Every Friday, we meet a member of the BFS and peer deep into their soul (or, at least, a form they filled out). Want to be featured? Email us: online@britishfantasysociety.org
Name:
Justin Lee Anderson (he/him)
Which region are you based in?
East Lothian
If you write, which genre:
Fantasy
If you don’t write, what do you do?
Fret about the fact that I should be writing.
Are you drawn to any specific SFFH sub-genres?
Humour and Grimdark are mostly what I read, but I also love a good mystery/thriller.
Your influences
Tell us about the book/film/thing that got you into SFFH: What was it? How old were you? What impact did it have on you?
There are a lot of these at different ages. The first thing I can remember was Narnia, specifically The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I read that when I was about 10, and then my aunt took me to see a stage production of it on the Edinburgh Fringe when I was about 11. Because I grew up in the US, we used to have regular Scholastic book fairs, and I worked my way through most of the Narnia series (completely oblivious to the religious metaphors!).
Then when I was about 12, I found A Spell for Chameleon in my school library and I absolutely loved it, so I then worked my way through all of the Xanth series, and then a lot of the rest of Piers Anthony’s older stuff, along with others like Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber and a bit of Terry Brooks as well.
I also grew up on comics, particularly DC, and I got more into comics again as a late teen, especially more mature stuff like Sandman, Preacher and Hellblazer. Then I took a real diversion into more humour-based stuff like Tom Holt and Jasper Fforde before Joe Abercrombie introduced me to Grimdark with The First Law series. So it’s been a journey through different genres!
How does that early influence show up for you (in life/writing/agenting/publishing/editing/reading) now?
Oh God, everywhere, I think. I mean Carpet Diem was absolutely my diving into that silly, slightly absurd and bawdy British humour, but there’s still humour in the Eidyn saga, for example, mostly in the banter between characters. I think I’m influenced by all the things I’ve loved. I guess if I go right back to the beginning, Narnia was a source of escapism and joy for me, and it felt huge in scope, so those are things I try to create for readers in anything I write.
Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?
Great books by other writers, TV and film, current events—I am chronically online and very keyed into what’s happening in politics and the world, so all of that tends to bleed into my work. Equally, it can be as simple as how I’m feeling that day. If my neck is killing me, there’s a decent chance Aranok’s will be that day too.
Who do you look to as a genre hero? Why?
I have to go back to Joe Abercrombie, I think. The Blade Itself resonated with me in a way that I hadn’t really experienced before, in an “I didn’t know you could do this with Fantasy” sort of way, and it opened up the whole genre to me as an adult. I don’t know if I would have written The Eidyn Saga without reading that series, and all of Joe’s work. I got to interview him last year and it was such a delight to get to meet him and chat with him about his work, and to discover that he’s also a really nice guy.
(Pictured: Justin with Joe Abercrombie)
Your Work
You’re stuck in an elevator for 60 seconds with that hero, and they want you to describe your work. Give us the pitch.
Ha! Bella Pagan was once sitting across from me at Bristolcon and asked me what my books were about and I mumbled some incoherent nonsense because I hadn’t really thought about how to describe the genre mashup that it is, so I decided I needed an elevator pitch for The Lost War:
It’s a Scottish epic fantasy mystery conspiracy thriller found-family road trip with a D&D vibe and a twist!
That is now my go-to elevator pitch.
What are you working on right now?
I’m writing The Bastard Throne, the final book in The Eidyn Saga. No pressure sticking the landing in a four-book series, right?
Thinking about all the stories/work you’ve done, what sticks out most in your mind? Why?
The one that jumps to mind is an unpublished short story called All the Dead Things, that’s deeply personal and unlike anything else I’ve ever written. It’s sort of a ghost story about life, and my relationship with my dad, and getting older. It also includes the only sex scene I’ve ever written, which felt extremely weird and vulnerable to write. I might find a home for it one day, but I’m not sure how it fits with anything else I’ve done or where it would fit in a publication, to be honest.
Where and when do you create/are you at your most creative?
I wish I knew! If I ever figure it out, I’ll let you know. Whisky definitely seems to help. I have an office at home that tends to be where I write most of the time, but Carpet Diem was written all over the place. I used to spend a lot of time travelling, and I knew where you could find a seat with a plug socket at every airport in London.
What’s the best advice you’ve received about creativity?
Write the thing you’re excited about.
(Photo by Dmitry Vechorko on Unsplash; other whiskies are available, and Justin does not necessarily endorse this one!)
What’s your writing soundtrack?
It changes depending on my mood and what I’m writing. Carpet Diem was written almost entirely to Rodrigo y Gabriela with a bit of Apocalyptica. The Eidyn Saga has been written to a combination of classical music, fantasy music and ambient backgrounds to help me get into a scene. I tend to avoid lyrics because as soon as there are words, my mind latches on to them and wanders.
The Quick-Fire Round
Sci-fi, fantasy or horror?
Fantasy
Quiet or loud?
Quiet
Dark or light?
Depends if I have a migraine or not!
Strict lines or genre blend?
All the mashups
Awards or bestseller?
I offered to swap Joe my awards for his sales. He said no.
Fiction or non-fiction?
Fiction. The real world is depressing.
Poetry or prose?
Prose. I never really got into poetry.
Plotter or pantser?
Neither. Wayfinder. (I know the beginning, the end and waypoints I want to hit along the way).
Reading or listening?
Reading. My brain slides off audiobooks and wanders, so I keep having to rewind.
Notebook or computer?
Laptop.
Favourite SFFH book of all time?
Oh God. Can I cheat and pick the whole First Law series?
Last book you read?
Last one I finished was Of Blood and Fire by Ryan Cahill and I’m currently reading Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman.
Any SFFH author on auto-buy?
Joe Abercrombie and Jasper Fforde.
Favourite podcast?
It’s not fantasy or book-related, but I listen to The News Agents a lot. I’m also currently really enjoying Once We Were Spacemen with Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk.
The Home Stretch
What’s the best thing about being part of the SFFH community?
The community, support and energy that I get from it. I come away from every con feeling re-energised and inspired to get more writing done. And the friends who understand what this whole madness is about—we’re all siting alone in rooms screaming into to the void most of the year, so it’s nice to be reminded we’re not the only mad ones.
Time to plug your stuff! Where can we find you and your work? What have you got coming up? Consider this your advertising space.
Huzzah! If you’re into a silly, bawdy, sweary comedy fantasy (think Tom Holt with dick jokes), Carpet Diem might be the thing for you. If epic fantasy mystery with a political undertone is more your thing, the first three books of The Eidyn Saga (The Lost War, The Bitter Crown and The Damned King) are out now, and I’m working on finishing the final, fourth book (The Bastard Throne).
Also, I’m in the process of launching a new website designed to be a matchmaking service for indie/self-published SFFH authors and reviewers, called BookMatch (read the blog about it, here). We’re currently recruiting reviewers to our community, so if that’s you, please check it out at bookmatch.co.uk.
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