
no stranger to death, his own mortality was something David had never given
much thought. In spite of all the peril he had faced along his path, he was
still only a teenager and had always assumed that his entire life lay ahead of
him. With the end now in sight, he was shaken free of this complacency and the
thought of his own impending death elicited within him a potent fear.
Yet
surely just one life, his life, was a small price to pay for saving his world.
If he refused to accept his fate and carry out this task, he’d be dead anyway,
along with everyone else; for Alanar would long since have ceased to exist. He
wouldn’t let his fear blind him to the path of his destiny. This was his entire
reason for existing. He now had a purpose and he would do whatever it took to
save his world. He looked up at Balaska and nodded. “Very well. If this is the
way it’s to be, then I accept my fate.”
“We
are all part of a symphony of existence, each of us with our own unique note to
sound,” Balaska said. “Some are subtle and barely heard, while others are
louder and more pronounced. And some—some are of such power that they echo
throughout eternity.”
Amazon UK
Amazon UK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A natural born writer,
thinker and dreamer, Rory Mackay was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1979. Since
then he has lived most of his life in the North East of Scotland, a place he
finds scenic and inspiring, if a tad cold. With a lifelong passion for creative
writing and art, Rory knew from a young age that he had stories to tell and
adventures to share. As he grew up and became interested in philosophy and
metaphysics, he came to realize the potential of literature and art as a means
of sharing ideas, posing questions and exploring the nature of reality in a way
that is accessible yet compelling and challenging.
Rory is also an animal and
nature lover, music junkie, social and environmental activist, cake enthusiast
and generally rather chilled out guy. He sells his art online and writes blogs
on creativity, writing, philosophy, spirituality and whatever else inspires
him. He has written his own commentary on the classic Chinese text, the Tao Te
Ching and is planning a self-help book as well as a new series of fantasy books
called The Dreamlight Fugitives. ¬
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