Featured Interview With Christopher Scott
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello! I’m originally from the US but moved to Canada to follow the ever transient animation industry. Currently, I reside in Montreal, though it feels like I live inside books as I wait for the city to emerge from the grips of the pandemic.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was an early and obsessive reader, especially of the fantasy genre. I probably have to blame Harry Potter for starting that, as my 2nd grade teacher read The Sorcerer’s Stone to the class years before the franchise caught fire and spawned films. But while I was always praised in creative writing and English classes for my prose, I didn’t feel the need to write outside of school. It was only after settling into a creative job and finding that I’d really prefer to tell long stories that I tried my hand at a novel. It was a long process of many drafts and rounds of reader feedback before I arrived at a story I really liked, but I got there. And I even managed to get the cover artist of my favorite editions of the Harry Potter novels to do the cover for my book.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
As mentioned, fantasy is my favorite genre. Currently, my favorite author is Joe Abercrombie. There’s even an homage to his work in my novel by way of the name of one of the characters. But I can never aspire to his grimdark tone. My work always comes out feeling lighter, more Terry Pratchett than KJ Parker, although comparing myself to either of those authors is probably overstepping things. Fantasy series like The Legend of Korra are also a big inspiration. I’ve always felt fantasy works better in animation as suspension of disbelief is easier and depicting a dragon won’t cost $15 million dollars per episode. If someone gave me the budget to adapt my own novel I’d definitely choose the medium of animation.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest (and first) book is called Order of the Magi. It’s about a mage who is meant to enforce regulations on magic running up against a wall of his own ignorance and preconceptions. It’s one part wizard-cop story, another part deconstruction of a lot of masculine neuroses, and a final part cool action scenes where fireballs get thrown about. The hero of the story isn’t necessarily who you think it is, as much as he’d like to believe himself to be. It’s the combination of influences from a lot of books I’ve read, from The Blade Itself to The Magicians to the manga Berserk. And there’s definitely still influences from Harry Potter hanging around. It’s a self-contained work, so there’s no series to subscribe to, though if this book gets popular enough I might consider a sequel. I think I’ve told this character’s story, though, so any subsequent books will be about other figures who need their time in the light.
I started the book in 2017 and it went through many, many drafts. Only in the last year did it coalesce into something I really liked, where it felt every character was getting their due. Beta-readers seem to agree, and I’ve tightened up the plot and prose further based on their feedback, so the final product should be a very enjoyable, brisk read.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
Christopher Scott Twitter Account
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