UFI welcomes Ryan Attard Author of the Legacy Series. Thanks for Joining us!!
Into the Past
Ever since I started writing full time, my reading time has greatly suffered.
However I firmly believe it’s the things I’ve read before that made me the
writer I am today. So here’s a list of what I would have been reading a couple
years back:
Age 5: two words – Enid Blyton. I read most of her short story collections
over and over again. This was the first love of elves and enchanters and all the
rest. We were kind of limited as to what was available for kids in my country
and most of us were just encouraged to watch TV.
Age 11: This happens to be the same year that Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone was released and I happened to be one if the few people
in my country that has a copy with the first edition cover. I read that thing
cover to cover and from then on every brain cell I possessed was put to work
making up stories along the likes of magic, wizards and the rest. Coupled with
this, I also read the fantasy themed classics, although most of them were
adventure based. King Solomon’s Mines, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe –
you name it. This was also a formative age where I began taking an interest in
astrology and astronomy, outer space, mythology of all kinds (most available was
Greek and Egyptian) and to a certain extent even religion.
Age 16: The rebel age. A few years back I had a serious Animorphs
crush and anything with violence and tales of revenge. I was severely bullied
between ages 12-15 so I took refuge in books. I remember having a deep
fascination with guns, weapons, martial arts and most of all The
Punisher. I had researched the character and found out that he was based off
of a series of novels called The Executioner series, all written in the
early 60’s. It so happened that my school library had, due to the incompetence
of the administration, acquired a copy of one of those Executioner novels. No
kid should ever read that – it was graphic, horrible and I enjoyed every last
bit of it.
At age sixteen I was already set in my ways – I wanted to escape in a story
to live in it and that’s why I spent horrendous amounts of money at my Junior
College’s bookstore. I discovered The Chronicles of the Necromancer (and
I am so psyched to be friends with Gail Z Martin, the author, and have had her
as a guest on my podcast). I bought Skulduggery Pleasant book one on a
whim, simply because it had orange dye on the sides of the pages. I was
instantly hooked and even today, I wait hungrily for the last instalment in the
series. One of friends had bought me a copy of The Alchemyst (The
Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel book 1) and I have finished the
series a few years ago.
The list is long and highly detailed but I sought out everything from fantasy
(The Summoner) to the action adventure (Alex Rider Series). But I
suppose the most important thing I discovered at this age was manga. It was a
new mythology, very well written and best of all you could watch it on TV (or in
my case, online) as well. Here’s a list of things I watched so many times I
could quote my heart: Black Lagoon, Death Note, Naruto, Bleach, Elfen Leid,
Hellsing, Black Blood Brothers, Trigun, Ouran High School Host Club – you
get the idea.
Age 20: By now I was on the verge of starting to write so I was already
mentally categorizing things that had that “something” – that spark that made me
want to leave this world and dive into theirs. I would use a lot of these later
on when I write. And it wasn’t just book and TV/Movies any more – I would watch
video game cutscenes or playthroughs and listen to music that invoked particular
imagery. It wasn’t just about having the spark anymore, it was about slowly
shaping that magic into something substantial.
By then I had discovered the Dresden Files and I guess that, more than
anything, offset me enough to take my current route in life. By this age I was
halfway through the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Percy Jackson,
Young Samurai, The Fallen Kings Cycle, Skulduggery Pleasant, I discovered
some Clive Cussler novels and started Eragon, which had just been
published.
I began catching myself doing a strange thing: I would mark down dates on my
calendar to know which book came out when, and then would run eagerly to the
bookstore to order them. This was before the Kindle age and Amazon wasn’t as
established as it is nowadays.
Today most of these stories had been concluded. I’m not one for rereading –
most of those stories have captured me enough to forever engrave themselves in
my memory. I still treasure the books in my collection and whenever I can I get
in touch with the creators/writers. In my line of work I am very lucky to meet
people who are great inspirations. In the past two years alone I’ve read stories
that are right up there with the best of them. I got to interview the writers
and chat with them, picking their brains one question at a time.
In conclusion, a list such as this makes me reminisce and remember why I
chose this line of work. I can only hope that my own books will one day stand
side by side with such legends and carry on the legacy that these wonderful
people stared.
Thank you Stacy for giving me the opportunity to guest blog on Urban Fantasy
Investigates.
This or That
Angels or Demons – demons. Way more entertaining.
Vampires or Shifters – shifters if they are polymorphs. Vampires if they have
access to magic outside the usual tropes.
Left or Right – right. Cos it’s always right.
Up or Down – both but at decelerated speed. Fast is good for up but no so
much for down.
Pizza or Pasta – pizza. Oh glorious pizza. (I am a TMNT fan and any TMNT fan
is brainwashed for pizza)
Coffee or Tea – how is this even a question? Coffee. Who the hell can live
without coffee?
Coke or Pepsi – Coke. Preferably in powder form.
YA or Adult – adult. YA is fine but only if the story is unique and not
forced.
Knives or Guns – Bazooka. (But for the sake of answering: knives. Never take
the easy path)
Reading or Writing – Writing. If I’m gonna live in my head might as well make
a living out of it. (Reading is important too especially if you’re writing –
duh)
Facebook or Twitter – Facebook but only because I can use the Page to tweet
as well. See? Gotta love loopholes.
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Ryan Attard is the author of the Legacy series. So far only Firstborn and
Birthright, books 1 & 2 respectively are available. He also wrote some short
stories for the series, two of which have made it out to the public.
He is also currently working on his second series, The Pandora Chronicles and
a couple other projects he cannot reveal.
He is also one of those annoying types who write about themselves in the
third person.
Find Ryan and his books
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Birthright
The Legacy Series #2
Following the events of
his last adventure, Erik Ashendale is having some serious doubts about .
. . well, just about everything. He is doubting his power, his
apprentice's progress reached an impassive point and his sister's
information is yielding nothing. The Sins can attack at any time, and
our hero has no idea what to do.
So he turns to Sun Tsu, an old
friend who provides Abi with a few tools and a friendly ear to Erik's
tale: the obscure history of Erik Ashendale and how he went from a
regular kid born into a rich Warlock family to the hunter we all know
and love today.
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