Your new book Hunter: The Serpent Mounds - in a few words,
what is it about?
The newest edition continues the saga of Lian and his best friend
Gabriel, this time versus a new enemy force – giants. The Reptilian
presence in the world from the first book is still evident, and maybe
stronger than ever. What were your sources of inspiration
when writing Hunter: The Serpent Mounds? I’ve
always been a fan of the futuristic and dystopian science fiction genre of
novels. No matter how bad things get, they always seem to carry a great
deal of hope with them. Hunter:
The Serpent Mounds is a sequel to your Hunter: The Fallen One -
so how do these two books compare, how closely does one follow the other,
and what were your inspirations for their main character Lian Hunter in
the first place?
The
two books are very similar, they have the same feel and tone to them. One
of my goals is to make each book stronger than the previous ones, which I
think occurs rather naturally as the events unfold in the future stories.
The
second book closely follows the first in every respect, and some questions
used to keep readers wondering what happens in the first book, are
answered in the second. For instance, there is only one chapter in the
first book on the military aspect – which is an integral theme of the
entire series – compared to four chapters in the second.
The
inspirations for Lian were quite simple. I wanted to write a novel from a
young adult’s perspective. I know the problems I faced as a teen, and I
realize the obstacles teens face today are even more compounded. I
surmised a teen’s troubles in the future would be even more complex.
That point is interesting to me, as it should be to any young adult.
Do talk about Hunter: The Serpent
Mounds approach to science fiction for a bit, and is this a genre at
all dear to you, and your genre favourites (in whatever medium)?
I
believe anything written about the future would have to include some
science fiction, and it is true in this series, as I use technological
advancements far beyond our limits today. Driver-less cars (that don't get
in accidents), classroom teachers using fantastic manipulatives, and other
amazing things one would use every day are just a few of those fictional
aspects.
I’ve
always been a very big YA science fiction reader – series like Harry
Potter, The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, Hatchet,
etc., are all books I’ve read and enjoyed. I’m also a huge fan of
adventures and mysteries.
With
Hunter: The Serpent Mounds being a young adult novel - how do you
write for this particular age group, and how does it differ from, let's
say, writing for kids or adults (if at all)?
I’ve
written a couple books for younger kids, complete with illustrations. The
pictures are the biggest difference in literature for small kids, and they
are completely necessary for them to follow the story. I find there is not
much difference in writing for young adults compared to adults. The most I
do is just try to keep the themes simple, which is not the case in writing
for adults. My plots are usually more complex in those for adults.
As a
writer, do you have any routines you follow - in other words, do take us
through your writing process? I don’t have any real
routines. Sometimes when I am out and about, I’ll start writing down my
ideas on notebook paper, but most of the time I just start typing it out
as things come into my head. I don’t need to be in an absolutely quiet
location when I write, but I do need that kind of atmosphere when I edit.
You have to be in the mood to write, or you’re just wasting your time. Anything you can tell us
about audience and critical reception of Hunter: The Serpent Mounds? I
have one reviewer who really loves both books, and the other reviews
I’ve seen have been excellent and fair, at least for the first one. Word
of mouth comments are usually pretty good. Any
future projects you'd like to talk about? Besides the next
two sequels in this Hunter series, there may actually be more Lian Hunter
adventures, either following him beyond his high school years, or perhaps
a prequel book or two of some sort. I also have a couple more books on the
back burners, and they are more in the adult fiction than in the YA genre. What got you
into writing in the first place, and did you receive any formal training
on the subject? I’ve always enjoyed creating things, such
as writing songs and other such endeavors of pleasure. I’ve written
short stories in college in a science/science fiction class, which not
only included writing science fiction stories, but investigating the
science behind the stories. I’ve also written a couple stories on my own
for no particular reason. What can you tell us about your writings
prior to Hunter: The Fallen One and Hunter: The Serpent Mounds? As
I’ve said previously, I’ve written a couple books for younger kids,
and have experience writing some short stories, plus the books for the
adult readers I now have in waiting. How
would you describe yourself as a writer? I have fun
writing, at least most of the time. How well I write, create moods and
characterization, and establish plots, etc., is really not for me to say.
I’ll leave that to the readers and reviewers. Writers who
inspire you, and books you couldn't live without? As I
mentioned previously, I’m not only a big fan of the other popular YA
authors, but some writers of adventures and mysteries - Dan Brown, Stieg
Larrson, Stephen King, John Grisham, Michael Crichton, just to name a few.
Although I love them, I would have no trouble living without them. ...
and since this is first and foremostly a film-site, your favourite and
least favourite movies? Since you’ve brought it up, I
honestly believe this Hunter series would make a great adventure movie
series. My faves would have to include Young Frankenstein, and any
Gene Wilder and/or Mel Brooks films, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim
World, and any Albert Brooks films, The Godfather, Ghostbusters, The Shawshank Redemption, The Dark Knight
series, and so many others, even some pretty goofy ones. I cannot think of
a least favorite film, although I know some pretty lame ones exist. Your/your books' website,
Facebook, whatever else? Link to Hunter: The Serpent
Mounds on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07DFXY2JQ/
Link to Hunter: The Fallen One on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01M7U9GJU/
The C. L. Hagely Facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/C-L-Hagely-457432311281465/
The Lian Hunter Adventures Facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/Lian-Hunter-Adventures-120247685298884/
The C. L. Hagely Twitter page:
https://twitter.com/CLHagely
The C. L. Hagely webpage:
http://stmanley007.wixsite.com/clhagely
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Anything else you're dying to
mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I think you
were pretty thorough with your questions. I just hope everyone who reads
the Hunter series truly enjoys the experience. Thanks for
the interview! Thank you.
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