1. 1.
Can you tell us about The Twins of Noremway
Parish?
The Twins of Noremway
Parish is the first part of a two-part novel (the second part is titled The Book of Ragas, and will be published
at a future date) that takes place in the distant future, approximately 5,000
years hence. The world is run-down; the land is dry, parched, and dead, and
there are only a few human settlements left in the world. There was a war with
beings known collectively as “the Darkness.” They have one goal: bring chaos to
the world.
There is one being from a group of god-like entities that
had survived since the beginning of existence that attempts to restore order to
this chaos. He/She is a Story Teller. These Story Tellers spin tales, making
sense of all the disparate things around them, developing cohesive narratives
that have a certain elegance, a pristine order.
The Twins of Noremway
Parish begins with the Story Teller narration, but he/she is soon captured
by the Darkness who seeks to use his/her powers to tell another story, one that
will tear apart the fabric of the universe. The story changes, becoming dark,
evil, and…deadly.
The story itself really follows the parish friar, Decon
Mangler, often referred to as “Brother Decon” and the Parochial Vicar, Teret
Finley, known as “Sister Teret.” They are the male and female religious leaders
of the parish, and being such, must keep a certain innocence about them. When a
pair of infant conjoined twins are found in the cathedral, they decide it would
be best for the twins if they raised them as mother and father themselves. This
leads to a social uproar as it becomes clear that, to some within the parish,
tradition, even a tradition that makes no sense, is more important than
thinking about the actual well-being of these children.
2: What inspired you to write The Twins of Noremway Parish?
I started out with the idea about twins. I’m a twin, so I
thought there is something worth exploring here concerning the relationship
that you have with this other person that you cannot have with anyone else. I
wanted to write about a pair of conjoined twins whose parents had them
separated shortly after birth. This was a story that would take place today.
And one of the twins could think of nothing else but wanting to be reconnected
to his brother. This desire drives him to the point where he murders his
brother when he refuses to be a willing party to becoming reattached. And then
the story was to end with this twin cradling this rotting hunk of meat that
used to be his brother.
But that story didn’t work for me. So I made up my own
world. I initially made it an alien world called Ongola, but then decided I
would set it in the distant future…and then the story took shape.
I wrote the first draft of what is The Twins of Noremway Parish in about two weeks. This book was
originally set-up for the main story which in now known as The Book of Ragas, a separate novel that will be published in the
coming months.
3. If you could visit any part of your books in real life,
what place would it be and why?
I would love to visit Noremway Parish itself because of the
characters there. I love Decon and Teret. They are so perfect for each other.
4 What is your favorite part of writing?
Meeting my characters, listening to them talk, and seeing
how they react.
5 Can you tell us about anything new you're working on?
Right now I am writing the sequel to Harvester Ascension,
titled Harvester Evolution. My Harvester series ties into The Twins of Noremway Parish and The Book of Ragas in several interesting ways. I am also writing a
novel called Temporal Winter, which
is a novel about a new civil war, American vs. America, except it is war of
Future America vs. Present-Day America. In the future, temporal bombs, bombs
that can erase certain moments in time, are created, and this precipitates a
war against a people who are seen as living only in the present, bent on sending
a big “screw you” to posterity. The third novel I’m working on right now is
called Orchard Hills. It is about a
police officer who is killed in the line of duty, but wakes up in this strange
reality where he is required to avenged his death when all he wants to do is
get to heaven (or wherever) to reunite with his dead daughter.
6 Who are some of your inspirations?
I only write books I would want to read.
I read a lot from classic science fiction, horror, and
fantasy novels to history and science. I have a wide knowledge-base from which
to draw inspiration. Style-wise, Stephen
King is my biggest influence.
TIME FOR SOME FUN!!
7 What is your FAVE food ?
Pizza. I prefer peperoni and bacon.
8 If a movie was made, who would you see playing some of
your main characters?
Decon—Christian Bale
Teret—Scarlette Johansen
Franz—Gary Oldman
Rita—Kathy Bates
9 What is your fave color?
Blue
10 What is your fave time of day?
Early morning and just before sunset
Last question, If you could share anything with new writers,
what would it be?
If you want to be a writer then WRITE! There isn’t some
magic moment where you suddenly become a writer. If you want to be a good
writer, you must write a lot and READ a lot. In my opinion, if you don’t read
as part of your daily ritual, there is no way you can be a good writer. And
lastly, never give up. Rejection is the name of the game in this business. Don’t
take it personally, and don’t give up.
Thank you Eric Johnston for stopping off and having this conversation with me.
Copyright by Joann H. Buchanan
