Interview with Patrick Doud and Contest

We’re lucky to have debut young adult novelist Patrick Doud here today to talk about his novel THE HUNT FOR THE EYE OF OGIN.

This young adult book came out February 23rd from North Atlantic Books and is available from these retailers online:

Amazon
Barnes & Nobles

…and in all your local bookstores. Go check it out!

Now, without further ado, let’s talk with Patrick.

NVP:
THE HUNT FOR THE EYE OF OGIN, the first book of The Winnitok Tales features thirteen-year old Elwood Pitch. Could you tell me a little about Elwood Pitch and the world he finds himself carried off to? Where did the idea for Elwood come from?

PD:
Elwood is an ordinary kid trying to make the difficult passage out of childhood when it happens. Forces he doesn’t understand bring him and his dog Somewhere Else: the otherworld of Ehm. The part of Ehm he is brought to resembles North America, specifically New England. It’s preindustrial, with magic and strange races everywhere. I suppose the idea for Elwood came from memories of my youth: I spent a lot of time thinking about going to other worlds, but not about the potential consequences if I ever actually did. That’s largely what The Winnitok Tales are about: the consequences.

NVP:
What made you choose young adult as your debut genre? What about YA drew you to it?

PD:
I still love fantasy, but  growing up virtually all my favorite books were fantasy. When the story of The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin began to come to me, I realized it was just the kind of thing I would have been wild about when I was young. In a way, I wrote the book to my younger self, recalling the particular magic of being alone with a book at that time in my life. I suppose it was the appeal of that that drew me.

NVP:
Do you write to music? Or do you prefer silence? If you do, what kind of music helped you to write THE HUNT FOR THE EYE OF OGIN?

PD:
I like symphonic music while I write. It’s narrative, but without verbal specifics. Writing Ogin I listened to a lot of Anton Bruckner, various performances of all the symphonies.

As I write this, however, I’m listening to Black Sabbath Vol. 4.

NVP:
Being a debut author, your first experiences in publishing are probably still fresh in your mind (or nightmares, depending on your experience ). What advice would you give aspiring YA authors (or aspiring authors in general) and why?

PD:
I wish I had something really insightful to offer! But all that people say about the importance of keeping at it and not giving up hope: probably true.

NVP:
What authors helped shape your voice?

PD:
George MacDonald, Jack Spicer, H.D., L. Frank Baum, William Blake, Mary Butts, Edgar Allen Poe, W.B. Yeats, Kennenth Grahame, Wallace Stevens,  Kenneth Irby,  Ursula K. Le Guin, H.P. Lovecraft, Gerrit Lansing, James Fenimore Cooper, J.R.R. Tolkien, Federico Garcia Lorca, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Gustav Meyrink, Robert Duncan, Charles Williams, John Crowley, Charles Olson, Sarah Orne Jewett, Jorge Luis Borges… and many, many more. I suppose everything you read, even your local newspaper, contributes something to the shape of your “voice.”

NVP:
Along those lines, some writers can’t read another author’s work while they’re writing or won’t because they think it compromises their own unique voice. Do you read another author’s work while you’re writing?

PD:
I always read for a while before I start a day’s work. It helps get the apparatus functioning. It’s true I’ve avoided certain books at certain times for something like the reason you mention. For example, I don’t think I read any fantasy during the time I was writing the first draft of Ogin.

NVP:
What kind of books do you read on your free time…assuming, of course, that you have free time?

PD:
Poetry, novels, nonfiction (chiefly natural history, but just plain history too). I recently read Catharine Maria Sedgwick’s Hope Leslie for the first time, a 19th century novel that was enormously popular when it was published. It’s a protofeminist, semihistorical novel about Puritan-Indian relations in 17th century Massachusetts, an important book I found useful for what I’m up to with The Winnitok Tales.

NVP:
When you read, what is your favorite genre to read? Who’s your favorite author…or if you’re like me, the favorite author of the moment?

PD:
I don’t think I have a favorite genre, but my favorite author of the moment is Mary Butts. I’m rereading her book Armed with Madness for the first time in fifteen years. An astonishing short novel, most every sentence a wonder.

NVP:
What kind of readers do you believe would enjoy THE HUNT FOR THE EYE OF OGIN?

PD:
I hope both young people and adults who enjoy fantasy. I know the term covers a lot of diverse ground, but I think Ogin probably has something for almost everyone.

NVP:
What do we have to look forward to from you in the future? How many books do you plan for The Winnitok Tales books?

PD:
The second book is called The Mornith War, and it’s due out in Spring 2011. The current story is going to play out over four books, but The Winnitok Tales won’t necessarily end there.

NVP:
Where can you be found on the web? (ex. FB, Twitter, Myspace, websites, blogs, ect.)

PD:
WinnitokTales.com is the official site and a good place to start if you’re curious about the books. There are Fan Pages on Facebook and Myspace and also a Twitter presence (for all three, search “Winnitok Tales”). I have a Facebook page and am happy to accept friend requests from readers.

Thanks so much to Patrick Doud for being with us here today! Now, for the really fun stuff! Patrick is giving away two of THE HUNT FOR THE EYE OF OGIN to you guys today.

**To enter this giveaway, you must be a US resident.**

Alright, so Patrick has offered up two of THE HUNT FOR THE EYE OF OGIN today for two lucky commenters. So, since Elwood seems to have gotten himself whisked away to another world, let’s go with that. Tell me…

If you could find yourself suddenly in a world completely unlike the one you left, what would it be like?

Your answer is good for one entry. For additional entries, Tweet, Facebook, LiveJournal or blog on an existing blog about this giveaway and include the links in your comment. You’ll get an additional entry per link. Remember: US Residents only please. Contest closes at 11:59 pm CST on Thursday, March 4th. Winners will be chosen via random.org and announced Friday March 5th at 10:00 am CST.

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