Realm Raiders Author Interview: Phil Williams

Welcome to Spotlight Indie! Tell us more about Phil Williams, the author.

Phil Williams the author is a whirlwind of activity, braving the darkest depths of an unquiet mind, taming – ahem. Well. I write an awful lot, as you can probably see from my various releases , but my overall motivation is in creating weird and wonderful stories that bring a bit of fantasy into the everyday. Or a bit of horror. Things that make you look at the world differently. I grew up on speculative stories and have a compulsion to explore the unusual, hence I write and write…

You’re a member of the British and Irish network of authors, the Creative Commune. What made you want to join the group and what are its benefits?

I think it’s hard to overstate the value of having a community when it comes to creative endeavours, not least because it’s rare we cross paths in everyday life with others who share our exact breed of weirdness. These specific communities were built from speculative fiction backgrounds and events I enjoy engaging in – ensuring our shared interests. I know the work of many of the authors involved and trust the others to have relatable mindsets! Networks like these are great for seeking feedback and interaction when it comes to creative projects, as well as looking towards what’s happening around you and sharing different opportunities which none of us could hope to keep track of alone.

It must be quite a challenge, writing a story in collaboration with eight other authors. Why did you get involved?

Precisely for the challenge! I’m always looking to try new things and if creativity is the point, then how much more creative can you get than combining your ideas with a gaggle of others? I have great respect for all the authors involved and was intrigued by the different places we might go with such a group effort.

What have been the benefits of collaborating in this way? Likewise, what have been the challenges? Has one outweighed the other?

The benefits have been a great melting pot of different perspectives, and a good measure of group chats and frivolity in combining these. You can really see the results, I think, across the range of chapters that each brim with talent. The challenge has naturally been coordinating all this, both in organising everyone’s time and hitting deadlines (big thumbs up to Phil Parker for his efforts in this!) and also in fitting in different parts of one story with satisfactory beats. Working alone, it’s much easier to structure a story, but combining chapters has meant spreading out the pattern in different ways. The challenge is part of the fun, though, so certainly the positives outweigh the negatives.

Without spoilers, tell us a little about what happens in the story that you’ve written so far and what you wanted to achieve in it.

I worked with Damien Larkin and Derek Power to introduce the story with a madcap chase, introducing three disparate characters looking to steal themselves some leprechaun gold, hoping to reveal their true potential in face a truly Big Bad. We came at this from a mini-heist perspective, with us each taking a different character to flesh out, drawing you into the madness that all these Realm Raiders are suddenly caught up in.

Your stories include a wide range of speculative fiction genres, did this prove useful or create a problem for you and your team?

Across our specific team we actually found we had a lot more shared interests than expected, and our various worlds and styles knit comfortably together. We had a similar humour and more modern spin on our fantasy, so it worked well. Blending that with the other teams, though, is our next venture!

Sometimes, in collaborative ventures like this, a potential benefit is that you learn something. Has that been true for you? Can you identify a specific moment where you discovered something that has proven helpful to you as a writer?

One of the reasons I write as a novelist specifically is because I enjoy absolute creative control and am very independent in the way I work. It’s been great to see how well everyone else has run with this story, though, and we’ve got aspects of this tale going in directions I never would’ve taken it. Both in rereading our developing plans and in reading the final product, I’d say I’ve had more than a few moments where I’ve stepped back and appreciated just how our different skills have fit together, and how working with others can produce something I wouldn’t have done alone.

Some writers might assume collaborative projects like this provoke tensions, where personalities and writing styles clash. Has that been the case in this project? (Be honest!) and what’s the reason for your answer?

If there’s been any trouble I haven’t seen it, and I think in large part that’s thanks to all this coming from a place of starting, as I said above, with a group already built along the lines of shared interests. But also, as I’ve said, our team had similar styles; for all I know the other teams might’ve had knife-fights to decide plot points…

What’s next for Phil Williams, the author? Do you have more books in the pipeline?

I always have more books in the pipeline, it’s hard to keep track… But in the immediate future, I’m looking to put out the next Blood Scouts book this year (already written), and hopefully the next Ordshaw book (being rewritten), as well as to write 1-2 original horror novels. In the meantime, I’m also looking into computer game design, and have a pile of other semi-complete projects that haven’t quite seen the light of day, including a (basically complete) thriller, a couple more fantasies and a dystopian series…

In 50 words or less, give us a tag line that will encourage people to read Realm Raiders!

Step into a fast-paced, characterful adventure combining sword and sorcery with gritty realism, delivered in bite-sized episodes from a top-tier team of creative minds!

Find Phil’s work here: https://spotlightindie.co.uk/phil-williams/