Author Interview: H.L. Walsh (part 1 of 2)
SPOILER ALERT
While every effort has been made to avoid spoilers in this post, anyone who has not read From Men and Angels by H.L. Walsh is hereby advised that this post may contain a few unavoidable spoilers.
‘From the dawn of man, the war between Demons and Angels has ravaged the land. Two thousand years of peace has lulled the people into a false sense of security. Malach is on a journey to find his place in the world and pick a side in the war that is quickly approaching, meeting unlikely allies along the way.’
H.L. Walsh is the author of From Men and Angels, the first in a trilogy of fantasy novels in which humans live and sometimes even fight alongside corporeal angels and demons (you can check out my review of From Men and Angels here).
I had the pleasure of chatting with H.L. Walsh about From Men and Angels, his writing process and the calorie content of caffeinated drinks. This is part one of our interview. Be sure to check back next week for part two!
When did you first catch the ‘writing bug’?
In short, I’ve always had the dream of becoming and author. I wrote my first short story when I was in Middle School, however I don’t think I ‘caught the bug’ until I was fifteen years old. I started writing my first novel. That project took me a while but then I got distracted with college and my career. Although, I never lost that want to write and become an author. I started writing several projects but they never seemed to go anywhere until I started From Men and Angels. I just knew from the time I started writing that story that it would be my first novel.
What’s your writing routine like? Do you have a schedule you stick to or any particular habits or techniques you find help you get things done?
My wife is a travel nurse and because of that, our life is very fluid. We move and things change a lot. It’s hard to find a routine in all that change. That being said, I do like to be outside when I write if at all possible. When it’s not possible I will try to find a cozy place to settle in with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, especially when it is cold outside. As far as techniques when I start to write for the first time that day, or the first time in a few hours, I reread the last few pages of what I’ve written to get my mind back into the story. That helps me know what I was thinking before and where I was going with that scene or story over all.
So let’s talk about your novel, From Men and Angels: a tale of hunters, thieves, angels and demons and many more besides. Who were some of your favourite characters to write?
Of course Malach was one of my favourites, he is the main character and all. He’s kind of a grey character. He has a moral compass but doesn’t mind doing the hard things to get the job done. However, my absolute favourite character to write was Amara. The fiery young thief who just seems to do whatever she wants. She is very quick on her feet and extremely quick on the comebacks. Her story was just fun for me to write and I found that I couldn’t wait to get back around to her story when I was writing from Malach’s perspective.
One of my favourite things about From Men and Angels is the world-building. How do you go about creating a world so vivid and unlike our own?
That was a challenge for me for sure. My original thought for the book was if ‘angels and demons where physical beings how would that change our world?’ So originally, I tried to keep this world very similar to ours changing only the things that pertained to the angels and demons. So that helped me create the basis for the world. From there, I changed things and took a few liberties like the lifespan of the people/animals and the angels blades. On a tangent, the idea for the sentient blades and the first scene with Malach and Reckoning actually came to me in a dream. I, of course, couldn’t remember the whole dream when I woke up but I jotted down everything I could remember before my wife yelled at me for waking her up at 3AM.
Speaking of the angel blades, I have to say: it’s maybe just my suspicious nature but there’s a small part of me that doesn’t quite trust Reckoning. I know you won’t want to give too much away but can we look forward to a bit more on its past in the next few books?
Hehehe, I believe it is mentioned in the first book that some of the angel blades fell with the demons and some were turned later. This will definitely have a role to play in then next couple of books. Let’s just say by the end of book two you will know for sure where Reckoning’s loyalties lie.
COME BACK NEXT WEEK FOR PART 2
(Plus a special announcement!)
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ATTENTION AUTHORS:
Every Tuesday, I post a new edition of Spotlight: a short post which shines a proverbial spotlight on a published novel or collection of short fiction. If you would like to have your book considered for a future edition of Spotlight, drop us an e-mail including a short synopsis of your book and a link to where we can buy it. Better yet, send me a copy of your book and I can include a mini-review.
I’m still looking to interview fiction authors here on Penstricken, especially new or indie authors. Whether it’s books, plays, comics or any other kind of fiction, if you’ve got something written, I want to hear about it. If you’re interested in having your work featured on Penstricken, be to sure to drop us an e-mail or message us on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest.
Please be advised that due to a recent surge in interest, I am presently committed to a significant number of reviews/interviews over the next couple of months. If you would like an interview or review, I would still love to hear from you, though it is unlikely that I will be able to begin work immediately.
You can check out our previous interviews here:
- Sharleen Nelson, author of The Time Tourists [2]
- D. Wallace Peach, author of the Shattered Sea duology [2]
- Jacob Klop, author of Crooked Souls
Andrew Ferguson 