Recently I reviewed R.A. McCandless's excellent steampunk novel, The Clockwork Detective, here. I said,
The last couple of years have brought a slew of wonderful steampunk adventures with resourceful, kick-ass heroines, and this one by McCandless is a worthy addition.
Here I chat with the author about his inspiration, his future projects, and his advice for aspiring writers.
Deborah J. Ross: Tell
us a little about yourself. How did you
come to be a writer?
R.A. McCandless: I
came out writing, which was a weird delivery for the doctor. But really, I
found myself telling stories early in grade school. We'd have assignments to
write a complete sentence using a set of vocabulary words, and I'd get bored
with that. Instead, I'd use the words to tell a short story. From there, it was
only a short jaunt to writing my own stories.
Dragons are one of my chief inspirations. I've only included
one once, in a short story. But any world where dragons can conceivably
exist—please and thank you! That's almost any fantasy or science fiction story,
which creates a broad palette for me to enjoy. From there, it's a hop, skip,
and a wardrobe journey into another world that I'm fascinated to start
exploring and sharing.
DJR: What
inspired The Clockwork Detective?
RAMcC: I’ve
always, always, always loved the steampunk/dieselpunk aesthetic. I’d been
approached by a publisher to submit a horror story for an anthology they were
doing featuring Kevin J. Anderson. I love Anderson, but I’m not a horror
writer. I knew this might be my one chance, so I buckled down and started
working on a story. At the time, I was watching a lot of “Murdoch Mysteries”
and “Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries” and really enjoying that pseudo-steampunk
atmosphere. It wasn’t a huge leap for me to incorporate the same setting into
my story, and suddenly I had Constable Aubrey Hartmann, solving mysteries,
riding airships, and going on adventures.
DJR: What authors
have most influenced your writing?
RAMcC: It’s not a
cliché at all to say that JRR Tolkien and Terry Brooks were my earliest
influences. I’d read other works before them, but that’s when I truly started
to become interested in genre fantasy reading. It’s also when I started to cook
up my own stories. Anne McCaffery gave me rides on the backs of dragons—my
father took me to the book store and bought me her first book. Elizabeth A.
Lynn showed me that storytelling could be lyrically beautiful, and didn’t have
to conform to social norms. I also have to give a huge shout out to Robert
Jordan, David Gemmell and my personal hero: S. Andrew Swann. I loved, loved,
loved, Swann’s Moreau Series, which was so fascinating and fresh. I keep hoping
he’ll go back and tell one more story from that world.
DJR: What’s the
most memorable fan mail you’ve ever received?
RAMcC: A few
months ago, a young fan sent me a hand-drawn picture of Aubrey Hartmann,
complete with her clockwork leg and walking cane. It was the most amazing thing
I’d ever received. I know a number of readers have been touched by the work
that I’ve done, which is nice. But to have someone go to the effort of creating
fan art, it’s just wonderful to experience that.
DJR: How does
your writing process work?
RAMcC: I’m a total fly-by-the-seat of my pants
writer. A “pantser” as other writers like to call us. This is in contrast to
“plotters” who plot out their book from start to finish, knowing what happens
in each scene almost like a story board for shooting a movie. I’ve always
admired those plotters. It seems like a really strong way to go about building
a beautiful work. For myself, though, I like to have the story unfold as I’m
telling it, and let the ideas and concepts take me where my subconscious
dictates. My way is not better, it’s just the way it works for me.
DJR: What have
you written recently? What lies ahead?
RAMcC: I just
finished my first series, Flames of Perdition, with the book “Company of the
Damned”. I’m hard at work on my next steampunk
mystery/adventure for Constable Hartmann. She’s settling into her new role as
the head of law enforcement in the small but growing town of Aqualinne. There
will be murder, intrigue, betrayal, and a bit with some automaton soldiers that
she’ll have to contend with. Of course, all of this is set against a much
larger mystery that is slowly be revealed.
DJR: What advice
would you give an aspiring writer?
RAMcC: Write.
Write every day if you can. But write. Just keep writing. You’re a writer, and
that’s quite the accomplishment, whether you’re published or not. You’re not in
contention or competition with anyone else. Your voice is your own, so don’t
worry about what anyone else is doing. Do your thing, and keep writing.
Drawing of Aubrey Hartmann © 2019 Abby Prewitt
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