 Tim Lebbon is the New York Times bestselling author of Coldbrook, The Silence and The Relics series, of which the third part is released on 25 June. The movie adaptation of his smash hit novel The Silence has been a worldwide smash hit. On a personal note `I have been honored to know Tim for more years than I care to remember, and fondly remember the time we discussed gypsy tinged rock music on his old writer’s forum. Today we sit down with Tim to chat about writing, Triathlons, his new book, and life after becoming a Hollywood smash. Hello Tim, how are things with you? Evening, Jim. I'm very good. Slightly tired from a weekend of coasteering in St David's, confront my fear of heights by jumping 40ft into the sea (which contains sharks) from a perfectly safe rock. Madness. This month sees the release of Relics: The Edge, the third installment of your hidden world series centered around the illicit trade in mystical curiosities. What was the inspiration for the main theme of the book? The whole trilogy started with a short story I wrote a few years ago (also called Relics) that started with the line "I know where you can buy a dragon's cock." No such appendage appears in the novels, but it was a good starting point. So that was partly the inspiration, and also the whole trade in rare animal body parts, and the idea of trophy hunting, which I also explored in my novel The Hunt. The Edge moves the story on towards a climax, so the themes and idea in this novel reflect those on the first two books, also concentrating a little more on the strength and bond of family. Angela Gough has been the main protagonist throughout the three novels, how has she developed as a character, and how do you feel about saying goodbye to her now that this is the final book? In some ways Angela has suffered more than most. Her life has changed from being quite happy and content, with a job she loved and a life in London with her boyfriend, to being on the run accused of mass murder and with supernatural/mythological creatures out to get her. It's enough to upset anyone, but Angela is handling things, adapting, and doing her best to protect and save the ones she loves. It's been quite a journey with her, and I don't want to give any spoilers about The Edge. But I do think I've spent enough time with Angela for now, though that's not to say I won't write about her again in the future. There are plenty more stories about her adventures with and without the Kin just waiting to be told. Is she your favorite character in the book? If not who is your favorite character? I think my favourite character is Lilou. She's Kin, but perhaps the most 'human' of the Kin. She's troubled, conflicted, her allegiances are pretty fluid. In short she's a Kin who's as messed up as the humans she deals with, and I like the complexity of her character, and the fact that she mostly only wants to do good. Mostly. You could argue that “The Kin” are a metaphor for the never ending struggle of a world where immigration and dislocation is still a problem for too many people, did you set out to create a parable for modern times, or did your subconscious mind just process what is going on around us? I guess there was a bit of subconscious work going on there. I'll admit, it's rare that I consciously set out to tell stories with a higher meaning like that, at least not overtly. But any story is a product of its times, influences, and inspiration, and it's inevitable that some of the outside will bleed into whatever worlds I create. A lot has changed in our world over the space of my writing these three novels, and I guess some of that change is reflected in the arc of the trilogy. While I am sure you would never condone the trade in mystical curiosities, there must be one that you would love to possess, if you could get your hands on it what would it be? A dragon's ... no, wait. Maybe an angel's feather. The Edge is published by Titan, a publisher that has a long history of genre publishing and publishing your work, what does a publisher like Titan offer a writer like yourself? Enthusiastic and friendly editors, publicists, etc. A great track record. Good reach. The Edge is the final volume of the trilogy, would you ever consider going back to that world, or are there any itches to revisit some of your previous worlds? No plans as yet, but I'll never say never. I also like the idea of continuing the stories of The Silence, and Coldbrook. Not sure what format those continuations might take. I'll never shut off the idea of continuing any story I write. But I must say, writing a trilogy is hard work! When there's three years between first and last novel, it's difficult to remember what happened, who did what, and to pick up again when it comes to characters and themes. It's not something I'd rush into again, partly because of that, but also because the idea of telling new, fresh stories every time is probably something I prefer. You are a writer who has never been tied down to a particular genre, Sci Fi, crime, thriller horror, and fantasy have all been touched upon during your career, has genre hopping been a conscious decision on your part, or do you just write about what pops into your head? Often I just write what I like to and it falls into whichever category a publisher wants to call it. Sometimes I have to be more restrictive, especially if I'm writing a new book in a current deal, but even then a lot of my 'horror' novels, for instance, are very different. I'm not consciously thinking of 'genre' all the time. With The Hunt, for instance, I just wanted to write a novel about endurance sports, and it ended up being non-supernatural and pretty much the first non-fantastical bit of writing I'd ever done. But usually, to be honest, what I write does ended up at the darker end of the fantasy scale. Don't know why. As my grandmother would have said, it was just the way my parents put my hat on. I was speaking to James Brogden the other week, and he mentioned how his editor at Titan, saved him from making an error with regards to a factual element in his last book. How closely do you work with your editors, and what point in your career did you have enough trust in them to accept their input without question? I never accept editorial input without question, and any good editor always sends their editor letter/manuscript with a 'these are just my ideas' preface. Everything should be open to discussion and negotiation, and pretty much every edit I've done has been conducted along those lines. There's been one experience which wasn't so good (years ago, and not with Titan), but generally a good editor is worth their weight in gold. So when a book's finished and submitted, I start working with my editor to make it as best it can be. It's a great process, more often than not a pleasure, and as a writer I think you have to be very open to a good editor's opinion. By the time I've submitted a book I've read it so many times that I'm too close to notice mistakes, so an editor's take is always fascinating and exciting to read. And, I'll admit, I'm always a little nervous too. Titan have also published a few of your film tie in novels, I’ve always wondered how that process works, do they contact you, or is there some sort of Octagon battle between you and the other novelists at Titan with the winner winning the book? Yeah, there's a fighting cage beneath Titan Towers in London. Once a year they throw in a selection of their writers, and the three who come out alive get the tie in jobs for that year. Now, I'm not much of a fighter ... but I can run. And it's a big cage. Actually they usually make first contact. It's the sort of work where the more you do, the more you get offered, especially if you're able to deliver a good product on time and are easy to work with when it comes to the restrictions etc of a certain property. I've written everything from Star Wars to Hellboy, and every property has different rules and limits. Always good fun, though. You’ve described yourself as a nine to five writer, is discipline and regimentation a vital part in your writing process? Yeah, I do most of my actual writing between 9 and maybe 2pm, when I'm alone at home. After that it's emailing, admin, phone calls and Skypes ... all the other sides of writing that isn't actual writing. And in the evenings it's often Skypes or calls back and forth with the USA. Especially if the contact is LA based, I'll often start talking at 7 or 8 in the evening to allow for time difference. So while I say 9 to 5, some days I'm working on and off from the time I get up to when I go to bed. When it comes to the actual act of writing, I try to be as disciplined as I can, but it's often not something that works out. Maybe the muse is away for the day, or something else comes up that needs my attention, and just lately I've been working on stuff that is much more time sensitive so I'll work into the evenings and at weekends. But ... I still love almost every minute of it. And what do you have for your lunch? Scrambled egg on toast with a hot sauce is a fave. Or a nice cheese and tomato sandwich. Sometimes a bit of salmon. And coffee. You are keen endurance athlete, what first inspired you to pick up the bike, the running shoes and wet suit? Being overweight and unfit in my early forties and realising that if I didn't try to do something about it I'd just start getting more overweight and unfit, and not wanting that to happen. The lucky thing is, I found something I love in triathlon, so now fitness is only a part of why I do what I do, but mainly I train and race because I enjoy it so much. That's always my tip if someone asks me about getting fit––find something you love doing so much that fitness becomes almost a by-product rather than the final aim. I know so many people who join a gym to get fit and then just trail off ... it's because they haven't found something they enjoy doing, but are doing it because they think they should. My brother in law has just taken up triathlons, do you have any advice for him? Wow, what's my word count ...? I'd say to start short, do a few sprint or Olympic races to get the hang of running off the bikes and transitions. If he has ambitions at the long distances, the hard part is the training volumes required, especially for iron distance races, where at its height your training might be 15 hours per week or more. It's something I've always struggled with, but it can be done. It's essential to have the support of your family and friends. And as mentioned above, I'd say first and foremost to enjoy it. There's a point in every race when the exhaustion is kicking in and everything's starting to hurt and I'm thirsty and scraped and bruised and sunburnt and chafed and the finish line seems 30 miles away (which it usually is), that I remind myself ... I'm doing this because I love it. Also, coffee and cake. You have written a number of novels with the legend that is Christopher Golden, when and what was the catalyst for this long term writing and personal friendship? Chris asked me to write a story for a Hellboy antho he was editing. I didn't want to (in truth, I didn't know much about Hellboy). He talked me into doing it, loved the story, commissioned me to write a Hellboy novel for a series he was editing, we ended up writing Mind the Gap together, and we've been firm friends ever since. The writing has become something that's a real pleasure, we're good at working together, and collaborating whilst working on our own projects often means a new novel seems to appear almost from out of nowhere. It's a fascinating process, too. I've never felt that writing is a lonely business. Talking of Chris, the pair of you are about to launch Ten-word Tragedies an anthology based on a song from the fabulous Frank Turner, how did this come about, and how in hell did you manage to get Frank to appear at the official launch of the book? I've loved Frank's music for years, and when I introduced the music to Chris––and he fell in love with it too––we'd spend time chatting about it when we Skyped (something we do frequently). One evening we were talking about the great lyrics for his song Mittens, and that one lyric in particular that really resonated with us: Wandering lonely through the snow streets of New York I stumbled on a thrift store that sold postcards by the yard I bought a mile and shipped them home so I could read Ten thousand ten-word tragedies, the lives these strangers lead One of us (I can no longer remember which!) said, 'And Ten-Word Tragedies is a great idea for an anthology.' I emailed Frank––we'd conversed before, he's very open and approachable––and mentioned our conversation, and I was delighted to discover that this part of the story was true. There really was a box of postcards that he had shipped home! He agreed to send me the box, and that was it. Chris and I committed to doing the anthology, with Frank's blessing (and also his input, as the book contains his first piece of published fiction), and it's been a pleasure to work on. As for the launch and Frank playing there, what can I say? He's a great guy, venue isn't too far from where he lives, and it's all fallen together very nicely. Chris and I are both delighted with the eclectic range of stories we've included, and we're thrilled to be working with PS Publishing. Was there an open call for the anthology or was this invite only? Invite only. If you had the chance to do another song themed anthology which song would you choose? Hmmm, that's a tough one. I did once write to Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, suggesting an anthology of stories inspired by their music, but got no reply. Their music is so rich in story and imagery I think it'd be amazing. And I have a PERFECT title for the antho, too. I’m not sure if you if you are getting sick of all the attention over it, but I suppose we can’t avoid it. The Silence, I bet you didn’t see that coming when you first published it. Why do you think that out of all your fine back catalogue of novels this was the one they picked up on? I never get sick of talking about that... it was a wonderful experience from beginning to end. I've heard from some writers who say their Hollywood experience was awful, but from the moment it was first mooted, to being on set in Toronto, to stepping through the doors of Netflix in LA to watch it on their big screen, it's been a wholly great adventure. As for why The Silence, I guess it was a series of happy connections that led to certain people reading the book, optioning, producers coming on board, connecting with Constantin, getting such a fantastic cast, and finally Netflix. It was a quick process too. The book was only published four years ago! Other than being mistaken for the lead actor, has your life changed in any way since its success? I was the lead actor! I was a corpse in the pharmacy. I tried for lead casting, but didn't get anywhere. It's been a wild ride, and anything like this changes lots of things to a greater or lesser extent. There's a bit more TV/movie stuff ticking over that I can't talk about yet, and I've met up with a lot of great people whilst in LA, some of which I hope might lead to more adaptations or original screen work. I also bought myself a nice triathlon bike! And there's the obvious change, too, in that just for a little while the pressure of where the next month's mortgage payment is coming from has been lifted, at least a little. I'm a working writer, and income is always an important consideration in what I'm doing. Do you think having a successful film under your belt opens door for you in terms of publishing, or does the benefits, if any get outweighed by the pressure put on by yourself to deliver another blockbuster? I think it's inevitable that having something made makes you more visible, and it's always going to be on my cv. I had a lot of meetings in LA, and I did notice peoples' interest perking up when they heard about The Silence (and another project that's going on that I can't mention yet), so there's a definite advantage to having something made, of course. I suppose there is a bit of pressure writing-wise, but I honestly don't feel it that much. And if there is ever a niggling pressure, it's a good one. The Edge is released later this month, can you tell us about any future projects that are coming our way? I've written a Firefly novel, Generations, that's due out from Titan later this year. Other than that, I'm working on a new novel myself, and Chris Golden and I are also working on a new novel (it'll be our eighth together). I'd also like to put a new collection together at some point, but I haven't even approached publishers about that yet. And I'm working on some original screen projects. And finally it’s something that we never seem to ask writers, but where can we bump into you this year, do you have any appearances at conventions or festivals lined up? Yep, I'm a special guest at EdgeLit on July 13th, Rhondda Book Fair on September 7th, I'm guest at an event at Hodges Figgis in Dublin on 30th October, and I'll be at British Fantasy in Glasgow. Relics - The Edge by Tim Lebbon A diseased town--long hidden beneath a lake--rises from the depths to become a focus of the war between humankind and the Kin.There exists a secret and highly illegal trade in mythological creatures and their artifacts. Certain individuals pay fortunes for a sliver of a satyr's hoof, a gryphon's claw, a basilisk's scale, or an angel's wing. Embroiled in the hidden world of the Relics, creatures known as the Kin, Angela Gough is now on the run in the United States. Forty years ago the town of Longford was the site of a deadly disease outbreak that wiped out the entire population. The infection was contained, the town isolated, and the valley in which it sits flooded and turned into a reservoir. The truth--that the outbreak was intentional, and not every resident of Longford died--disappeared beneath the waves. Now the town is revealed again. The Kin have an interest in the ruins, and soon the fairy Grace and the Nephilim leader Mallian are also drawn to them. The infection has risen from beneath silent waters, and this forgotten town becomes the focus of the looming battle between humankind and the Kin.   Comments are closed.
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