Interview With Author R.G. Triplett

Today, author R.G. Triplett stops by for a chat, and to give a glimpse of his new fantasy novel, The Great Darkening.

Interview with R.G. Triplett

Why don’t you begin by sharing a little about yourself.

I think I would call myself an artist at heart. The way I cook, the way I write, the way I communicate and make music and tell stories - even the way I smoke a cigar and savor a good bourbon - always comes with the motivation to discover or uncover a new aspect of beauty. In each moment, with whatever medium I have access to - whether it be horses, or holy scriptures, or hyperbole - beauty is what I hope to find, and frequently what I hope to create. Also, I would call myself a bit of an epic nerd. I love stories with layers of history and allegory. 

I may or may not have won a few Fantasy Football championships in my day and I currently have a garden going in the backyard that happens to have a very skewed vegetable to weed ratio. 

You've recently released a fantasy novel, The Great Darkening. Can you tell us a bit about the book?

The Great Darkening is what I would call an epic allegory, where we follow not just the hero in the story

and the surrounding cast of supporting characters, but we also follow the greater story of the changing world they are set in. Their world is in the midst of losing its only source of light, and because of that, the citizens are in the midst of losing their last hope for life as they know it. Hidden in the layers of myth and magic and battles and beauty is a bigger tale of becoming that I am so excited for the readers to discover.

As a writer of fantasy, what appeals to you most about that genre?

I love the layers of myth. Probably one of my most favourite works of fantasy is Tolkien’s Silmarillion. All of its layers of history and culture shape both the story and the world that it finds itself in. 

I can't help but get a bit lost in the imagining and in the reflection. One of the most compelling things about this genre is that it offers the opportunity to see yourself or your situations mirrored in the lives of the characters. I think I somehow walk away from these types of tales knowing that both their story and my story still go on.

Can you tell us about your writing process?  Where do your ideas originate?  Do you have a certain writing routine?

I love to create in community, I love to pray and dream out loud—I process life better with people, and I think I create better with people too. But when I sit down to my Mac Book, and I put on a few epic soundtracks to listen to... sometimes the story just finds me. 

In the nine months that it took to write TGD, there was not a single day of writer’s block. I honestly feel the pleasure of God when I write.

What is your greatest challenge as a writer?

My greatest challenge is probably is wrestling through the inconsistencies, and coming to the realization that some of my "brilliant" ideas might not be so... well thought out.

 

What sort of research did you do for The Great Darkening?

My biggest research had to do with naming characters and places within the world of Aiénor. I want names to have meaning—not just to sound good, but to have that extra layer of believability and depth to them. 

So I researched etymology, naming places and people groups based on the inspirations for their cultures. I am not an expert in language at all, but I had fun learning and diving into the different languages and people groups.

When you’re not writing, what do you do for fun? Do you have any hobbies?

I love having adventures with my kiddos, and if I had my way, I would be around horses all day every day.

Who has inspired you as an author?

C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, John Eldredge, Calvin Miller, Lev Grossman, Eugene Peterson and Rob Bell. Those poets right there have been HUGE inspirations for my heart.

What’s next for you?

Well, as we speak, I am 50,000 words into book two of the trilogy! I can’t wait to bring the next leg in this epic journey to everyone who has become involved in the story of Haven.

The Great Darkening

When the great burning tree of Haven begins to die, leaving the otherwise unlit world of Aiénor in a state of ever-growing darkness, a young man sets upon a quest to discover a new source of light before the unknown evils lurking in the shadows unleash their fury upon the unsuspecting world.

Fear strikes the citizens of Haven at the diminishing of their holy tree, and they determine that the only way to fend off the impending dark is to set about making their own light. There are plenty of trees in the forests of Aiénor to burn. But what happens when the timber has been consumed and the great tree has failed? 

Could it be that one will emerge who will uncover the prophecies of old and seek the promised light?

You can find out more about the author and his book at his website: http://epicofhaven.com/

The Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/epicofhaven

The Great Darkening is available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Darkening-Epic-Haven-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00I8DVQUO/

My Trip to Hal-Con: A Recap for #CoffinHop

On Saturday Oct. 27th I set out on a mission: to explore the wilds of the Hal-Con Sci-Fi Convention (held deep with the bowels of the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia) and report back for Coffin Hop.  And to celebrate a successful mission, one lucky person who leaves a comment will win an ebook copy of the Coffin Hop sampler anthology, Death by Drive-In.  Now here is my report:

My Trip to the Hal-Con Sci-Fi Convention

The day started before sunrise and with a road trip, because the city of Halifax is about a two hour drive from where I live and making the first event required an early start.  I did not venture forth alone, as I went with my friend Dorothy.  Yes, we were just two sophisticated girls getting their geek on. Upon arrival, and after checking in, we headed off to the Haven Panel.

For those of you not in the privileged geeky circle, Haven is a TV show from SyFy filmed in various locations on the South Shore of Nova Scotia and loosely based on Stephen King’s novel The Colorado Kid. The panel opened with a short behind-the-scenes film and an amusing, filmed, greeting from two of the show’s stars Emily Rose (Audrey) and Lucas Bryant (Nathan) who could not attend the Con. Then the audience got to view the Halloween episode of Haven (which has yet to be aired in Canada) before the main event.
That was a Q and A session with Haven’s mysterious newspaper duo, Vince and Dave, otherwise known as Richard Donat and John Dunsworth in real life. The session was quite fun, with the pair being charming and amusing. A good time was had by everyone.

After the Haven panel, we popped around to check out some of the vendors. There were the usual booths of appealing books and models, collectables and steampunk accessories, but two booths caught my eye. The first was Eternal Elf Creations, with their wonderful collection of jewellery; they had a skeleton head cameo necklace I just had to buy. They also have an Etsy store. The second vendor was an artist, Shawn Orne, who does exquisite fantasy paintings and prints. His work is well worth checking out.

To round out the morning we spent a few minutes viewing the costume contest (some great costumes paraded on stage) and then it was off to lunch.














After lunch, I stopped by the Game of Thrones discussion panel while my friend went to see Rene Auberjonois and catch some of the John Rhys-Davies Q and A (which apparently was fabulous; alas I missed most of it). I enjoyed the Game of Thrones discussion though; they were an animated bunch of folks who knew their stuff. Then I was off to a Steampunk session (hosted by the Jules Verne Phantastical Society) for a lively lecture on Black Powder and Steel: Weapons of the 17th and 18th Century. I learned quite a bit about muskets and an interesting tidbit that there were in fact grenade launchers available as musket accessories.

After the taste of steampunk, my friend and I enjoyed some of the Dramatic Reading of Kill Shakespeare, a graphic novel, and watched some of the SCA medieval style sword play. And thus ended the day at Hal-Con.




Kill Shakespeare

An epic adventure that will change the way you look at Shakespeare forever.

In this dark tale, the Bard’s most famous heroes embark upon a journey to discover a long-lost soul.  Hamlet, Juliet, Othello, Falstaff, Romeo and Puck search for a reclusive wizard who may have the ability to assist them in their battle against the evil forces led by the villains Richard III, Lady Macbeth and Iago.  That reclusive wizard?  William Shakespeare.