Featured Interview With Daniel Stride
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Greymouth, New Zealand. I’ve now worked my way up to… Dunedin, New Zealand – a city whose most prominent appearance in literature is in a H.P. Lovecraft story.
No current pets, though I am definitely a cat person.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always been a big reader, especially of speculative fiction (*cough* Tolkien *cough*). I came to writing a bit later – in fact, my entry into writing was actually poetry, not prose.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favourite author is J.R.R. Tolkien, though I make a point of steering well clear of conscious Tolkienian influences. My first novel, Wise Phuul, was heavily inspired by Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast, and by Clark Ashton Smith’s 1930s pulp dark-fantasy. As you can see, I like speculative fiction… though I try to read broadly. Last year I interspersed a read of Dante’s Divine Comedy with Agatha Christie.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
I currently only have one novel out, though I have a dozen or so short stories out there. The premise of Wise Phuul is that it is set in a world where necromancy – the art of raising the dead – is a universal ability, to the point where it is taught in schools like mathematics. Our protagonist is a low-level necromancer who works at the local library, making sure the undead stack the shelves correctly… before he is dragged into political shenanigans.
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