NOVEL NEXT Between the pages - Update #1 on Book III
A book is born at the hospital
My love for science fiction and fantasy began in Grade 3 in the town of Creston, British Columbia. It was 1969 (the year of the first lunar landing) and we didn't own a television, so I engaged my overactive imagination by imagining myself inside one of my favorite stories. I would take on the role of the hero while imagining new plot twists and side quests, an unwritten and early form of fan fiction. However, I wasn't a big fan of school (I was bullied a fair bit) but then our teacher began to read us a chapter of The Hobbit each day. After that I could hardly wait to get to school to see what would happen next. From that seed grew a voracious appetite for all things science fiction or fantasy, accompanies by even greater imaginings and combinations of those same stories.
The nightmare at the outset of The Hammer was born from the soil of that fertile imagination, but the spark of inspiration that launched the scene came about in my late 20's in a dark hospital room after a 6 hour microscopic facelift surgery to remove a tumour that was threatening to paralyze the side of my mouth.
Whatever they were giving me for pain following that surgery brought on the vivid dream that would become the catalyst for the first chapter, complete with a squishy green rope and a monster chasing me through a cave.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
I clearly recall waking up in a cold sweat and thinking I was still being chased by the monster. I could hear it breathing nearby but that turned out to be a respirator behind the curtain divider. I must have made some odd noises as a nurse came in to check my meds and drain the glass suction vials hanging from my neck. Oddly enough I can clearly still hear them clinking against each other.
Just like Corvan in my book, I didn't want to go back to the caves, so I asked the nurse for a pen and paper to write down the dream. She returned with a lined yellow steno pad and a red pen. I can also still see the red ink glowing on the yellow paper by the light of my monitors in the dark room.
I needed a name for my lead character, so I took my middle name, Corwin (which I never used in public as a child because it brough on ridicule) and attached it to half of my first name to come up with Corvan. I thought that it was a clever name and that point I had no idea how the concept would develop as the books moved along.
I kept writing as I recovered from the surgery and the story took off. I had read so much as a kid that my mind was full of characters and plot points just waiting to make it onto a page. I had no idea just how many of those influences would surface but no doubt you will find more than a few showing up as you follow along in the Cor Series.