In 2012, Arthur Daigle published his first novel, a science fiction/fantasy work called William Bradshaw, King of the Goblins. He’s been hard at work writing and marketing his books for the past several years now, and there’s a lot we at I&F can learn from his experience.  

I&F: Can you tell us a little about yourself? If you were to describe yourself like a book character just being introduced to your reader what would you say?

 

Daigle: I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. I attended UIUC and got a degree in biology, which seemed like a good idea at the time. I’ve worked at the Morton Arboretum, Brookfield Zoo and Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, and more recently I had a job grading high school essay tests. My interests are in gardening, drawings (monsters, dragons, robots and other typical guy stuff) and reading. I prefer science fiction, fantasy, histories and science books with a bias towards biology.

I&F: How did you get started writing? When did you first know it was something you wanted to do?

 

Daigle: I started writing seriously at the College of DuPage. When I enrolled there, they had me writing essays for every class except Math. It seemed odd at the time, but I didn’t mind. As time passed I came to enjoy writing these papers, then found I was good at it. I learned later the reason why I was writing so much was that the college had implemented a program called Writing Across the Curriculum. The idea was that the students should get experience writing so they could better communicate in writing at their jobs.

 

Years later I began writing for fun in my spare time. I joined a writers’ group and shared my work, and to my surprise it was well received. I went on to write full-length novels. It wasn’t my intention at the time to publish any of it. I was just doing it for fun. But with considerable encouragement by my family and friends I looked for a publisher and found one. For various reasons that didn’t work out, but by that time I’d invested so much into my stories that I refused to give them up. I couldn’t find a traditional publisher willing to reprint my work, so I contacted CreateSpace and got my book out through them.

I&F: Explain one of your latest works and why it’s important to you. Please give us a short synopsis.

 

Daigle: I’m currently trying to publish my second book, William Bradshaw and a Faint Hope. My characters learn that there is an artifact called the Bottle of Hope in their lands, and that a single drop of its water can heal people of any injury and disease. This should be good news, but thieves, adventurers, wizards and museum curators soon arrive in record numbers to steal the bottle. Worse, an evil artifact called the Staff of Skulls is coming to kill the Bottle of Hope.

 

This story is important to me for two reasons. For one, it will be my second published novel, an accomplishment I take great satisfaction in. Secondly, as a lover of fantasy novels I have often seen the ‘item of ultimate evil’ crop up in stories. It’s a common theme in fantasies, so much so that you’d think there was a factory somewhere churning them out. I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have an item of ultimate good show up?

I&F: Why do you write? What does it mean to you?

 

Daigle: I write and draw for the simple reason that I can’t imagine stopping. I love creating, be it drawings or stories or gardens full of ripe tomatoes. To take something blank or barren and see it bloom is intensely pleasurable. To see people enjoy my work as much as I do makes me feel even better. If I can create something that can reach people, make them feel better when they’re down, make them laugh when they’ve hit bottom, then the time and effort is worth it.

I&F: Who are some of your favorite authors, or your inspirations? Can you tell us why?

 

Daigle: My inspiration mainly comes from two sources. The first is the filmmaker and puppeteer Jim Henson. I’ve always admired his work, including the Muppet Show, The Dark Crystal and The Labyrinth. He was a man capable of creating whole new worlds so believable you’d think you could actually go there if only you could find a map. He was a gentle man of good humor, never one to create things foul or hateful. My second inspiration is the British artist Brian Froud. Brian Froud drew and painted many amazing fantasy creatures, and he worked with Jim Henson for many years.

I&F: What are your long-term goals as concerns your writing? Do you have a place you’d like to be as a writer in the next 5-10 years?

 

Daigle: I plan to continue writing. There have been some difficulties along the way, but now that they’re mostly resolved I plan to have a book out a year. My hope is in ten years to have a solid fan base looking forward to my work.

I&F: Have you learned anything important from writing? Do you have something you’d like to offer others through writing?

 

Daigle: Read ten pages for every page you write. Some of that should be in your genre to see how the masters do it, and see what doesn’t work at all. But reading outside your genre is equally important. Science books are helpful so you don’t mess up important details. Histories can provide interesting plot ideas, unusual names and stories so weird you wouldn’t think they could be true.

 

Marketing your books will be as hard as writing them. Even if you have a major publisher (good luck with that), authors are expected to shoulder a large portion of the burden of marketing their books. Look for people online who can help, including people at LinkedIn, GoodReads and Facebook groups dedicated to authors.

I&F: Tell us something silly or random about yourself. Do you have any weird or cool hobbies? A favorite thing that most people might think is strange or interesting?

 

Daigle: Like I said, I draw monsters, robots and other guy stuff. What I didn’t say was how much. I’ve filled four hardcover sketchbooks with monsters, to the tune of 500 drawings. I’ve also filled two more hardcover sketchbooks with my goblins, with an estimated population of 250. I’m currently working on a sketchbook filled with robots and another with abstract art, but that last one is proving harder than I’d thought.

I&F: What advice would you give to other up-and-coming writers? Was there something that was helpful to you when you first started out, or that you wish you’d known sooner? What gave/gives you the ability to keep working at it?

 

Daigle: Most of my advice to fellow writers is in question 7. I would like to say that I never realized how hard marketing my book would be. There’s a lot of competition for entertainment out there, with books, comics, movies, video games and more. Trying to get a slice of that pie is hard work. It doesn’t help that while I had plenty of training in writing from my English classes, I had none in marketing. It’s a steep learning curve and I’m sure I made my share of mistakes. Expect it to be hard work that requires a lot of your time and effort.

I&F: Is there something you’re working on right now? A new book, or a story you’d like to tell?

 

Daigle: I’ve written a number of stories involving Will Bradshaw and his goblin friends. Most of these were done while I was looking for a publisher, but I have another one in the works while I promote book one and try to get book two out (in case you were wondering, that’s pretty normal among self publishers). Book three involved Will facing an army of immortal men who were trapped in their wasted kingdom for eight hundred years. They’re found a way out and are on the warpath, determined to destroy everyone in their way, be they men, elves, trolls, dwarfs or goblins.

Arthur Daigle’s book is available on Amazon and he also blogs on GoodReads, sharing stories and articles about the book world he’s created. The same stories and articles are re-posted on Booksie.com. Arthur is on LinkedIn and Facebook.