Glass Thorns
In the three books (so far) in the Glass Thorns series, Touchstone is a theater group with ambitions. At the outset, these ambitions don’t go much farther than beer, girls, and money (not necessarily in that order—they’re four guys in their late teens, after all!). But as they get better at their craft, they realize that what they do can be important not just to themselves but to their audiences and perhaps to society as a whole. This doesn’t change their subject matter or their performances, but it does change their attitude to their own craft.
In Touchstone, the first book, they are figuring out that they really are pretty good at what they do as they get to know each other and find out what it’s like to be traveling players. In the next book, Elsewhens, their personal and professional horizons expand, and they become noticed not just by the populace but by certain noble lords who have, shall we say, things other than Touchstone’s best interests at heart. By Thornlost, they’re gleefully setting about doing what they can to right what they see as societal wrongs—the official prohibition against women attending theater, for one thing. But they also find themselves involved in darker political concerns and devastating personal crises. They’re growing up, which is always a challenging process.
I’ve just finished the fourth book, which doesn’t yet have a name (I am seriously awful at thinking up titles), and in it they begin to accept their role in the larger affairs of the Kingdom, even though they never sought it. Adult responsibilities are catching up with this group of four reckless young men whether they like it or not. The fifth book (also lacking a title) will find them threatened personally and risking their professional lives for what they believe in.
All that being said, basically the Glass Thorns books are about growing up and trying to make a living at doing what you love, set in a world of magic and theater. The members of Touchstone are just working-class gits who want to succeed at work they know they’re good at and have fun along the way. That other people start interfering with this rather humble ambition isn’t their fault, but it’s something they have to deal with—and dealing with it becomes more and more urgent as the books progress.
Please tell us about the character of Cayden.
More swiftly than the others in Touchstone, he comes to the realization that he’s an Artist, and what they’re doing is Art—and he will tell you so at the top of his lungs. He thinks that his Art allows him to get away with being snide, sulky, and temperamental, and of course he’s wrong—not about being snide, sulky, and temperamental, but about getting away with it. Happily, the other members of Touchstone know how much of a front all this is, and when he becomes too obnoxious they take him down a peg or three as necessary. He is also a fiercely devoted friend, he adores his little brother, he’s genuinely gifted, and occasionally he exhibits a devious turn of mind that startles even him.
But what truly sets him apart from everyone else in his world is his prescience. He calls these visions “Elsewhens.” He sees futures that might become real, and whether or not they will depends on choices he makes or doesn’t make. The problem is that he never knows exactly what those choices will be. It’s one reason he’s a writer: he can control what goes onto the page and onto the stage, a control he feels he cannot have over his own life.
The book is a refreshing take on the fantasy adventure genre, so where did the inspiration come from for the books?
If I had any real idea of exactly where inspiration comes from, I’d go there, find the foolish thing, bottle it, sell it, and retire to Tuscany.
I’ve never been able to answer to the question of where ideas and inspiration come from, other than, “I don’t have the first damned clue.” I can tell you how it happened with Glass Thorns—I woke up one morning after about 4 hours’ sleep with this thing in my head, almost all of it just there—but I can’t tell you where it came from. Obviously it had been cooking for quite a while. But as for what crashed into what in my brain and then cuddled up to something else, absorbed other ideas, smashed into yet more—I don’t have the first damned clue. I’m not alone in this. Other writers have said that whatever it was that they ended up writing was simply there in their heads, without preamble and without explanation. Just there. Maybe these things hide out in a corner of the mind, scared of being noticed, until they’re ready to emerge and be written. But I really don’t have the first damned clue.
The book combines theatre, magic, art and politics, all very strong themes, so how have you blended them so effortlessly?
“Effortlessly”?? I’m glad it comes across that way, because writing is seriously hard work!
If you would, let me turn that question back at you: How do you blend your own interests in books, music, politics, art, and/or whatever else you’re into? Every human being—barring those with a monomania, who are to be strenuously avoided—is a complicated package of interests, opinions, experiences, education, sexuality, religious beliefs (or not), and so forth that influence their lives in varying degrees at different times. A novel should do pretty much the same thing: include everything from private and personal interactions to concern about society, from The Big Picture to the tiny details. That way, the reader gets a portrait of a whole world, or at least the portion of it germane to the plot: a large and complex canvas, not a miniature in a tiny golden frame. Some are of the opinion that this is unfocussed, and want a story to move from A to Z in an orderly, direct fashion. And that’s fine. But I rather like leaping about from B to Q to F to W, with digressions and asides that investigate the world and the people.
When did you interest in the fantasy genre begin and who are your favourite reads?
My interest in fantasy began pretty much when I started to read. The first fantasy books I can remember reading were The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek and the series of Mushroom Planet books.
As for favourite authors—Dorothy L. Sayers and Jane Austen top the list. I never mention contemporary authors because I’m always terrified that I’ll leave somebody out!
Is theatre something of a passion for you?
I’m chagrined to admit it, but not really. I enjoy theatre tremendously, and there’s nothing like a live performance. But a “passion” it isn’t.
What is next for you?
The fifth volume of Glass Thorns is next. After that, who knows?