Meet Gabriel Greene

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, including preferred pronouns: 
Gabriel Greene (he/him)

Which region are you based in? 
I am a European from Poland

If you write, which genre: 
Fantasy

If you don’t write, what do you do? 
I am an avid enthusiast of literature, cinematography, video games as well as table-top role-playing games. Furthermore, I read books that are foreign to my location, continuing my personal hobbyist education in literature and the English language. In my spare time, I design my own table-top pen and paper game and occasionally participate within internet forums.

Are you drawn to any specific SFFH sub-genres? 
I dislike the genre of horror although I could say that I write it within my fantasy as of melee combat and magic. This is as of the realism that I strive to achieve.

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? 

At the age of 9 or 10, I read a Polish translation of the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Since that time, I’ve believed the fantasy genre to be the best medium in literature as well as the most interesting genre.

How does that early influence show up in your work now? 

It does not, to be honest. I write a very different subgenre of fantasy, and although my first novel might fit into high fantasy I believe that the genre is too distant to my work. I would name my fantasy, or Victorian fiction folk tale, a far more mature read than the most famous works of J.R.R. Tolkien whom, after all, meant his work to be read by children as well as adults.

Where do you draw your creative inspiration from? 

Primarily, I draw inspiration from William Shakespeare although I write novels rather than plays. Historically, the Plantagenet dynasty and an Anglo-French culture as well as chivalry or justice.

Who do you look to as a genre hero? Why? 

Ed Greenwood for writing the Elminster series which fulfilled my childhood dream of a book that has a wizard as the main protagonist and for creating the Forgotten Realms. The entire setting is quite interesting because the main matter or subject of it is adventure rather than magic, duty or honour. At least, I believe it is so. It’s as if the golden age of piracy was taking place on land rather than on sea and within a world bound by magic.

(Image of Ed Greenwood from his website.)

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.

I believe my novel would be best described as a tragedy. It is a chivalric romance as well and, first and foremost, it is a folk tale. And so, it is fantasy. The plot follows the life of a youth whom became a sorcerer by chance. The protagonist reminisces upon the past and continues his tragic life in search of love and a purpose to his life. The novel is meant to be a thought provoking epic and many of the scenes within have a symbolic meaning. 

What are you working on right now?

Expanding my first novel in order to add chapters and lengthen the book. Perhaps, one day it will boast a page count of a thousand pages. Perhaps, the extra chapters might be a prequel or a sequel to the novel.

Thinking about all the stories/work you’ve done, what sticks out most in your mind? Why?

My first novel – I would call it my magnum opus because of the amount of creativity, sincere interest in the matter, time spent and the themes that I have chosen for this particular book.

Where and when do you create/are you at your most creative?

In the evening, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes or my pipe.

What’s the best advice you’ve received about creativity?

I don’t think that I ever have.

What’s your writing soundtrack?

Silence.

The quickfire round

Sci-fi, fantasy or horror?
Fantasy

Quiet or loud?
Quiet

Dark or light?
Light

Strict lines or genre blend?
Genre blend

Awards or bestseller?
Bestseller

Fiction or non-fiction?
Fiction

Poetry or prose?
Poetry

Plotter or pantser?
Both

Reading or listening?
Reading

Notebook or computer?
Computer

Favourite SFFH book of all time?
Silmarillion

Last book you read?
The Picture of Dorian Gray

Any SFFH author on auto-buy?
None

Favourite podcast?
Ed Greenwood’s

The home stretch

What’s the best thing about being part of the SFFH community?

The best thing about being a fantasy writer is unleashing your imagination when creating the settings, the characters and explaining their life and existence.

Time to plug your stuff! Where can we find you and your work? What have you got coming up? Consider this your advertising space.

I am self-published on Amazon. You can find my novel Gahbreeil on Amazon’s website, available on all marketplaces or language variants. You can obtain a digital copy of my book for only £3 or $4; the paperback option costs triple that price. For a novel of over 300 pages, it is as reasonable as I could make it since half of that is the cost of printing the book while the publisher makes money on the sales of the novel as well.

About the novel, I would say that it is the most heartbreaking chivalric romance in the history of humanity. It is a brilliant adventure book as well. It follows the life of Gahbreeil, an orphan who becomes a sorcerer. You will not find a better cheap fantasy book.

(Pictured: the ebook cover for Gahbreeil)