Angela B. Chrysler ~ Author of Dolor and Shadow ~ Interview by Stan Sudan
- Stan Sudan
- Oct 30, 2015
- 7 min read
If you're looking for a delightful fantasy author-princess in a white dress who wears a tiara, look no further. You've found her. She's amiable and bright-spirited, a dedicated writer and a workhorse--one of those high-spirited, multi-genre authors you really want to know and to call a friend.
Last year's Goodreads author convention was where we really got to see her spirit and dedication truly soar. She happily put on her workboots, and yes the boots were dark-elf spit-shined.
When you peek beneath the covers of her books, be forewarned. I'd suggest you close your eyes to the tiara-wearing authoress. There's a Mrs. Hydish lining in her novels that will at once pull you deeply into the imaginative build of her characters and wrap you in a well-delivered story that is painstakingly thorough and constructed from accurate reasearch that leaves no stone unturned.
Ok. A few. I'll admit you can't turn over the rocks that make up the crenelated battlements of a poignantly described northland castle like you'll find in Dolor and Shadow. But you can easily get cold from imagining sitting on them. Her descriptions do that. I'd recommend reading her books with a caftan and a wool neckscarf nearby--if not to keep away the chill, then to hide beneath when you suffer from the ultra-chilling ambiance and painful angst created by those dark places of the soul about which Angela so delightfully and eloquently writes.
I'm happy to have Angela as my first-ever blog interview. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Thanks Angela, and awesome wishes for your continued success.
Why are you impassioned about your own particular genre? Do you feel fantasy must be represented in literature?
Angela ~ The more I write, the more impatient I get at “genre” writing. Genres are great for marketing…and that’s pretty much it. I view genres very much like music. The moment you get picky on which genre you’ll read, or which style of music you like, you just lost out on some wonderful books/songs. I like to keep my options open. I read what I want from all genres. I approach music the same way.
That being said, I do believe fantasy is beginning to really carve out a name for itself. Romance is an old genre with nearly two hundred years behind it. Jane Austen was one of the first. Rabelais, Balzac, and Chaucer were considered romantic and steamy in their day. Now, the romance genre has more than thirty sub-genres. There seems to be a style for everyone, even non-romance fans…like me. I think fantasy is now going down this very road. Tolkien and Eddison landed in 1950 and now we’re seeing a plethora of subgenres emerge and, thanks to Harry Potter, fantasy books are on the rise in demand. I think fantasy must be represented and we are in an era where all fantasy authors today are taking turns shaping that sculptor. It’s a very exciting thing to be part of.
Why should a reader identify with your characters? Is there a human story in there waiting to be told? And is that story influenced by your own personal biography or is it entirely fabricated?
Angela ~ I wrote an article recently on the psychology of the fictional. You can read that article here. One of the things I discuss and am very open about is that Kallan's issues are my issues, and my issues...I have many.
I think some of my issues are more common than most people realize. Kallan is an elf. She is a queen and a witch…The dreamer in all of us just smiled. We want to be part of that mysticism and magic. But Kallan has some very real, very human problems. She doesn’t cope with death. She refuses to accept her own limits. Her greatest weakness is accepting her weaknesses…even if it means self-destruction. Rune had to stand by and watch everyone he loves suffer and die while Bergen…There’s a lot more to Bergen that I haven’t revealed yet. Dagny is coming up soon and she will be assigned another cluster of problems.
My characters are heroic and mythical and troubled. They have real internal problems they have to overcome to face their physical challenge.
How do you feel about channeled, one-sitting diatribes that are reread once and submitted for self-publishing versus structured, disciplined writing that may take years to complete? Are free-flowing words worthy of being published as novels?
Angela ~ This is a very personal question for me, Stan, you do know that right? I write…because I am terrified of being forgotten. The Greats influenced me and I’m not afraid to rise up and do my best to become one of them. Is it ballsy for me to say? Absolutely, but it’s how I’ve always felt. I want to call Edgar Allan Poe, Shakespeare, and Tolkien my peers. I want to be that good, that revolutionary. I believe I have the makings to do it. I believe this whole heartedly because I can’t allow myself to be anything less. I believe I can do this because I have the determination and the standards. The perseverance and the endurance. I will dedicate my life to this cause or die trying. I am that terrified of being forgotten and my mortality is on the line. As I said…I’m terrified of mortality. I’m terrified of leaving earth. I simply love it here too much to ever want to leave.
So…your question. How do I feel about the books that are written in one go. Part of me wishes I could find that happiness and be content. I fear I am dreaming an impossible dream, if I may quote my favorite fictional character. Everything is worthy of being published (so long as it has been edited thoroughly). But there is a respect that is owed to those who sit and write a book over a lifetime. Cervantes, Tolkien…to name a few. The quality is superb…and it shows. It shows. The more you dedicate yourself into a character to breathe life into it, the more it will pay off. You can’t spend twenty years on a book and have it come out reading like garbage. On the other hand, others have the gift to write something in a month and have it come out looking fantastic.
What were your friends like in school, both elementary and later in life? Were there highly influential people involved in your introduction to writing and literature?
Angela ~ I have always struggled making and keeping friends. I am socially inept. I really am! Early on I’ve only ever had two friends or less. But in 11th and 12th grade…*smile* There were seven of us… artists, writers, musicians, a scientist. I married the scientist. We spanned from a variety of religions. Atheist, Baptist, Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness, Buddhist…Above all, we were philosophers. We found a way to “manipulate” the class schedule and so, for three hours every day, lunch, art class, and a study hall, the seven of us gathered in the art room, ate, painted (or drew), and argued the meaning of life.
I cannot begin to break down the plethora of philosophical discussions we carried. We embraced a very Bohemian lifestyle and entered into the world of existentialism. Yes. They were highly influential. Yes. They were the basis of my philosophical development. They all went on and are doing great things. (Check out the work of Gavin Kenyon. Holy WOW! Is his stuff amazing!) Yes, my little Bohemia did so much for me at a very dreadful time of my life.
Could you name five of the earliest authors who influenced you and which of them you would like to most emulate?
Angela B. Chrysler: Gaston Leroux, Victor Hugo, Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and Tolkien in that order. These men are my mentors. Their words did so much to reach into my heart and spark something to life within me. These are the men I idolize. They are like gods to me. I’ve spent my life analyzing their works, trying to determine what it was that made them so different. Each of these men had a phenomenal story to tell and they told it so beautifully that it demanded the attention it received. I think there is a beauty in words. A music that most people don’t hear. I don’t understand that of people. I really don’t. Speech has a rhythm, a melody, it moves like music. I won’t lie. I purposely write based on that rhythm. I turn my stories into music.
“Crawl into the depths of Hel…beyond the gates of Yggdrasil, and bring him home to me.” – Dolor and Shadow.
I learned the rhythm from the Greats. (Hel is not a typo, by the way. Kallan was referring to Helheim and the goddess, Hel, in Norse Myth.)
“Feast your eyes and glut your soul. Look upon my cursed ugliness.” – The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
“If no one loved the sun would go out.” – Les Miserables by Victor Hugo from the chapter “A Heart Beneath A Stone”
“I do love nothing in the world so well as you.” – Benedict from Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare
“And we loved with a love that was more than love, I and my Annabel Lee.” – Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
“With their whips of flame they smote asunder the webs of Ungoliant.” – Silmarillion by Tolkien
There is a music to words. And the most beautiful of words, the greatest of authors know this and have embraced it. It’s why we, as readers, keep going back.
Which one would I most like to emulate? Poe. His words warm my blood, cloud my mind, and steal my heart. The Raven…Poe’s Raven summarizes my problems with death.
Any exceptionally inspirational words of wisdom?
Angela ~ Have high standards then persevere and endure. I will go to my deathbed saying those words. That is the secret to success.
More work to follow or in progress?
Angela ~ Oh, goodness, yes! I am putting everything I am into Tales of the Drui. I have about six to eight books to write. I will probably write additional pieces along the way.
“To You” is a short story in the second person: "You could have me or the memory of me. You would not be allowed both. Listen as I recall events that you don't remember."
For me, the story is about as "happy" as I will ever write, I think, and is part of an anthology: Amor Vincit Omnia. I collaborated with four additional authors to create Amor Vincit Omnia. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. There will be an eBook and a paperback released this November.
The release date is scheduled for 11 November 2015. We are putting together a blog tour and a Facebook Release Party complete with Take Over. Readers can find more information here and follow news on the release at To You (Dark Romance) Angela B. Chrysler
Links to current works by Angela Chrysler:
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