James Val'Rose

When did you begin writing, and did you always envisage being an author?

My first attempt at writing, not including the little poems and stuff you were made to write at school, was when I was about 10, and I remember really enjoying it. I remember getting home and being really excited about making up what was going to happen next. However, whether or not I envisaged myself being an author, I don’t know, but I know that it was always something that was just there. So, at about 19, I thought, why not? And that day, I opened up a blank document on the comp and started tapping away.

What is the novel about, and what inspired you to write (title of the book?)

When I initially wrote it, it was entirely based around a boy called Jerome, and his quest to find his mother. But over the ten or so years, since the aforementioned morning I started ‘tapping away’, it’s developed quite a few more dimensions, and while, ostensibly, it is still about Jerome and his individual quest to find his mum, there’s a lot more to it now.

What do you want readers to gain from your novel?

I suppose the first thing I want people to get from it is pleasure, to enjoy it and when they finish it to feel satisfied – maybe even fall in love with a couple of characters, or all of them. I imagine that’s what every author wants, but a good thing never gets old.

What advice would you give to budding writers?

A book is one of those rare accomplishments in life that appears as two quite contrived things, at the same time. Firstly, as a work of art, they’re not the biggest of things, no bigger than the size of a small painting that may have taken anywhere between five minutes and a couple of hours to complete. But secondly, it is something we all know has taken probably months, even years, to complete. It’s small, and will sit happily on your shelf, but has taken as long as it takes to build the house in which it resides – which is a big thing. So my only piece of advice is this: you have to take time and just write, bit by bit. Even when you convince yourself that it’s just a book, you have to remember that a house doesn’t just spring up like a jack-in-the-box; it’s built, brick, by brick, or … word, by word in this case. Oh, and enjoy it!

Which other books or authors inspired you to write?

In all honesty, probably every book I’ve ever read has in some way inspired me to write. In all fairness, it’s the books and their authors that have taught me how to write. So, in a weird way, I suppose I can claim to have been taught by all the great authors out there! But seriously, I love the kind of author who writes like he/she is talking, like when your reading it actually feels like they’re speaking the words, and all you have to do is listen. I find Stephen King books like that, but I also love Laini Taylor (I mean her books, but I’m sure she’s cracking, too!), Stephen Donaldson’s, the Unbeliever, Nora Roberts, and many, many more.

Do you see yourself as a one genre author, or are there other elements in your writing that you can see yourself developing in the future?

By no means. In fact, the trilogy, of which Path of the Gods is the first instalment, spans a number of years and goes from a fantasy novel in Volume I, to a modern day fiction in Volume II, Disciple of the Gods, to a future sci-fi thing in Volume III, Stratagem of the Gods, but all with the same characters. I have no intention of ending the series after those three books, but I also have other ideas, branching off into children’s stories, detective stories, and maybe even other slightly more debauched interests. Who knows what’ll happen, but the passion’s there, and I know I’m going to have a great time finding out!

What inspired the title of your book?

I wish I could be specific about what inspired me for the book’s title, but I can’t really remember; after all, I was still, pretty much, just a kid when I started writing it. But as underwhelming as this may sound, I think I was quite a way through writing it when I considered – what is going on? The main theme is a boy on a journey – so, journey equals ‘path’. I think that was the connection. As for the ‘Gods’ bit, well it’s got a godly tint – I’ll let you read it to find out… However, once I’d dubbed it as that, the other names for the next two books fitted into place, almost like it was predestined thing. I did also have another name floating around for a couple of months ‘Fate of the Firmament’, because I wanted a slightly more adult name, but it just didn’t sit right, so I went back to plain old ‘Path of the Gods’.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Thinking about what I’m going to write about next, probably. Okay, so I’m a guitarist and have been ever since I was 8. I love just sitting and playing, playing lots of notes or twiddling away with a bluesy riff or weaving together a string of some weird chords. I even cheekily added the name of one of my songs into Volume II, just because…

Do you feel that your background has helped you with your career as a novelist?

I imagine there are helpful essences, such as my degree in acting from ArtsEd, in London, and my love of stories, plays and films. I suppose that creatively I’m easily inspired and my guitar playing has allowed me to harness that creativity through improvisation and writing – if that makes any sense at all! But the actuality of actually writing – except for one English teacher when I was about 12 – no, nothing has helped me prepare me for that.

Do you do a lot of research before you start writing?

I’m going to say yes to this, because although I do a lot of research not much of it takes place before I start writing – I’m like a puppy with a toy, I get too excited and like to get my teeth into it first. But once my teeth are in then I can start to make sense of it, because it’s very important to me that it’s as accurate as I can get it. Even if it’s only going to appeal to a very tiny minority, the devil is in the detail and I want the devil onside, especially considering that bad feedback is so much louder than the good stuff. I don’t want people saying things like ‘That would never happen’ or ‘Well that isn’t right’ – ignoring the fact that there are giant monsters, goblins, magi and other folkloric creatures. But more importantly than that, I’ve created a whole world that is complete nonsense, so how can I expect people to identify with it if I’m just going to breeze over the only things that connect us to it? The tricky thing is knowing what bits need researching…

How do you write? Pen and paper? Computer?

I have to write on the computer. I mean, I don’t have to, but if I want it to be legible, which I do, then it has to be the computer. To be honest, my handwriting is so abhorrent, mirrors crack before it.

Do any of the characters in the book relate to your own life?

Absolutely! All of the characters relate to my life. Not in such a straightforward way, but all of them have been made from ingredients taken from real people, and some little bits even from me personally. Some people are more specific than others, but they all have traits from those people who I have known, or those who I have just heard stories about, and all of the emotions are my own experiences, or extrapolations from something real. For me, the characters are the most important bit in any book. Sure, feed me an exciting plot line, by all means, but it’s the people that truly connect us to the events that take place, no matter how absurd. If the characters are real then so can everything else be. It is through their eyes that the stories are told and the only way to make the fantasy worlds, which we read about, so real is by making the eyes through which we perceive them as transparent and real as possible.

What feedback have you had from family and friends, or other people who have read your novel?

So far, all the feedback I’ve had has been positive and I can’t thank all the people who have supported me in this little adventure of my own enough. Thank you!