In this episode of Storyline Sessions, the author of the award-winning epic fantasy series The Beast Hunter of Ashbourn Christer Lende has an open talk about his writing process, inspirations as well as his challenges with former publishers. We discussed his passion for the craft, future of The Beast Hunter series, his upcoming Sci-Fi book Spectre, and we also touch upon the movie script he is currently working on.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Start
00:50 - Conversation start
01:37 - Christer's publishing story - starting with a publisher
05:35 - First challenges with the publisher
07:15 - Big changes before the publication (light spoilers for The Beast Hunter book)
11:54 - First book published and new issues
15:50 - Thinking about self-publishing
18:20 - New issues and misunderstandings
22:46 - Going separate ways with the publisher
25:25 - Self-publishing success and awards
29:40 - Comparing his work to video games
30:42 - Planning out the story and making a trilogy out of a single book
33:00 - Spoilers for the book one ending and light spoilers for book two
33:58 - The Witcher and Supernatural influence
36:20 - Originality, creating new monsters and fantasy relying on tropes
40:12 - Talking about the antagonist (book two/three spoilers)
41:48 - Map, bestiary and worldbuilding
44:50 - Norse mythology in fantasy and why he didn't want to do a viking story
47:36 - Writing different POVs - culture, gender, emotions
50:50 - Surprising yourself and emotions in writing
54:15 - His background and getting into writing with fan fiction
57:20 - His process and accountability
1:00:45 - Consistency, enjoying the process and thinking about your stories
1:09:30 - Teaser/hook for the new Ashbourn duology (spoilers for the first trilogy)
1:16:05 - Importance of being passionate about your work
1:20:06 - Getting into Sci-Fi - recreating feelings from childhood
1:22:06 - The plot and the world of his upcoming Sci-Fi book Spectre
1:28:58 - Potential for adaptations in his work
1:33:21 - Improving his craft (and light spoiler for book one)
1:36:15 - Getting into screenwriting and securing a deal for a movie script
1:42:42 - Different genres in European film and Norway's focus on crime
1:43:41 - Troll (2022) and SFX capabilities
1:47:30 - Meg 2 (2023) and monster movies
1:51:10 - Scandinavian noir
1:54:35 - Christer's podcast and plans for the future
1:57:36 - Outro
You can find Christer at https://www.instagram.com/christerlende/ and https://www.authorcalende.com/
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