Richard Ford
I wrote Quest for the Faradawn in 1981, a very long time ago now, and it was first published in 1982. The name Faradawn, (which I created but which has subsequently been copied by Susan Schade among others), came to me on a walk – I don’t know how or why the name came to me but it seemed ideal to describe the three magical essences of life that my hero, Nab sets out to find. The book took me a year to write and it was written in the evenings when I got back from work. My wife was pregnant at the time and I suppose one of the motivations behind writing the book was to capture some of my thoughts and feelings about the world in case anything should happen to me before my child was born or before he was too young to really know me.
As an only child my best friend and constant companion was my dog and the deep English countryside where I lived captured my imagination. The wood where Nab is found, Silver Wood, is the wood where I spent many happy hours playing as a boy and the description in the book is just as the wood was and still is. The cottage where Beth lived is the cottage where I grew up and all the other places described in the book are places that I wandered in as a child.
I never thought about publishing Faradawn until it was finished and then was lucky enough to find a wonderful Editor called Andy McGill at Granada Books who believed in the book and gave it all his support. It was Andy who convinced his superiors at Granada to have it illustrated and he found Owain Bell whose superlative drawings perfectly mirrored what I had imagined and added so much to the Quest for the Faradawn. Owen went on to live in Australia and illustrated several Thomas the Tank Engine books.
Quest for the Faradawn was published in America by Delacorte Press, who designed a very different cover for it, as well being translated into German, Italian and Japanese. It became an International Bestseller and I was immensely gratified and thrilled that the story I had written had found so many readers and gained a worldwide following.
I went on to write two more books in what became The Faradawn Trilogy; these were called Melvaig’s Vision and Children of Ashgaroth and were also best sellers although never perhaps acquiring the place in my heart that Faradawn has. All my books are available from Amazon or my website – www.rickfordsongwriter.com
After leaving my day job as a lawyer in 1999 I immersed himself in the world of music and the first album of my own songs, under the name Rick Ford, was called SMOKE AND MIRRORS and came out in 2008. My second album STILL, was released in 2010 and to my relief both have received great reviews and have sold very well through Amazon, ITunes cdbaby.com and my own website. I suppose the music I write and perform comes under the general heading of ‘roots music’ and comes from the world of country, americana, blues and folk. The reviewer for Americana UK called it ‘… folk with balls, badgers and a big amp.’
To find out more about the books and to listen to the music and songs please visit www.rickfordsongwriter.com
It would be great to hear from anybody out there in cyberspace who has read Faradawn or any of the other books so please feel free to contact me through the website.
SOME REVIEWS FOR QUEST FOR THE FARADAWN.
‘Quest for the Faradawn… a blend of Tolkien and Watership Down unfolded in masterly style. Ford not only writes superbly, his intimate knowledge of animals and the countryside shines through every page… a sensitive, exciting and engrossing novel which puts the author among the first rank of contemporary English novelists.’ Manchester Evening News.
‘Comparisons between Ford’s first novel and Watership Down, as well as with the fantasies of Tolkien are inevitable. But this enchanting fable stands as a creation even more pertinent to our times than those honoured works… the author’s artistry has created a parable for our time.’ Publisher’s Weekly.
‘A remarkable and compelling story with massive dimensions which combines great lyrical charm with universality and timelessness… profoundly moving.’ B.B.C. World Service.
