Featured Interview With John M. Daniel
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Minneapolis and spent most of my childhood in Dallas. In 1960 I went off to college in California, and there I discovered I was not a Texan. I’ve been a Californian ever since. I lived on the San Francisco Peninsula for twenty years, then in Santa Barbara for twenty years, and in Humboldt County for twelve years and counting. My wife and I live with a feisty princess tabby named Raney. What Raney says goes. She walked in out of the countryside and has taken over our hearts and most of our space.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started on THe Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which remains one of my favorite books. It was the first book I ever read on my own. The first of many, many, as it turned out. When I was a teenager I discovered the author Richard Bissell. I decided I wanted to be Richard Bissell. Reading his hilarious yet thoughtful novels I knew I had to be a writer. I started writing stories in college and I’ve been a writer ever since, as well as a bookseller, an editor, a publisher, and a teacher of creative writing. I can’t decide whether I like writing better than reading, or vice versa.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
AS mentioned above, my favorite writer is Richard Bissell, even though he died long ago. I now like Richard Russo, Ann Pachett, Louise Erdrich, Geraldine Brooks, Elmore Leonard, Simon Mawer, Alice Hoffman, Jane Gardam, Timothy Hallinan… Don’t get me started. I read contemporary fiction, mostly, including mystery fiction. I write contemporary fiction, too, and my most successful books have been mystery novels, two of which–The Poet’s Funeral and Hooperman–earned starred reviews in Publishers Weekly.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My newest published book is The King’s Eye, available only as an ebook. It’s my first venture into fantasy fiction, and it’s inspired by David and Goliath, the Odyssey, and the Wizard of Oz, for starters. Here’s a brief synopsis: The kings and queens of the Farther Isles have gathered at the castle of High King Rohar, as they do every year on the Summer Solstice, to pledge their loyalty. But before the ceremony is over, the Giant Clobber from the Isle of the South Wind storms into the Great Hall, steals the High King’s crystal left eye right out of its socket, then disappears into the night. The High King offers to reward anyone who will slay the Giant and bring back the crystal eye. The reward: half of Rohar’s island kingdom and the hand of his daughter, Llanaa, in marriage. The only one to stand up to the challenge is Prince Frogge, a twelve-year-old boy from the Isle of Fens. Frogge finds a partner, Rodney Trapper the goatherd’s so–tall, strong, and seventeen–and together the lads set out on their quest: to sail to the Isle of the South Wind and to do battle with the Giant Clobber in the Meadow of Mayhem. It’s a fight no one believes they can win. Their adventures take a full year, during which they travel from Isle to Farther Isle, in a boat that sails by itself, guided mysteriously by the Stars. The King’s Eye is a story romantic and magical, full of love and death, heroes and scoundrels, bravery and cowardice, danger and high hopes. This tale will delight anyone old enough to read and young enough to believe that a goatherd’s son could win the heart of a princess. I know this book is fun to read, because it was so much fun to write. It took me a few months to write, and the trip was fabulous.
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