Author Interview: Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon

Today I am interviewing Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, co-authors of the new fantasy novel, Blood of the Four.

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DJ: Hi Christopher Golden & Tim Lebbon! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!

For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourselves?

Christopher Golden: I write fantasy, horror, and thrillers…novels, comic books, screenplays, and more. My novel ARARAT won the Bram Stoker Award just this past weekend, and I co-created two comic book series (Baltimore and Joe Golem: Occult Detective) with Mike Mignola.

Tim Lebbon: I’ve been published for 20 years, but writing all my life. I’ve written over 40 novels (8 of them with Chris), and loads of novellas and short stories. I’ve won a few awards. And I’ve had two movies made from my work, Pay the Ghost and The Silence.

DJ: What is Blood of the Four about?

Tim: Perhaps it’s easier to use the publisher’s cover blurb… In the great kingdom of Quandis, everyone is a slave. Some are slaves to the gods. Most are slaves to everyone else.

Blessed by the gods with lives of comfort and splendor, the royal elite routinely perform their duties, yet some chafe at their role. A young woman of stunning ambition, Princess Phela refuses to allow a few obstacles—including her mother the queen and her brother, the heir apparent—stand in the way of claiming ultimate power and glory for herself.

Far below the royals are the Bajuman. Poor and oppressed, members of this wretched caste have but two paths out of servitude: the priesthood . . . or death.
Because magic has been kept at bay in Quandis, royals and Bajuman have lived together in an uneasy peace for centuries. But Princess Phela’s desire for power will disrupt the realm’s order, setting into motion a series of events that will end with her becoming a goddess in her own right . . . or ultimately destroying Quandis and all its inhabitants.

DJ: What were some of your influences for Blood of the Four?

Christopher: There’s so much that mixes into one writer’s frame of reference–never mind two! I can rattle off a bunch of things that were part of my brain stew while working with Tim on this. They include my love of European history and folklore, tales of Atlantis, stories of forgotten gods, and the work of grim fantasist Michael Moorcock.

Tim: We considered writing a story about Atlantis, but then realised that it would be more powerful if the tale we wanted to tell was set in a new imaginary world. Not really sure what our influences were, to be honest. It’s interesting to me that neither of us reads a huge amount of this type of fiction, so I think writing it was a challenge we both enjoyed.

DJ: Actually, where did the idea to co-author this book from? Have you done this before, or had you two been joking around with the idea and finally decide to give a go for real?

Christopher: Tim and I have a literary bromance that goes back to a fateful conversation on a balcony in New York. True story.

Tim: It’s our eighth novel together! And it’s something we’d have never written on our own. We have our own voices … and over the years we’ve developed what we think is a strong, distinct Golden/Lebbon voice.

DJ: Could you briefly tell us a little about your main characters? Do they have any cool quirks or habits, or any reason why readers with sympathize with them? 

Christopher: I love them all. Demos is a little too hopeful and trusting. Too good for his own good, in some ways, but he learns his lessons well. But Admiral Daria Hallarte…don’t tell anyone, but she’s my favorite. This woman-with-a-dangerous-secret is also the scourge of pirates and the most inexorable force in the book, even though her enemies are tapping into dark magic and all she has is a sword and a sailing ship.

Tim: They’re all shades of grey … there’s no true good or bad characters, just people with faults and foibles that, we hope, make them very human. Phela is blinded by her lust for magic. Blane is made bitter and blinkered by his background. They’re all real people, we like to think, with real concerns and faults.

DJ: What is the world and setting of Blood of the Four like?

Christopher: Hmm. There’s a little video about that around somewhere. What I’ll say is that the Kingdom of Quandis is a place where magic has been so forbidden that many don’t even believe it exists, and where religion has roots in things that are tangible and potentially devastating.

Tim: That’s a massive question, and honestly the answer would be huge. Best way to find this out is to read the novel … the whole world building aspect to a fantasy novel is something I love, and the answer to your question is a massive part of the novel’s background.

DJ: How do you outline and break up who writes what? And I’ve also read that some authors who co-write books will edit each other’s chapters, too.

Christopher: I’ve collaborated in several different ways, but Tim and I have an organic back-and-forth that really works. Our styles are different, but somehow we’ve learned to sculpt chapters together.

Tim: It’s absolutely essential to edit each other’s chapters, and to trust each other, which we quickly found worked well with our first novel. Eight novels on, we’ve got the process down smooth. We plan –– probably in more detail that either of us usually do for solo novels –– then do a chapter at a time each, read it, edit and discuss in depth, then the other writer moves on with the next chapter. It works so well because we’re editing as we go along. That’s not to say the end of the first draft is close to a finished novel, but it’s already been seen by 2 sets of eyes.

DJ: What was your favorite part about writing Blood of the Four?

Christopher: Working with Tim again, for one. Beyond that…the characters. They’re all thrown into dire circumstances that force them to change, that hurl epiphanies at them, and the choices they make have massive repercussions. That was the best part of writing it as a standalone, too. The payoff is right here, all fates are decided.

Tim: The world building. I love it. Build it, then perhaps destroy it …

DJ: What do you think readers will be talking about most once they finish it?

Christopher: All the bits I wrote.

Tim: All the bits I wrote.

DJ: Did you have a particular goal when you began writing Blood of the Four? Was there a particular message or meaning you are hoping to get across when readers finish it? Or is there perhaps a certain theme to the story?

Tim: We wanted to tell a great, engaging, original story. It’s always a good sign when you want to know what happens at the end of a novel you’re writing! That happened here, and we both had a lot of fun.

DJ: Now that Blood of the Four is released, what is next for each of you?

Christopher: I’m working on a new novel entitled The Pandora Room, and I continue to write Joe Golem: Occult Detective for Dark Horse. I have several secret projects, including a new anthology I’m editing with Tim, and another that I’ve edited that will be out in October, but which I’m not yet allowed to mention.

Tim: The second of my Relics trilogy from Titan, The Folded Land, is out in March. I’m writing a Firefly novel later this year. And the movie of my novel The Silence is out later this year too. A few other things are ticking over, too, including perhaps another movie based on a screenplay I wrote a few years ago.

DJ: Where can readers find out more about you?

Christopher: www.christophergolden.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Golden/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christophergoldenauthor/
Twitter: @ChristophGolden

Tim:
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tim-Lebbon/e/B001IU0D3U/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1520197093&sr=1-2-ent
Author Newsletter: https://t.co/kxla8RVRDl
Facebook: tim.lebbon
Twitter: @timlebbon
Website: www.timlebbon.net

DJ: Before we go, what is that one thing you’d like readers to know about Blood of the Four that we haven’t talked about yet?

Tim: It’s a standalone novel. You won’t have to wait 4 years for the next instalment … it begins, and it ends!

DJ: Thank you so much for taking time out of both of your days to answer my questions!

Christopher: Happy to do it. Thanks so much!

Tim: A pleasure, thanks for having us!

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*** Blood of the Four is published by Harper Voyager and is available TODAY!!! ***

Buy the Book: 

Amazon | Barnes & Nobel | Goodreads | Kobo

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About the Book:

The acclaimed authors of The Map of Moments and The Secret Journeys of Jack London join creative forces once more in this epic, standalone novel—an exciting dark fantasy of gods and mortals, fools and heroes, saviors and destroyers with a brilliant beam of hope at its core–that should more than appeal to readers of N.K. Jemisin and Brandon Sanderson.

In the great kingdom of Quandis, everyone is a slave. Some are slaves to the gods. Most are slaves to everyone else.

Blessed by the gods with lives of comfort and splendor, the royal elite routinely perform their duties, yet some chafe at their role. A young woman of stunning ambition, Princess Phela refuses to allow a few obstacles—including her mother the queen and her brother, the heir apparent—stand in the way of claiming ultimate power and glory for herself.

Far below the royals are the Bajuman. Poor and oppressed, members of this wretched caste have but two paths out of servitude: the priesthood . . . or death.

Because magic has been kept at bay in Quandis, royals and Bajuman have lived together in an uneasy peace for centuries. But Princess Phela’s desire for power will disrupt the realm’s order, setting into motion a series of events that will end with her becoming a goddess in her own right . . . or ultimately destroying Quandis and all its inhabitants.

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About the Author:

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the award-winning, bestselling author of such novels as The Myth Hunters, Wildwood Road, The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, and (with Tim Lebbon) The Map of Moments. He has also written books for teens and young adults, including Poison Ink, Soulless, and the thriller series Body of Evidence, honored by the New York Public Library and chosen as one of YALSA’s Best Books for Young Readers. Upcoming teen novels include a new series of hardcover YA fantasy novels co-authored with Tim Lebbon and entitled The Secret Journeys of Jack London.

A lifelong fan of the “team-up,” Golden frequently collaborates with other writers on books, comics, and scripts. In addition to his recent work with Tim Lebbon, he co-wrote the lavishly illustrated novel Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire with Mike Mignola. With Thomas E. Sniegoski, he is the co-author of multiple novels, as well as comic book miniseries such as Talent and The Sisterhood, both currently in development as feature films. With Amber Benson, Golden co-created the online animated series Ghosts of Albion and co-wrote the book series of the same name.

As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies The New Dead and British Invasion, among others, and has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, the online animated series Ghosts of Albion (with Amber Benson) and a network television pilot.

The author is also known for his many media tie-in works, including novels, comics, and video games, in the worlds of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, Angel, and X-Men, among others.

Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His original novels have been published in fourteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at http://www.christophergolden.com

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About the Author: 

I’m a New York Times-bestselling horror, thriller and fantasy writer from a little village in South Wales. I’ve written over 30 novels, including several in collaboration with Christopher Golden, as well as dozens of novellas and hundreds of short stories.

My latest novel, THE HUNT, is my first thriller. Lee Child calls it ‘A great thriller … breathless all the way.’

I’ve won four British Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award and a Scribe, as well as being shortlisted for the prestigious World Fantasy and Shirley Jackson Awards. A movie of my short story Pay The Ghost, starring Nicolas Cage, is due for release in 2015, and I have several other movie projects in development. I love running, biking and swimming, and often try to put them all together in long-distance triathlons. I raced my first Ironman in 2013.

I’ve also written a handful of tie-in projects connected to the Alien, Predator, Star Wars and Hellboy universes.