Interview with keithgell@yahoo.com
Author of The Telepathy Office
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How would you describe The Telepathy Office to a new reader?
- The vast Metropolis, a city inhabited by goblins, is in the throes of an industrial revolution forged in magic. Manna, magical energy captured in physical form, fuels its factories that produce artefacts, to be traded across the galaxy. Wizards are the new elite. They use their magical skill to amass great wealth, and in turn, political power. Resentment grows among the mundane goblin proletariat.
Magic purveys every aspect of goblin life: Telepathic communication, weather control, and healing. But alongside the benefits come risks: Mutation from manna pollution, and magical diseases of vampirism and lycanthropy. But the biggest threat of all is demonic invasion.
Vampires steal a book to summon a demon. Infernal manna finds its way onto the market place, with awful consequences.
Grand Master Pharaoh Henry must recruit a team of demon hunters to stop a full-scale invasion from Hell. But Henry is a dangerous fanatic, and those who work for him end up dead, or worse. No right-minded wizard would risk death, or losing his soul, so he recruits who he can: A drug addicted augurist, a dishonoured ork, a cowardly policeman, a fugitive vampire, and a vain fashionista who shares her mind with a demon.
Against the backdrop of armed revolution, they investigate a Satanic plot, to stop the opening of a gate to Hell itself.
What was the inspiration behind The Telepathy Office ?
- I found the settings of many fantasy novels to be unconvincing.
A society were magic worked, and was common place would not have a a feudal-medieval societies.
Rather. if wizards could create magical technology, they would gain disproportional wealth. With the wealth would follow political power. So I created a magical society, which was a magical Utopia. But there is no drama in paradise, so I imagined what could go wrong.
Which authors do you admire? How have they influenced your writing style?
- Firstly Arthur C Clarke. He imagined plausable engineering breakthroughs, then extrapolated the societies that would spring from them. Terry Pratchett did something similar, but instead used the magical features of his world.
Can you tell us a little about the locations in your book?
- The vast Metropolis, a city inhabited by goblins, is in the throes of an industrial revolution forged in magic. Manna, magical energy captured in physical form, fuels its factories that produce artefacts, to be traded across the galaxy. Wizards are the new elite. They use their magical skill to amass great wealth, and in turn, political power. Resentment grows among the mundane goblin proletariat.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
- Learn plumbing
What's your writing process?
- Basically I use a three act structure. When I thing of a scene (usually while swimming), I write it down, and hyper link it to the sturcture using Excel.
Once I have the overall story, I polish, add missing elements, and look for inconsistencies.
Which character in The Telepathy Office has had the greatest impact on readers?
- The central character in my novel is an old wizard called Pharaoh Henry.
Grand Master Pharaoh Henry must recruit a team of demon hunters to stop a full-scale invasion from Hell. But Henry is a dangerous fanatic, and those who work for him end up dead, or worse. No right-minded wizard would risk death, or losing his soul, so he recruits who he can: A drug addicted augurist, a dishonoured ork, a cowardly policeman, a fugitive vampire, and a vain fashionista who shares her mind with a demon.
If Telepathy Office were to be adapted for TV or film, who would you see in the lead role? Who did you have in your mind’s eye when you wrote him/her?
- There was a British actree in the 1940's called Joane Greenwood, who played Sybella in the film 'King Hearts and Coronets'. She would be prefect for Miss Euphoria Fireheart, the social climbing goblinette.
How have readers responded to The Telepathy Office'?
- It is getting goods reviews.
The reviews state it is original, imaginative and thrilling.
I could not ask for more from my first fantasy novel.
Where next? What are you working on now?
- I am working on two books. Firstly, a follow up novel, where a succubus seeks political asylum in the Metropolis. Understandably, the Kings of Hell do not like the idea.
Secondly, I am writing a series of seven short stories set in the same magical city, each associated with one of the seven sins.
