Murphy's Lore is a popular underground Fantasy work that has been reviewed in these pages. The tales of the patrons that reside in Bulfinche's Pub, a mystical place where magical larger-than-life characters hang out, has action, adventure, wit and excellent storytelling. Padwolf Publishing is the publishing company that has put out two books in the series and plans a third book in the next few months. Padwolf is a relative newcomer in the publishing field, giving new aspiring authors a chance in a very competitive field. Patrick Thomas, the man behind the Murphy's Lore series and a founding member of Padwolf Publishing is enjoying success derived from both his ventures and at the recent ICON 2002 convention, Thomas was on hand to promote his books and the company that is changing the way we look at Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Taking time from a busy schedule, Thomas chatted with YBFREE E-Zine about the popularity of his characters, the future of Padwolf, his struggles to make it as a successful writer, his hopes, his inspirations and his advice to the future writers in the world. What follows is an informative Q&A with an up-and-coming writer:
YBFREE: You have been writing for some time and have had a number of stories and novels published. Were you always into writing? What got you into the field? What are some of your accomplishments?
THOMAS: I have always enjoyed storytelling, even as a kid. I worked in the school paper in college and stuff of that nature. I started writing short stories, building up my share of rejection letters. In 1993, I wrote my first novel, Exile and Entrance. The books for the Murphy's Lore series came out afterwards, but were based on some short stories I had written back in 1989. The first full collection came out in 1994. The Murphy's Lore series have been some of my more successful books, obtaining a wide cult following. I will be releasing a third book in the series, soon.
YBFREE: Writing is not something that comes easy. You don't just come up with a book idea and get published the next day. Can you describe your experience in trying to get yourself published in such a competitive world?
THOMAS: It's a very long process to get noticed. I was trying very hard...very hard to get a foot in the door. I would send stories to magazines and books to publishing companies and I would often hear that companies were not interested in the stories I was trying to get published. I kept trying until I was able to get my first story published. When you make that first sale, it is truly a wonderful thing.
YBFREE: Where have you been published?
THOMAS: I have been published in various publications. Some of my work has appeared in Dreams of Decadence, a Vampire Magazine, Pirate Writings, Fantastic Stories, The DNA Helix edited by Warren Lapine, The Second Coming, edited by Ed McFadden and of course, Padwolf Publishing.
YBFREE: Since getting into the writing field, you have gone from a guy who struggled to get your stories published to someone who helps others get published. You went from a guy who faced editors to someone who edits. What exactly do you do, besides writing?
THOMAS: Well, I am one of the founders of Padwolf Publishing and I am one of the people that looks over the submissions that come to us and vote on whether it should get published or not. I am also an Associate Editor with Fantastic Stories Magazine. I still submit stories to publishers and hope to get stories published. I still have to face the editing process.
YBFREE: You mentioned Padwolf. Tell us about it.
THOMAS: Basically, it was a group of people who felt that they would like to put out good quality sci-fi/fantasy novels and give new aspiring novelists a shot. Padwolf Publishing would allow relative newcomers a chance to publish books and be noticed. We have also been lucky enough to do some anthology series with some bigger name authors in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. We published our first book in 1997 and since that time, we have grown. I think we put out some very good quality books and now, we have branched out into role-playing games like World Tree, a young adult series called The Wildsidhe Chronicles and we have also started Padwolf Presents Magazine. We were just discussing with someone about the possibility that the Wildsidhe Chronicles could be made into a series of some kind. A producer is looking into it and we have our fingers crossed, praying that she likes it. Also, the Murphy's Lore series is being considered by a gaming company who are leaning toward saying yes. So, we are very happy with the way things are going and we look forward to what's to come in the future.
YBFREE: Murphy's Lore is an awesome book. You read our review. We loved it. Did you expect such a following for the series of stories about satyrs, gods and faeries?
THOMAS: Exile and Entrance was my first book and it was supposed to be a trilogy, but the Murphy's Lore series developed such a cult following that I have been working extensively on that series. I think several things struck chords with the readers. First, there is a lot of humor in the book. Second, I write about god-like characters, but despite who they are, they can't always make everything alright and I think readers can identify with that. Third, Some really bad things happen to people and these characters do their best to help and even though they can't always get the job done, they have some fun along the way. It's just a fun series that people have been drawn to. There's fantasy, a sense of humor, camaraderie and the sense that everyone is trying for a happy ending. There is something for everyone here.
YBFREE: The book is filled with so much humor and so many interesting characters. Where does this all come into play? Where do you get the ideas for all the jokes in the book and how did you decide on the characters and the names for them?
THOMAS: Humor is something I have always enjoyed using and it is a big part of the Murphy's Lore series. A lot of the one-liners and jokes are taken straight out of events from my life. As far as the characters, I've always loved mythology. Mrs. Applestone, my fourth grade teacher used to read to us from a big book of mythology. I like the fact that every legend and myth has a basis in reality. I enjoy using these kinds of characters in the real world and certain elements like the fact that they can't use magic in the bar, allows them to take on more human qualities. Despite being magical characters, they are very real. The names of a couple of characters are based on family members that have passed away. Patrick Moran is based on my mother's father and Fred is my uncle.
YBFREE: What is next for the series?
THOMAS: I have so many story ideas for the Murphy's Lore series. Loki takes a side trip during the April Fool's book and I may go back to for a short story or novel in the future. Loki has become a popular character and somewhere down the road, I will be putting out a Redemption of Loki book. The next book, Through the Drinking Glass is a collection of stories from Bulfinche's Pub, the place where all these mystical characters hang out. I am introducing new characters like Uncle Sam, who leads a not-secret government agency. They tell everyone that they exist, but no one believes them. Vince Argus is a hitman who cheats the devil. I have a fourth book planned called Shadow Moon, about a werewolf. There are almost infinite ideas in my head for books based on the characters of the Murphy's Lore series.
YBFREE: Can you describe to me what it is like for a writer to deal with the whole rejection and editorial process?
THOMAS: I had four years of rejection letters, piles and piles of them. I edited some of those books and I just kept trying to write different things. The editorial process is a tough one. It is tough to give up control and there are things that I, as a writer, didn't agree with, but the editors are right more times than they are wrong. It's a pride issue. It's a tough thing to deal with as a writer, because you put a lot of yourself into your writing, so when someone tells you to take something out or make something shorter, it is tough to deal with. You have to look at it knowing that it is not like you are rewriting the book. A lot of times, their suggestions do work out better and you have to grudgingly agree with what your editor thinks.
YBFREE: Any advice for our readers who may want to be writers in the future?
THOMAS: You have to write what you like. Initially, you are writing for yourself. It has to be something that you will enjoy spending lots of spare time writing about. Magazines are also good for exposure and can help you sell books, so don't ignore them. When you do send out work, you have to be able to ignore rejection and listen to criticism. Believe in your work, keep trying and keep sending your book out. Persistence really does pay off. If you get rejected from one place, send it out somewhere else. If it is really good enough, someone out there will buy it. When you get a rejection letter, you may want to give up, but that feeling doesn't last more than three weeks. It can all be depressing, but one acceptance letter undoes all the rejection letters. Just stick with it and never give up, but if you need to take a break, take one. Work on something different and come back to it. Some people find it easier to just write for two days straight. I finished a book in three weekends. However, I find that it is best to write when inspiration hits. Every writer has his own way of working and you have to find what works best for you.
YBFREE: Thank you very much for coming. One final question before we end the interview. What does the future hold for Patrick Thomas? What are your hopes? In ten years, where do you hope to be?
THOMAS: In the future I hope to continue the Exile and Entrance series. I have some stories in the Wildsidhe Chronicles. I want to write a horror novel and I have a mystery novel in the works, but I had to rework it with the events of 9-11. In ten years, I hope Padwolf continues to grow and I hope my books are available through several major companies. I hope to be a New York Times Best Selling Author, but that is every writers' dream. In ten years, what I really want to do is just want write and continue writing for many years to come.
YBFREE: We would like to thank Patrick Thomas for allowing us to interview him for this issue. Go to Padwolf.com for more information about their books. Look through our archives page for reviews of Padwolf's books and stick with us, as each month, we plan to have reviews of some of Padwolf's products in these pages. Check it out.
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