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| Paul E. Horsman, Author The Shadow of Revenant RHIDAUNA and ZIHAEN |
International Dutch author Paul E. Horsman writes
light fantasy adventure stories for teens 15+ years old. He creates characters
of “a diverse cast and both female
and male heroes” and claims his villains are all “disliked heartily.” He
believes that the key word to attract teenage readers is ‘adventure.’ His The
Shadow of the Revenaunt includes two books: RHIDAUNA (Book 1) and ZIHAEN (Book 2).
Although
Dutch, Horsmsan prefers to write in English. He lives in Roosendaal,
a town on the Dutch-Belgian border. A full-time writer, he is currently working
on several new books and also plans to soon republish the third
Revenaunt-book, Ordelanden. When he’s not writing, he enjoys playing computer
games.
Q: Why do you write
in the fantasy genre? What traits do you believe are most important for this
genre? Do you believe fantasy is a superior genre to reach teenage readers?
Paul E. Horsman: Fantasy
is for me the medium to express myself best in. I’ve always been interested in
history, mythology, folklore and foreign lands, and here I can mix them into
new patterns. I am not of the Tolkien school (though I love the books very
much), and I am certainly not a dark and gritty writer. I have been told my
stories have a distinct RPG feel to them. I have played many computer games,
from Baldur’s Gate up to World of Warcraft, so I suppose that style stuck on
me. I like to describe them as light
fantasy adventure.
I think it is important to be both original and
recognizable, especially for teenagers. Now the first two Revenaunt books were
also the first two I wrote, so they are more in the traditional line than my
later novels like ‘Lioness of Kell’. Still, like all my books, they have a
diverse cast and both female and male heroes.
Q: The Shadow of the Revenaunt includes two books: RHIDAUNA and ZIHAEN. Do any of these names
signify anything? If so, what? Or did you just want to create
interesting-sounding names?
Paul E. Horsman: When
I thought of titles for my book series, I wanted something short. The subtitle The Shadow of the Revenaunt is long
enough. I settled for the names of the countries most important in the story.
For Book 1, that is Rhidauna, the
homeland of my hero Ghyll and his foster brother Olle. Rhidauna is a kingdom
comparable to the Dutch/German lands and the Yanthe River where the story
begins is a bigger version of the Rhine, with mountains and castles.
For Book 2, I chose Zihaen,
the scene of the story finale. Zihaen is a steppe land; endless grass
intersected by rivers, populated by nomads. Of the mighty civilization that
once flourished here, only ruins are left.
Q: In stories of
castles, sorcerers, monstrous
firebirds and black-clad golems, how important is ‘credibility?’ How do you
draw the teenage reader into an unreal world? Are there rules that need
to be followed? What will lose their interest?
Paul E. Horsman: To my mind, credibility is always
important, and certainly for fantasy. Everything I imagine must have a logical
explanation. This doesn’t need to be scientifically correct, but it must be both
believable and consistent.
I think the characters are the main anchor. When the reader
can identify with them and their actions, the rest, like magic and monsters,
will be accepted as a matter of course.
The key word of interest to a teenager would be ‘adventure’.
To keep them reading, my books are very fast-paced, and there is a lot of
action in them. Their Dutch rating is for ages 15+.
Q: How did you
envision your “world building” for The
Shadow of the Revenaunt? Did you create the world first and then follow
with your characters?
Paul E. Horsman: With ‘Revenaunt’ the world developed as
I wrote. I do a lot of research while writing, and I note down everything to
stay consistent. In that I am a typical pantser (writing by the seat of my
pants), instead of a plotter.
Q: What makes your
readers engage with your characters? Do they look for heroes? Do they favor
villains? What makes a good villain? Are their good “creatures” and bad
“creatures?”
Paul E. Horsman: I
have a lot of characters in my stories. Now I have noticed readers don’t all relate
with the same heroes. Some like Ghyll best, others run away with Olle, his
foster brother, or with the young mage Bo. Many people like my female
characters (Uwella in Book 1, Kerianna in Book 2).
My villains are disliked heartily, but then they are really
nasty types. The goals of their organization are very destructive, and my
villains are all of the egoistical, conscienceless kind – by definition are the
heroes and villains of Revenaunt good
and bad. Now my heroes are not shiningly perfect; they have flaws, uncertainties
and shortcomings like everyone else. The villains are ruthless, overconfident
and arrogant, and not meant to be likeable.
Q: How helpful is
humor to develop your characters or story? Can you make jokes in a fantasy
world?
Paul E. Horsman: Humor is a necessary ingredient (unless
you are writing a certain famous dark
fantasy series of course!).
There is a lot of wordplay and lighthearted banter in my dialogues.
Q: Do you write your
fantasy stories solely to entertain and absorb teenagers in books? Or do you
also try to deliver a message or two?
Paul E. Horsman: The main thing all my books have in
common, is equality. I have male and female heroes, gay heroes and heroes of
color. It is not meant as a message per se, but it is a basic part of my worlds.
Q: Having lived in
the Netherlands for a year, I am well aware of the language ability of the
Dutch. However, I’m curious if as a Dutch-born author you find it difficult to
write stories in English?
Paul E. Horsman: Actually, I prefer writing in English to
Dutch. The difficulty is not so much in the language, as in the cultural
differences, especially when I am writing about POC, gender and cultures. With
readers in other countries there sometimes are differences in historical
backgrounds that make it easier to unintentionally offend. I have several beta
readers in both US and UK, but even so the risk remains.
Q: What’s next?
Paul E. Horsman: The third Revenaunt-book, Ordelanden, will be republished soon. It
was completely rewritten, and extended from 75.000 to 111.000 words, with more
story, more characters and a lot more adventure.
I am working on several new titles. Grimoires, a parallel story to Ordelanden,
telling the adventures of the mage Bo Lusindral and his hunt for the Revenaunt’s
spell books. Also Broomrider, a
standalone sequel to Lioness of Kell
twenty-five years later, when the earlier heroes’ children fight a powerful
undead mage.
Q: Tell us about Paul
E. Horsman. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Paul E. Horsman: Well, I’m the least interesting part of
all this... I’ve been in education until mid-2012 – working with immigrants and
refugees, teaching them Dutch and preparing them for naturalization. My job
became privatized, what made me too expensive. I have been out of work since
then. I’m single and three years away from retirement. Now I spend my days as a
full-time writer. My health isn’t optimal, so I don’t go out much anymore and
when not writing, or researching, I am playing computer games.
About Paul E. Horsman
Paul E. Horsman (1952) is a Dutch and
International Fantasy Author. Born in the sleepy garden village of Bussum, The
Netherlands, he now lives in Roosendaal, a town on the Dutch-Belgian border.
He has been a soldier, a salesman, a
scoutmaster and from 1995 till his school closed in 2012 a teacher of Dutch as
a Second Language and Integration to refugees from all over the globe.
Being unemployed and economically overage,
yet still some years away from retirement, he is a full-time writer of epic
light fantasy adventures. His books are both published in the Netherlands, and
internationally.
About RHIDAUNA
The night before his Coming-of-Age, Ghyll and
his two friends escape their castle on a clandestine boar hunt that will
forever change their lives. The hunt proves a disaster, and with one of them
badly wounded, they return just in time to see their island castle destroyed by
macabre warriors from a dragon boat, and by flocks of fire-breathing birds.
Ghyll's eighteenth birthday turns into a nightmare as they flee into the night.
Now begins an epic journey to find out who is
trying to kill them – and most importantly, why?
Fortunately, they can count on the help of
new friends, including a sometimes overly enthusiastic fire mage, an
inexperienced paladin and a young beastmistress who is also a ferocious
mountain lioness. It soon becomes clear that not one but several sorcerers want
to kill them. Are those blackrobes really followers of a terrible,
long-forgotten organization?
And whose cold hand reaches across the
boundaries of space and time to crush weakened Rhidauna?
How did his parents and brothers die? Where
their deaths really accidents, or were they killed? These questions young Ghyll
Hardingraud must answer before he can ascend Rhidauna's throne.
Ghyll’s search for the truth leads him and
his Companions on a journey back to the past as he slowly unravels a dark
conspiracy.
Once crowned, the young King Ghyll still has
to finish the mission his dead uncle imposed on him. The journey takes him and
his trusted friends through inhospitable lands and dangerous swamps to the
endless steppes of Zihaen, looking for the Voice from the West. He discovers he
isn't the only one. His vindictive enemy pursues him, aided by undead forces.
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