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Jul
22
Debut author Karen Miller talks about The Innocent Mage
Posted in: UKSFBN Talks To on 22nd July 2007 by Sandy Auden
Debut author Karen Miller has arrived on the heroic fantasy scene with The Innocent Mage, a story that had haunted her imagination for many years…
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe started the journey," said Miller. "It was the very first fantasy novel I ever read, back in fourth class primary school. My imagination was captured, not only by the heroism and emotion of that story, but by the boundless possibilities contained within the speculative fiction genre. There was no looking back after that. My love affair with all things fantasy and science fiction began the day I opened that book and continues to this day.
"The genesis of The Innocent Mage came to me while swimming laps in my local pool, over fifteen years ago now. (Yikes!). I was suddenly struck with the idea of two best friends, men from very different worlds, one royalty, one common, who'd been brought to a terrible confrontation. The common friend was about to be executed by his royal friend. And that's all I knew. I didn't know why, or who they were, or how they'd reached that pivotal moment. But over time I worked it out. I started and stopped writing the story many times over the years, struggling with issues of self-confidence and belief. I walked away more than once. But I always came back to it, because something inside me wouldn't let the story die.
"Real life happened, and stopped me writing for long stretches. In the end the only way I could finish the story was to write it as a film script. That got me to The End. Then I turned the script into a novel, titled Kingmaker, Kingbreaker, and submitted it to a publisher. The publisher turned it down with suggestions on how the story could be improved, and an invitation to resubmit once I'd done a rewrite. I realised that the single story was in fact a saga in two parts. I just needed to push myself, past my self-imposed limitations. I split it in two, rewrote part one, renamed it The Innocent Mage, and resubmitted it with an outline for book two. And it was second time lucky - the editor said yes. That was in 2003. It was published in Australia in 2005, and now it's available in the UK too."
The Innocent Mage follows the adventures of Asher, born to a family of fishermen. Asher's humble roots do nothing to deter his ambitions to journey to the city of Dorana – home of princes, beggars and the warrior mages who have protected the kingdom for generations. But Asher is more significant than he realises and his movements are being watched by a secret organisation. The Circle preserve an ancient magic and Asher is about to discover his destiny…
It's a deceptively simple story that hides layers of depth and allows the author to explore a host of intense themes. "There's love, hate, revenge, and sacrifice for starters, and the price of fighting for what you know is right. Then there's the fact that nothing important comes for free; that people can be hateful but still have value; and that it's not the gifts you're born with, but what you do with them that counts. And not forgetting: friendship isn't easy, but it's always important."
The characters play a large role in examining these themes but which characters co-operated during the story? "Hands down, that was Asher. His voice came very naturally to me. I'm a pretty upfront, straightforward kind of person, I tell it like I see it and, unless I really work at it, I don't remember to censor what I say.
"I found Fane to be easy to write too - all I had to do was remember certain experiences from my childhood to access her bitterness over things that happen in her life. The other character who was always fun to play with is Darran - he's such a snob, and I think we've all got a bit of snob in us. I just let my inner snob out to play!
"The only character who gave me any real trouble was Gar. He's a much subtler personality than Asher, he's a single note from a flute, where Asher's the big brass band. Not even my dearest friend would accuse me of being subtle, so quieting myself sufficiently to hear his voice took a long time. Also, I found that I had to be willing to face some of my own demons in order to really capture his. Writing character-driven drama is an exercise in psychology. You need to examine your own motives and construction, as well as other people's, in order to get under a character's skin. That isn't always comfortable. I think I nailed him in the end, with help from a friend who reads all my works in progress, but it was a journey. It taught me a lot."
Miller's own life has helped to enrich her debut novel too. "I've led a real gypsy life, when it comes to employment. I've been so many people, and each experience exposed me to issues and adventures I've been able to use in my writing.
"As a groom I was treated as a thing that had less value than an animal. As a teacher I had my life threatened, twice, and was able to help students discover important truths about themselves - like, they're really smart and love learning and don't have to stay trapped where they are. In publishing I learned how the business side of making books operates, which has helped me consider my publishers' needs. As a bookseller, the customers taught me a lot about writing to entertain. Working in local government exposed me to a great many venal, petty people - more source material for villains than I could use in a lifetime! All of these experiences combined to help me write my first series. It's still helping me now."
The Innocent Mage is available for Orbit Books now. Orbit have a brand new website to visit here and you can find more out about Karen Miller at her own website.
Source: Karen Miller
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[...] Mage was published by Orbit UK in April and will be published by Orbit US in September, has been interviewed by Sandy Auden at http://www.uksfbooknews.net. It’s a deceptively simple story that hides layers of depth and allows the author to explore [...]
I've reviewed this book over at my new fantasy/SF website: http://thebookswede.blogspot.com/
It's a blog with reviews, great competitions, and even author interviews.
To keep up to date on the latest SFF books (as well as some older ones) visit it NOW!