Today the Tales After Tolkien Society is launching our Author Interview series of blog posts! Read on for our interview with Paul Jameson!
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing.
Paul Jameson is my name and I'm an English/Australian indie author whose written three novels and numerous shorts.
I've always penned words, but only really began to focus on it seriously in about 2014 as an aid to recovery from serious mental illness. Even at the beginning my writing was influenced by a love of history (I studied medieval history at University), nature, and the liminal worlds of folklore and myth, and the inherent darkness and light therein.
The first major piece completed (I published it second) was the novel '76 and the Odd 93' and is something of an anomaly in style for me; a cathartic piece that is a very dark crime noir.
However it wasn't until I penned the short story 'Magpie' and subsequently the novel 'Nightjar', in 2018, that I really discovered my voice and genre.
Voice is a funny thing (a magic of the muses, so to speak) but once you stumble upon it you know. I found mine inspired by the landscape around where I live, Celtic hillforts, ancient seas, green fields and Roman roads, and in experimental (some call it literary/poetic) prose.
In terms of genre, I enjoy the liminal spaces of Folklore, Folk-Horror, and Fantasy or Magical Realism that provide the freedom to pull in elements of magic, fairytale, nature and history, where the cyclical aspects of history comes into play; mixing present, past and future.
In my most recent completed novel 'Life of Maggot' I took this a step further. Written during the first COVID lockdown, I used the four horsemen of the apocalypse and medieval images to directly inspire and drive a story about the end of times, set in current times, whilst weaving in a story about a small boy and the magic of nature. Thoroughly enjoyed writing it.
Currently, and with Nightjar and Maggot getting good reviews, I'm working on my first big piece of Fantasy. I'm finding it quite scary, enjoyably so, because the world building is so daunting. In my mind the story is currently centered around the sinking of a ship, the fall of kingdoms, and the return of elves, dwarfs and other Fae from the Otherworld. It's a bit messy in my head, but I'm 40,000 words and it's taking form. I'm just a lot worried about how huge it might turn out to be. Something of an Opus perhaps...
Who would you say your biggest literary influences are?
My biggest literary influences (I would say) are the likes of Poe, Daphne Du Maurier, Iain Banks for the darkness, Tolkien for the magic, Folklore and love of nature, and AA Milne for a dry, possibly childlike humour.
There are many other notable mentions too, though far too many to list. I think you learn something (good or bad - what works, what doesn't work) from everything you read.
How has the history of the middle ages impacted/influenced your work?
I take a lot of influence from history and the Middle Ages in particular.
In Life of Maggot, medieval images and depictions of the End of Times drive the telling of one aspect of a double headed tale told in the near future/present day.
For me, it's quite difficult not to be affected by history - and in particular medieval history, in England. We're surrounded by it. From castles and churches, lay of the land, enclosure of fields and ancient woodlands, to place names, pubs, roads and ways and so many other things. Battlefields litter the place, standing stones abound, as do Iron Age forts, ghosts, snickets and ginnels.
In my current WIP too, medieval history is having a big impact. From food to trade, ships, clothes, armour, tack and more. It's hard to know what I'll be researching from one day to the next.
Do you feel like your writing has been impacted/influenced by Tolkien? If so, in what way(s)?
Yes.
I think so. Simply because Tolkien had such an impact on my life. I come from an severely abusive childhood (mental, physical, and emotional abuse) and discovered Tolkien when I was 14, in the 1980s.
As a result I'm pretty sure Tolkien has impacted my writing. I love descriptive prose, a play on words, perhaps too much some might say, and I really do partake in writing as an art. Like Tolkien, nature is a mainstay to my work (even in '76 and the Odd 93'); there is a magic and power to it that even the most powerful can't harness. And then there's always a belief in magic - even if it is painted by insanity (as in the book just mentioned). And in my WIP - it being more like Fantasy proper (as I call it) there comes to play the more archetypal Fae that Tolkien popularised.
I suppose the best people to ask though, would be the readers. I always feel I have one eye closed when I'm looking at my own work.
What do you think the current innovations in your genre(s) are?
I think the current innovations in my genre are less about innovation and more about realisation. People (as a whole) are beginning to understand the fragility of the planet and nature, and the subsequent threat to their own species by the powerful magic that is nature. And so the darkness of folk-horror and dystopian fantasy/science fiction, that often dwelt on the power of nature (seen once as far-fetched), is becoming very real. This in turn is seeing the blending of many genres - horror, fantasy, folklore, historical fiction and dystopian fiction - and the lines between the different genres is becoming very blurred.
Not a bad thing when, as a writer, you enjoy experimental literature and different genres. A lot of fun to be had.
What is something in your genre(s) you'd like to see more of?
Do you know, I don't really have an answer. I tend to focus on what I write in my own little space, in my own little voice.
For me, as long as the writing within a genre entertains an audience (this does not mean appealing to everyone - an audience can be very small and niche) and is produced with good intent, a love of the art, anything produced has its place.
What is something in your genre(s) you'd like to see less of?
I'm not a fan of oversaturation and churning out weak stories (or a series of books) on the back of a genre or trope bandwagon to make quick bucks. But I'm also pragmatic. I realize this is marketing and an industry at play in efforts to maximize returns. It's kind of inevitable.
So I'll just keep on swimming in my own weird lane, working on my own weird art...
Is there anything else related I didn't ask a question about that you'd like to add?
Nothing really. Other than I love how the wonder and inspiration that is Tolkien and history, myth and legend, medieval and beyond, is spilling so fruitfully over into the arts of film and television. I can't get enough of it.
Where online can our readers find you and your work?
You can find out more about me at http://modquokka.com, where I write an irregular blog.
My links: http://linktr.ee/modquokka
And I'm regularly on Twitter @Modquokka if anyone ever wants to talk Tolkien, folklore, books and art. 
And thank you ever so much to Tales After Tolkien for having me. 
Looks like it's off to a good start!
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