28 May 2015
Ahead of the publication of the paperback edition of Archie Greene and the Magician's Secret on 4th June, The brilliant Playing By The Book blog caught up with author D. D. Everest to find out all about his thoughts on magic and fantasy fiction and what inspired him to write the Archie Greene series in the first place. We've included a little taster of the interview below, but you can read the full blog post here and pre-order your paperback copy of Archie Green and the Magician's Secret here
Playing by the book: What magic trick would you most like to be able to perform? D. D. Everest: I’d like to be able to vanish, so I could avoid people I don’t want to talk to. I’d love to have a permission wall around my study, too, like the one that protects the Museum of Magical Miscellany so that only people with the secret mark could come in. But best of all I’d love to be able to talk to magical books like Archie! Playing by the book: Archie Greene and the Magician’s Secret is a wonderful fantasy novel. What is it about fantasy as a genre that appeals to you? I’m especially curious because of your background as a journalist and non-fiction writer, both of which seem to be about as distant as you can get from fantasy… which is maybe part of the answer? D. D. Everest: You’re right. One of the (many) reasons I love the fantasy genre is that it is so far removed from my other work as a journalist. When you deal with dry facts all day it is such a treat to escape to another world of magic and adventure. But I have always loved magical fantasy. My favourite books growing up were the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. What I love most about those books is the depth and detail that Tolkien gives to the world he creates, the layering of the stories and the myths and the cultures that he describes.