Interview With Author Ian Adler
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am Ian E.S. Adler, the son of librarians and born and bred in Cambridge Massachusetts (despite many people thinking I have an accent). I got into Fantasy when my Dad read J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to me and became perpetually hooked after reading Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle, Garth Nix’s Abhorsen series, and Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle. It is to Le Guin whom I owe my debut world and series, the Cynnahu Saga, for her Archipelago inspired me to create my own.
As I have been a Fantasy reader (and gamer) all my life, and a blogger since 2016 (see http://www.starsuncounted.com/), I know the common (and uncommon but still recognizable) tropes and tricks of the genre and so do my best in my own work to either move past them or give them a new coat of paint so as to make them fresh, enjoyable, and unpredictable. Cynnahu is an Archipelago because I noted while reading Earthsea that few other Fantasies feature them, and none in the way Ursula K. Le Guin did. I write Epic Fantasy, yes, but not with the Tolkienesque approach seeing as Middle-earth is perfect.
With an M.Ed and bachelor’s degree in History, my writing reflects an optimism regarding the human potential for peace and goodness despite of and acknowledging history’s grimmest, bloodiest moments. The pen is mightier the sword, but swords guided by pens have the power to win the world from the clenched fists of war. Notice the plural for swords and pens, as I avoid the by now over-used Chosen One archetype. Being Chosen is fine, but the One leaves little authorial room to maneuver.
As it stands I have only published one book, The Last War: Book One of The Cynnahu Saga. But I have written and am editing the book two, Dragon Guardians, with the rough draft of book three on the way.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Last War: Book One of The Cynnahu Saga. As said and explained above (and below), I owe the series to the late Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I am aware of.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My morality, manner of speech, style of writing, and building blocks of thought may all be traced to Middle-earth (and other subsequent worlds I have visited, but Tolkien had and has the greater influence over me). And before somebody asks, yes, I was part of the Harry Potter generation – growing up as the books came out. Part and not a part, for I actually did not read Harry Potter until after the last book came out (technically I did read the Sorcerer’s Stone and loved it, but was put off from reading further after the Chamber of Secrets movie scared me half to death twice over). As such, I am a child of Fantasy at large, my love for the genre balanced by my passion for history and mythology & folklore.
Yet while Tolkien is the nexus of my reading, I owe my Fantasy writing to another. To the late Ursula K. Le Guin, whose Archipelago inspired me to create my own. This statement probably surprises many of friends, and for good reason as I have always been a vocal disciple of J.R.R. Tolkien; for example, on re-reading The Lord of the Rings for likely the tenth time, I wrote both on my Stars Uncounted blog and Facebook page what I wrote above: “Imagine being able to read your DNA as a piece of literature. Imagine being able to read the root out of which grew many of your basic interests as well as patterns of speech and thought and writing style. Luckily, I do not have to imagine. I can do it.” I do not retract these words at all, but the impact that Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle had on me was no less great even if it was so subtle that I hardly thought of it. She was one of the best. I remember first reading The Earthsea Cycle in elementary school, hearing the mage Ogion of Re Albi say “To hear, one must be silent.” And I still remembered those words when I took the series up for a second and third time, years later. While the rest of my generation went to Hogwarts with Harry, I traveled by ship to the School of Roke with Ged. Isn’t that interesting? I openly and sincerely adored Middle-earth and idolized the wizard Gandalf, but it was Ogion the Silent who I related to: “He spoke seldom, ate little, slept less. His eyes and ears were very keen, and often there was a listening look on his face.” I also remember being struck with the fact that Earthsea was an Archipelago, the first I had ever encountered in a Fantasy, with no true main continent to journey across; rather the journeying was done by ship, in the soul, and on different Isles each of which had a special distinction. I was so struck that even at so young an age I decided that if I were ever to write a Fantasy book then it would take place upon an Archipelago. Interesting is it not? I idolize The Lord of the Rings, yet never felt the need to create my own Middle-earth. Why? Because I know the common (and uncommon but still recognizable) tropes and tricks of Fantasy literature and so do my best in my own work to either move past them or give them a new coat of paint so as to make them fresh, enjoyable, and unpredictable.
Beyond that, insofar as influencing my writing goes, I would say that Diana Wynne Jones and Patricia A. McKillip have influenced my writing most.
What are you working on now?
A sequel of sorts to the Cynnahu Saga. Of sorts because it takes place 1300 years later and in… well, no, I cannot tell because that would be a spoiler.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Never give up, but do not let the pressures of publishing interfere with your writing or love of writing.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.” – Sherlock Holmes
What are you reading now?
At the time of writing, Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta – book #3 of her Lumatere Chronicles.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing more. What else? I have several series in mind, but would like to finish Cynnahu first if possible.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Author Websites and Profiles
Ian Adler’s Social Media Links