An Interview with Chris Evans

Chris Evans is an editor at Stackpole Books. His first novel, A Darkness Forged in Fire, releases July 8th. Chris was kind enough to answer a few questions for our website.

CG: As an editor, you read for a living, but what are you reading for pleasure?

CE: I truly love my job as an editor, so when I read for work I’m also reading for pleasure as well. My Masters is in history, specializing in military history, and my undergrad degrees are in English/History and Political Science which ties in perfectly for the books I edit –- history, military history, current affairs and conflicts. Still, when I really want to shift gears I’ll dip into the worlds of writers like Terry Pratchett and Bernard Cornwell or read the account of an explorer or just immerse myself in magazine articles, everything from National Geographic to The New Yorker.

CG: Do you feel your job as an editor has affected the way in which you write?

CE: I hope it’s helped, but in some ways being an editor-turned-writer creates more problems than it solves. I’ve discussed this with other editors who also write and they’ve noticed a tendency to want to edit as they go, which can slow down the whole process. And being an editor means you know how everything works from the inside, so there’s a tendency to want to be more involved in the publishing process than other authors. If you’re asking if it’s given me insight into what sells, well, I’ll let you in a publishing secret –- editors are as often surprised as anyone when a book hits big, or crashes and burns. The very nature of the job is to make educated guesses based on gut feelings. So you’d better love the book you’re working on because that’s going to be your best barometer for its chances. When I began writing this series, I did it for me. Now, I’m fortunate enough to be able to share it with your readers.

CG: Which historical periods did you draw inspiration from in writing A Darkness Forged in Fire?

CE: Primarily the Napoleonic Wars and British imperialism of the 1800s. I was particularly inspired by the works of Rudyard Kipling and his portrayal of the British Empire and especially the British soldier.

CG: Do you find current affairs shaping your work? If so, does writing fantasy allows you more leeway to discuss what is happening in our world?

CE: I had a pretty firm idea about what I wanted to explore and I’ve kept my focus. No doubt readers might see parallels with any number of situations going on in the world today, but I have not written an allegory about the dangers of getting stuck in a quagmire in the Middle East. On the other hand, the book does delve into subjects such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as experienced by more than one character, but it’s not labeled as such. And one character is what we would today call a war reporter, though her role in the book is significantly more than that. I’ve often wished fantasy would reach further into areas like this, so given the chance I decided to do it myself.

CG: If you had to name one novel that made you say "fantasy is what I want to write", what would it be, and why?

CE: For me, it was actually a nonfiction book that spurred me to write A Darkness Forged in Fire. George MacDonald Fraser, author of the Flashman series, served in the China-Burma-India theater in World War II then wrote what is one of the finest memoirs of any war -– Quartered Safe Out Here. His observations of a small group of men thrust into battle are simply brilliant, and I wanted to see if I could capture that camaraderie in a fantasy setting. Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe’s Rifles historical fiction series proved another inspiration in setting the stage.

CG: It's always difficult to make a first novel stand out from the sea of fantasy publishing. What have you and your publisher tried to draw attention to with A Darkness Forged in Fire?

CE: I’m thrilled with the support I’ve received from Pocket Books. They mailed a substantial number of ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies) to reviewers as well as book stores and they’re running ads in magazines like Locus as well as Stars & Stripes. But all the hype in the world doesn’t mean a thing if people don’t respond to what you’ve written. In the end we’ve simply tried to get the book out to a lot of places and let people know that this is epic fantasy, but perhaps not entirely in the way you’ve seen it before.

CG: There seems to be a lot of debate about how to break into publishing, especially in genre fiction. Was it short stories or your novel manuscript that landed you your big break?

CE: No question it was the novel. Like a lot of writers I tried my hand at short fiction and met with some success when I placed second in the Toronto Star Short Story Contest in 2000, but then I went on to become an editor and didn’t really pursue the format after that. Working with full length books spurred me on to write my own. For first time writers it is difficult to land a book deal based on short stories or a partial manuscript alone. Difficult, but not impossible, because there are exceptions. By and large, however, editors want to see a full story before they invest in a new author. I spent six weeks at Clarion East writing short stories and learned a lot from some terrific teachers like Sean Stewart, but then I had to take that knowledge and apply it to long form fiction. That was back in 2000, so it only took me ten years. That’s the other thing about breaking into publishing -– overnight success usually takes years of hard work.

I’d say the single most important task any author aspiring to being published commercially should do is always, always be writing the next book. Don’t get hung up on revising and re-revising the same novel. Careers are built on a multitude of books over the years, so trying to hit a home run your first time at bat is asking a lot. Take what you learned from the last novel and apply it to the next one.

CG: You'll be attending San Diego Comic Con. A number of other authors such as George R.R. Martin and Jim Butcher have seen their works adapted to the comic format recently. Are there any plans for The Iron Elves to make that same jump?

CE: My publisher and agent are exploring opportunities to expand the formats the series is published in -– comics, audio, movies etc. and I’m definitely open to the idea. I’ll be on a panel with Jim Butcher at Comic Con so I’ll have to ask him more about that. I was a big fan of the Dresden Files television show.

CG: In the wake of the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings phenomena, fantasy has a great opportunity for growth of readership. What do you feel the genre needs to do to keep these young and new readers?

CE: My main hope is that young readers continue to read, period. Whether it’s fantasy, mystery, history, adventure or any other genre, the key is that reading is encouraged. For that to happen the single most important thing any writer can do, in any genre, is to write engaging stories. All the hype and spin in the world can’t compensate for a poorly written book, and readers will figure that out. I also think it’s been helpful for fantasy to show it can grow beyond the original tenets of what used to confine fantasy. There are so many ways to write the fantastic and the more of those we explore the more vibrant and interesting the genre will become.

CG: Thanks Chris, some thoughtful and interesting answers. Best of luck to you with this and future novels.

If you'd like to see more of what Chris is up to, check out his blog here.

See also:

An Interview with David Keck:

Interview-Anne Bishop