Interview with John Marco, author of the new series "of Tyrants and Kings"
by Johan Vermij, November 22, 1999
About Writing:
The past few years I've had several ideas for a fantasy story, but I usually didn't advance beyond that. I've made a few maps and created a few characters for the story. How long did it take you after your first idea to complete the first novel?
Like many would-be writers, I had a number of false starts before actually writing "The Jackal of Nar." I would draw maps and sketch out some characters, but I never did enough plotting for the story to actually take shape. So before I wrote Jackal, I decided that I had to make sure I had the entire story outlined first, so that I knew I'd be able to finish it. Still, it took about two and a half years to write the whole thing, more than I thought it would.
Did you already finish the second part, "Master of the Valley" by the time the first part, "The Jackal of Nar" was published? Or did you just have a vague idea of how the story should continue?
Actually, both books were written at the same time as one big book. That's how they've been published in the US and UK. But in the Netherlands and Germany, the book was divided into two volumes, mostly because of the length. Translating the book from English made it even larger than it was originally, so the publishers split it into two books. That's why "Master of the Valley" opens immediately after the close of "The Jackal of Nar."
What was the hardest thing you faced while writing the series?
I don't find writing particularly difficult, because I love doing it. But the hardest part about actually writing for me is coming up with a good story to tell, and that means outlining. I spend a lot of time outlining the plot and characters before actually starting to write, so that's probably the toughest part of the process for me. Though I enjoy it, it can be frustrating at times. The first book took a few months to plot out completely, and the outline was almost a hundred pages when it was done. I no longer outline in such detail. I seem to know by "feeling" how detailed an outline should be, because I like to leave room for the story to expand as I'm writing it.
The late grandmaster of Science Fiction, Isaac Asimov, once said that writing is a hard living. He wrote countless books and articles and said that it took him years to be able to completely live of his earnings, and about another decade before he could really take it easy on his writing. When you started out writing --this is your debut after all, did you completely devote your time to the series or did you have a job on the side? (or still have?)
Throughout writing "The Jackal of Nar," I was working full time, which made it writing difficult. I did all my writing at night and on the weekends, which is why it took longer than I originally thought it would. After the publication of "Jackal," I was able to leave my day job and write full time, which made things a lot easier. Now when I write I can really concentrate on what I'm doing, which is great.
For a lot of writers, even those that are published, writing is still a tough way to make a living, so they have to keep other jobs to supplement their incomes. I feel very fortunate that I'm able to make a living just from writing fiction.
About the series:
If you had to give the series a different title, what would it be?
It took a while to come up with the series title "Tyrants and Kings," because I wanted something that encompasses a lot of ideas and themes, but also something that sounds like a fantasy series. In Germany, the series is called "The Empire of Nar," which I like. It's simple but appropriate, so I think that would make a nice alternate title for the series.
Why did you choose to tell the story from Richius' point of view? Would it have been a different story if we read the story through the eyes of Arkus?
When I started writing "The Jackal of Nar," I knew that I wanted to tell the story from the viewpoint of a young soldier. I wanted to show him being effected by a war, losing comrades, learning about new cultures, etc. So Richius just sort of sprang to life to fill that role. And yes, I think the book would be very different if told through the eyes of Emperor Arkus.
Although we do see Arkus in the book, and he's a very imporant character, he's not really in a lot of the book. He's sort of the engine that drives the story, because it's his mad plans that force Richius into various situations. With Richius, we get to see the story through the eyes of someone fairly young and innocent. But Arkus is Richius' opposite. He's not young at all, and he's certainly not innocent. I'm sure the book would have been very different if he had been the main viewpoint character.
What kind of person is Richius Vantran? Have you modeled him after a known person?
I think Richius is a very likeable person, even though he's flawed. A number of readers have commented to me about him, saying that they like the way he's not a typical fantasy hero. He makes a number of mistakes in the course of the series, and often makes decisions based on his own desires. These decisions sometimes get him into trouble, but I think these are the traits that make him likeable and empathetic. He's also a very lucky person. It's often not his skill that saves him, but rather his good fortune. Even when things are falling down around him, he manages to escape relatively unharmed. For me, that's fun and makes Richius more human. He's not the best swordsman or warrior. He's just ordinary. But he's caught up in extraordinary circumstances.
And no, he's not based on anyone in particular. If anything he's just a composite of young soldiers throughout history.
In my opinion the different books, "Jackal of Nar" and "Master of the Valley" cunningly deal with the question of loyalty. First and foremost of course Richius' loyalty towards Nar and Lucel-Lor, then there's the switch between Richius and Voris, Richius and Tharn and Richius and Dinadin. Was this one of the most important items for your story?
Absolutely. I wanted the line between good and evil to be blurred, and I wanted the motivations of the characters to be somewhat ambigous. Richius isn't perfect, but neither are the villains of the story completely bad. And of course these motivations carry over into their loyalties. As the story begins, Richius is convinced that Tharn and Voris, his enemies, are evil.
Later he comes to realize that they aren't evil at all. They simply come from a very different culture from his own, so they are driven by different needs and desires. Throughout the series, loyalties change and get confused, and the characters are forced to come to terms with their own sensibilities.
Hopefully this adds to the richness of the story, and makes for a more interesting read.
One of the most intriguing persons, I thought, was Biaggio. Now that he left for his island, Crote, will the war move from Lucel-Lor to Nar?
The next book of the series, called "The Grand Design," revolves mostly around Biagio. As you said, he has fled to his island homeland. Without revealing too much, Biagio is trying to win the throne of Nar, which he believes is rightfully his. He goes to some extraordinary lengths to try and win it. The war does in fact move from Lucel-Lor to Nar, and also includes the Hundred Isles of Liss, which are seen for the first time in the new book.
I'm looking forward to the release of the next book, and hope that readers enjoy it.
I've been very interested in fantasy literature for a long time. This eventually led to my thesis on the relation between fantasy literature, the bible and mythology. I see that many fantasy authors use biblical and mythological events or characters in their series. Did you think of Biblical or Mythological events when you started writing?
I think all writers are influenc
