The shortlisted works across all 13 categories of the British Fantasy Awards have been announced! Find out who’s in the mix over on our blog. Winners announced at Fantasycon in October.
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Announcement:
Meet Adrian Fletcher
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: content@britishfantasysociety.org
Name, including preferred pronouns:
Adrian Fletcher (he/him)
Which region are you based in?
Warrington, North West England
If you write, which genre:
Fantasy
If you don’t write, what do you do?
I am the reviews editor for the BFS
Are you drawn to any specific SFFH sub-genres?
Not really, I think good books are good books, so I’m more interested in story than genre. If I had to choose, maybe Epic Fantasy.
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?
A combination of the Chronicles of Narnia and the Redwall series were what got me into reading. They’re both great children’s series and they both have talking animals, which I think we all agree is a huge plus. That and Star Wars; I used to have a copy of Return of the Jedi on VHS that I watched every Sunday morning. All of them are fantastic stories of hope, and just generally being a good lad. I’m generally pretty optimistic, and while I’m not sure Aslan can claim all the credit he certainly played a part.
Then in secondary school, I read Lord of the Rings and Dune, and they really opened up the whole genre for me.
How does that early influence show up for you (in life/writing/agenting/publishing/editing/reading) now?
The later ones probably show more. I love the things I read as a child, but they’re not really in line with what I want to write myself. I like the shades of grey of a Dune, and LotR is just seminal for a reluctant hero. I wouldn’t say I take anything directly from them though; it’s more about informing the story-building. LotR is world-building taken to a near insane degree, and no matter what you write there’s always lessons to be taken from that.
(Pictured: Adrian with bird; bird’s talking ability unknown.)
Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?
I don’t have any source in particular; ideas come from loads of places and a story is usually just taking that idea to its extreme. Some ideas just stick in your head for whatever reason—sometimes it’s a writing prompt, sometimes it’s a story I’ve read that that makes me think what would happen in a certain situation, sometimes it’s just something someone says. I remember a passing comment someone made to me in 6th form, and I don’t remember their face or what they were called, but the idea remains.
Conventions are an excellent forum if you are in need of ideas. There’s so many people there with so much creativity, just the act of talking to people in the bar will see you coming back with all the ideas you could possibly need.
Who do you look to as a genre hero? Why?
To be flippant for a second, I think if the last few years have taught us anything it should be that however much you admire a writer’s work, there’s no guarantee you’re going to admire them.
There are a lot of people in the genre who are exceptional authors and incredible people and thankfully for us all, a lot of them are associated with the BFS, so that’s nice.
On a personal level though, I’ll have to say David Green (pictured), and only partially because he might violently beat me if I don’t. I’ve known Dave since we were 14. It’s a long time, and we’ve both been big genre fans basically that whole time. Being involved with the BFS, writing, and everything around it is one of those things that always seemed far away, a different world. Seeing Dave be as successful as he is has been a massive inspiration. He’s a good lad too, occasional beatings aside.
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.
Well it’s Dave, so the pitch would be more of an extensive series of threats, and ruminations on whether being in an elevator for 60 seconds is actually out of the ordinary.
Assuming that I’m pitching to someone else, the pitch for the book is pretty straightforward: It’s essentially an 80s buddy cop movie but with orcs. It’s your standard partnership thrown together to investigate a crime that could go all the way to the top, with a bit of tension, action and (hopefully) fun thrown in, plus an obligatory chase scene.
What are you working on right now?
The pitch is a novel; it’s finished but there’s a bunch of editing to do. Editing is boring though, so whether or not I will ever finish the editing really is anyone’s guess at this point. I’ve been writing a short story in the meantime, so we’ll see how that goes.
Thinking about all the stories/work you’ve done, what sticks out most in your mind? Why?
I’ll focus on the reviews for this. Since I took over as the BFS reviews editor, we’ve posted something like a 100 reviews. The Outcast Mage by Annabel Campbell was an early highlight for me. I met Annabel at my first Fantasycon and have followed along with her publishing journey, so being able to post the review of that was amazing.
Forgetting to actually include the actual review when I posted the review for the BFS president’s book was also memorable for slightly different reasons.
Where and when do you create/are you at your most creative?
I do write, but it’s fair to say I’m more of a casual writer. For me, I actually find it easier to work in public, which may make me a weirdo, who’s to say? Home has too many potential distractions for my tastes, all my cool stuff is there.
(Image of a platypus supplied by Adrian as something that inspires him because “it shows your idea doesn’t have to make any damn sense for it to work”)
What’s the best advice you’ve received about creativity?
Probably write what you’d like to read. As I said before, editing is very boring, and even writing takes a long time’; it’s as much an endurance event as a hobby or job. If you aren’t enjoying what you write you’re not going to be able to finish it.
What’s your writing soundtrack?
I just have this one quite large Spotify playlist that I just bang anything I feel like adding into and stick on random. It’s probably not quite as large as if some people did that, but I don’t create smaller ones. There’s a pretty wide range of songs in there. The last 10 I’ve added include: Flower of Scotland, Golden from K-Pop Demon Hunters, Golden Brown, She Sells Sanctuary, Home Boys Home by the Dubliners, Messy by Lola Young, Pompeii by Bastille, and Nice to Meet You by Myles Smith.
The Quick Fire Round
Sci-fi, fantasy or horror?
Fantasy
Quiet or loud?
It’s a sliding scale that moves from quiet to loud proportional to alcohol intake
Dark or light?
Dark
Strict lines or genre blend?
Genre blend
Awards or bestseller?
Bestseller
Fiction or non-fiction?
Fiction
Poetry or prose?
Prose
Plotter or pantser?
Yes
Reading or listening?
Reading
Notebook or computer?
Computer
Favourite SFFH book of all time?
Memories of Ice, by Steven Erikson
Last book you read?
The Hatter’s Daughter, by W.A. Simpson
Any SFFH author on auto-buy?
Nope
Favourite podcast?
Never got into them, so I’ll say the BFS one Long Story Short as I can’t afford to get any further on our glorious leader’s bad side.
The Home Stretch
What’s the best thing about being part of the SFFH community?
Conventions. They’re essentially a melting pot of all the best elements of the community. Supportive, friendly people, all supporting each other, all willing to chat or offer advice. With alcohol, karaoke and occasionally someone forcing you to perform a dance you don’t know how to spell.
Time to plug your stuff! Where can we find you and your work? What have you got coming up? Consider this your advertising space.
Reviews on the BFS website: If you want any info or you would like to review books you can always email on reviews@britishfantasysociety.org.
For my actual writing, you might have to come round my house and force me to finish editing first, which let’s face it, would be somewhat awkward for all concerned.
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