When Valor Must Hold comes out in 2 days! I’m very excited. Today’s interview is with Christopher Nuttall. His story is “The Game’s Afoot” and it sort of a fantasy Guns of Navarone. I think you’ll all like it, and I’m honored that he participated.

Interview: Christopher Nuttall

What is your quest?

I try to write the sort of books I like to read – action and adventure, mainly; almost all science-fiction and fantasy.

What is your favorite color?

Too many things to count, really.  I like decaying empires and how they can -sometimes – flourish into something new.  I like exploring the use and abuse of magic, and how politics can interact with science to change the world.

What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?

I’d like to do a really big story – something akin to the Night’s Dawn or Game of Thrones books – but I find them a little annoying.  In my view, each novel should be at least partly a novel of its own – that’s what I’ve tried to do with the Schooled in Magic books – but that’s difficult to maintain. I have these ideas that are basically AMERICAN CIVIL WAR WITH MAGIC or GREAT WAR IN SPACE that would be huge, but force me to write in a format I don’t like or narrow the story too far.  No room for character development if the stories are small, you see <grin>.  The only person who did that in a single book was Tom Clancy – Red Storm Rising – and only a handful of his characters were truly 3D.

What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?

The series I like the most, I think, is Schooled in Magic.  It draws on so many of my hobbies – history, alternate history, etc – and lets me have fun.  Ark Royal was an astonishing success, in so many ways – I’m proud I got so much out of it.

How do I write?  I come up with the plot, I sort it out and then I start writing.

Lightning Round

• Favorite Muppet? [Insert politician’s name here.]
• Favorite Weird Color? Black.  You can’t go wrong with black.
• What Cartoon Character Are You?  I like to think Bugs Bunny.  More likely … Millhouse.
• Best Present You’ve Ever Received? A stack of books …
• What Do You Secretly Plot?  I have ideas for stories that will probably never be written.
• Favorite Sports Team? None.
• Cake or Pie? Cake.
• Lime or Lemon? Lemon
• Favorite Chip Dip?  Brown Sauce.
• Favorite Cereal? Corn Pops.
• Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? The McCalmans- http://the-mccalmans.com/
• Whisky or Whiskey? I don’t drink.
• Favorite Superhero? Green Lantern (Kyle Reyner)
• Steak Temperature? Medium-well.
• Favorite 1970s TV show? Battlestar Galactica
• Best Thing From the 80s? Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Spring.
• Best Game Ever? Chess.
• Coffee or Tea? Tea.  I go 3000 words to the pint.
• Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Both.
• Brought to you by the letter ___?  Q.

Tell me again where we can find your stuff? 

• Website – http://chrishanger.net/
• Blog – https://chrishanger.wordpress.com/
• Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherGNuttall

And where can we find you?

Right now, I’m not due to attend any conventions.  My health is a constant issue right now – and I have kids!

Thanks to Christopher for taking the time to answer my questions.

If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.

Also, thanks to you for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326. If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.

Finally, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.

Have a great day.

Rob Howell