Please introduce yourself and tell us about your background as a writer.
My name is Tim Hanlon and I live in the state of Queensland in Australia. A lot of people may have to look that up and find where it is in the world. I have been writing since I can remember but began submitting during the Great Lockdown of 2020. I’ve had a little bit of success, which is nice, and a lot of heartache. Not so nice.

One evening in 2020 I came across a submission call for a wendigo story online, I don’t even remember how, and I wrote one. Wendigo vs. voyageur. Then it was werewolf vs. landsknecht. Then demon cavalry vs. Spanish tercios. You might see a pattern emerging! 

What are the most prominent influences on your writing? How do you incorporate those influences without being derivative?
I’d not considered my influences until completing this interview so I’ll try to explain as best I can. Forgive me, it’s a bit of a ramble through the past. Firstly, my favourite authors when I was young were Rosemary Sutcliff and Henry Treece. Sutcliff’s Eagle series and Treece’s Vikings Dawn series are still some of my favourite books and if you haven’t read them then you should. I would say their influence would be the ability to write characters and settings which seemed real in what seemed like so few words and I try to do that also. Less successfully, but I try. I would also say that nowadays I am definitely influenced by Miles Cameron (Christian Cameron when writing historical novels) and his attention to the accuracy of the armour and action. One could use his work as a handbook for historical weapons play and I try to follow this to some extent. Sometimes I let myself go but once I decide what era a character is in (or version of an era) I do try to stick to accurate weapons and techniques. And again I emphasise the ‘try’! A little bit more obscure, sadly, is the Albion books by Patrick McCormack. There are two out of a trilogy published and the last available as a PDF and they really resonate with me. I enjoy the characters in those a great deal and the way the magic works in the world. Two more names: Joe Abercrombie, of course, and Tim Willocks. I am definitely a Robert E. Howard fan and have never read any Tolkien. This might alienate people, and I have tried, believe me, but that style of writing is just not for me. There are so many books out there that I want to read that to force myself to slog through something I don’t enjoy doesn’t make sense. So to sum up the wanderings above, give me a character I enjoy in a story where they get into it quickly and I am happy.

How to stop being derivative is a difficult one to address. I think a lot of people may not even notice it in themselves when they are writing. If you read a lot and have been for a long time there would have to be some effect on you as a writer. I sometimes write a section and wonder if I’ve read that somewhere before, usually because I think it’s really good so it must have come from somewhere else! Let’s try an analogy. There are a lot of boxers who use the peek-a-boo style but there’s only one Mike Tyson. That doesn’t make those others bad fighters, though. They’ve seen what works and it suits their body type, so why not? They don’t want to be Mike Tyson, just not to get knocked out. Perhaps that’s a bad analogy but I’m using it.

And you can always use the homage get-out-of-jail card!

Many authors say marketing is one of their biggest challenges. What tactics have you found to be most effective for getting your name out there?
My marketing would have to be classed as abysmal. I have about twenty Facebook friends and no other social media accounts and I am happy with that. If I had to put it in a time period it would be the Dark Ages. Deep Dark Ages. The internet is great for things like finding independent publishers but there are so many aspects about it that I’m just not interested in. And the statements above definitely display exactly what demographic I fit into.  Interestingly and amusingly, my daughter in a graphic designer in a marketing firm. I have never asked her for any help, she would just shake her head at such a lost cause.

How much do your audience’s expectations factor in to what you write? Does this ever cause you to hold back from experimenting?
I think I am far too new at this to have an audience, let alone one that would expect something from me. I try to write stories that I would like to read and then hope that others will too. This may not be the best way to approach it but the very idea of an ‘audience’ covers so many people that a writer could go mad trying to cater for all. That said, I would love to one day have an audience and I promise I will cater to them when that happens. Regarding experimenting, my answer is very much along the same lines. I am still experimenting every time I write for an anthology. Sometime the experiments work and sometimes they blow up in my face and I’m never quite sure which will happen with any story. “House of the Dark One” in Samhain Sorceries was a successful experiment. A warm and fuzzy one.

Have you had any new stories published recently? Are you currently working on any?
I had stories appear in two anthologies within two weeks of each other. Feast or famine. Along with Samhain Sorceries, I have a story in the Shadows Over Avalon anthology by 18th Wall Productions. It is an Arthurian vs. Cthulhu anthology and I had a story selected which revolves around Mordred. That was a successful experiment and very pleasing. I have been working on Sword and Sorcery tales lately and have a number sent off to magazines and anthologies. I have focused on one character and his journey around a world in the Conan style. I am trying to link them all chronologically, although the first one I wrote was actually near the end of his life. Then I went back to the beginning and am filling it in from there. I’m also a third of the way through a lost world novella set in the 16th century. I love the Spanish soldier of that era as a character. And I’m also doing… you get the idea.

Name one newer and one older book you have read and enjoyed recently. (“Newer” meaning from the past year or so, and “older” meaning written before 1980.)
Regarding old books which I’ve read lately, I read Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff once a year. I don’t know why, but I still enjoy it. And I recently re-found a BBC mini-series of the novel which was made in the ‘80s and I loved back then. It was still great today. I have recently read The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson and The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers. The Drawing of the Dark is a reread. There must be some character defect that makes me return to certain books. And sorry, I didn’t stick to one book. A new book I’ve just started is Hag of the Hills by JTT Ryder, which I think I came across on the DMR site. I’m really enjoying it.

Any final words?
Finally, I have to acknowledge the work of independent publishers. They are exposing the world to different people and stories and it’s great. I didn’t really understand until I started submitting what a test of the ego it is.  I have an email folder called Rejections and it is a large folder. But if anyone has ever thought of submitting work, do it. Just learn quickly not to take things personally and it can be fun.