| G P Taylor on Shadowmancer |
The Reverend Graham
Taylor, the vicar of St Mary's church in Cloughton, North Yorkshire,
hit the headlines in June when a publishing firm signed him
up to a lucrative deal for his self-published good-versus-evil
children's fantasy novel Shadowmancer.
The book has already sold 250,000 copies and features in the
top 10 of children's book in the UK, rivalled only by JK Rowling's
Harry Potter stories.
His second book, called Wormwood, is almost finished and is
due for release next summer. |
|
| The 43-year-old former
punk and policeman sold his motorbike to raise the initial £3,500
needed to publish his book privately 10 months ago. These original
copies of which 500 were published have been swapping hands
for as much as £4,000. |
| The G P Taylor
Interview - 23rd November 2003 |
International best-selling sensation,
vicar, father, policeman, husband, social worker, punk rocker,
rebel teen-- the Reverend Graham Taylor has been all of these
things at various times in his life. He sits down to discuss
how Shadowmancer came to be, his eclectic past, and topics of
faith, religion, and the occult.
G.P. Taylor on writing:
1. Did
you always know that you would be a writer?
In the back of my mind I always knew that I
would be a storyteller and that something was going to happen.
I was just reluctant to get the ball rolling. Eventually a voice
kept telling me that this was the time and I had to do it. If
something is right, it is worth waiting for.
2. You name Eminem as inspiring you to write. Please comment
Marshall Mathers is a very good poet - even
though I don't like his cussing, I admire his use of language
and his ability to communicate with so many people. As a teenager
I was heavily influenced by David Bowie and know of the effect
it had on my life - dyed hair - strange clothes and some odd
looking girlfriends. He is still a hero and his music is a great
influence on my writing especially his latest album. It was
Marshall Mathers and One Shot from Eight Mile that really made
me want to get the book to a larger audience - you only get
one shot...
3.
When did you first dream up the ideas for a fantasy novel for
children?
I first came up with an idea for a fantasy
novel for children during a church meeting. I was speaking to
my parishioners and saying that I felt that Harry Potter was
marketed to an age group that was too young to understand the
subtlety of what JK Rowling was writing about. She said in one
book that there is no such thing as good and evil, only power.
I feel that she leaves the balance of power in the hands of
negative forces. So a parishioner challenged me to write my
own children’s book. I wanted to write one that was uncompromising
in values, yet fun to read.
I wanted to bring back the adventure into literature for kids
and give them something that they would read throughout their
lives. The trouble with Shadowmancer is that the parents buy
the book and end up reading it themselves. The kids have to
wait until they are finished. One girl wrote to me asking if
I would send her another copy as she couldn't get it away from
her mother. When her mother was finished, her father grabbed
it.
4. How has
sign language influenced your writing?
As a child, there was very little verbal English
spoken in my home. My father was profoundly deaf and my mother
was hard of hearing. My mom was constantly communicating with
my dad in sign language and sometimes she would speak to us
kids in English. Because of my mom’s hearing, the TV was
on all day up at full volume. You could hear my house around
the corner due to the constant noise from the TV. We were surrounded
by the deafening noise of the TV, even when we went to bed.
I came from a working class background and we did not have any
books in the house—so I didn’t read books. I read
comics, watched films and TV so all of my stimulus was visual.
As a result before I sit down to write a chapter, I have to
play it like a video in my mind.
At age 14 my mind was blown away by the movie, Dirty Harry.
Again, so much of growing up was visual. Sometimes I think that
I see myself more as a movie maker than a writer.
5.
You have said that you think that villains in children’s
books are not scary enough. Do you really believe that?
Voldermort is a wimp! Lord Asriel wouldn't get
out of first grade. But when it comes to wicked then even Snoop
Dog better sit up and check Obadiah Demurral out - he is a mean
dude and a villain with attitude. Kids want real villains with
meanness and scary attitudes so that's what they get.Children
like to be frightened and need to learn to deal with fear.
Fear also brings an excitement which then brings them on to
learn and read and keep turning the pages. That’s all
that I wanted to do, write a book where kids turned the pages.Shadowmancer
is aimed at older children. Yes it is frightening, but it’s
also a feel-good story.
6. Do your surroundings inspire you to write? Describe them.
I live in a seculuded churchyard near an old quarry and a wood.
Most people think that it is a spooky place, but I just love
it. There is nothing more peaceful than to wander through the
graves as darkness falls and the mist rises from the marsh,
the moonlight bounces from the old gravestones, I just need
to look out of the window and I get all of the inspiration that
I need.
I can be inspired by anything - my new book is inspired by the
dark alleys of London. The rugged cliffs and fierce storms in
Ravenscar added something to Shadowmancer.
7.
Do you feel that Shadowmancer owes a debt to Tolkien, and C.S.
Lewis, and historical adventures by J. Meade Falkner, Russle
Thorndike,and Leon Garfield?
If I knew who they were I would say yes, but I didn't start
to read until I was sixteen and got into George Orwell. Girls
were reading books, so I started reading the books that they
were reading to not appear thick. I started with Lord of the
Flies, then 1984 and Animal Farm, then Ted Hughes poetry and
Sylvia Plath. I was really flattered when one reviewer called
Shadowmancer a cross between Roald Dahl and Charles Dickens
I read a couple of chapters of Tolkein but that was it. My influences
come from films especially seventies American cult films like
Taxi Driver and Dirty Harry.
8. Why is there so much evil and violence in your writing?
There may be evil, but darkness makes the light
so much brighter. A single ray of sunshine can be blinding when
it follows a dark storm. If we look around the world we can
see so much evil and violence that kids need to know some hope.
They have to be reminded that goodness will always prevail.
Evil only conquers when good people sit back and do nothing...
9. You have been
called a Christian answer to J.K. Rowling and Phillip Pullman.
How do you respond?
Shadowmancer is not a Christian book, it is a book about good
and evil and appeals to Jews and Muslims as well as atheists.
I was ordained after youthful experiments with punk rock, druidism,
the occult, and transcendental meditation. I read the Qu’ran
before reading the Bible and I am just as happy to talk about
the Talmud. My writing is informed as much by Judaism and Islam
as it the by the Christian tradition. It is the account of an
eternal truth.
G.P.
Taylor on his eclectic past:
10.
How does a high-school drop-out become a best-selling author?
By waiting a long time and studying life. Every
experience we have in life is never wasted. Without those experiences,
I wouldn't be a best-selling author. It's been a long and hard
road shared with a really good companion.
11.
You will be coming to America on the Queen Mary II, why is this
special for you?
My grandfather left Ireland to come to England
and find work. His brother sailed to America for the same reason
and they never saw each other again. It will be good to follow
in his footsteps and see the New York skyline come into view.
I am an Americaphile and would love Britain to become the 51st
state. It's like having a big brother who you know is on your
side. People knock America but the world would be a far more
dangerous place without them. That is a common view held amongst
ordinary people here in the UK. I am so excited to have my book
released in the States because it was primarily written for
the American market. The ones who have read the import version
have really enjoyed it. I hear George W Bush is interested in
ghosts - I lecture on the paranormal and would love to tell
him some of my encounters.
12.
You have three pre-teen daughters, what will you tell them when
they ask about your rebel teenage years and later your time
in the London Punk Rock scene living in the fast-lane with the
Sex Pistols and Johnny Rotten?
I am very open about my early life - all my skeletons are on
the outside of the cupboard. My children often ask what was
it like to be a weird kid so I tell them, now it's like talking
about another person because I have been transformed so much.
I do not regret anything, but I do not want my daughters to
experiment they way I did.
13.
You were brutally attacked while in the police force, what did
that teach you about fear?
It taught me that life can be over very quickly
and that you have to make the most of every second and always
be prepared to meet the Boss. Fear is a very destructive thing
and it can be conquered. When I thought I was going to be killed
all I could think about was my wife and how cross she would
be that I was going to be late home again. Strange what comes
into your mind at times like that.
14.
You said that it was love at first sight with your wife and
you have been together for over 20 years. What did she think
when you first began writing Shadowmancer?
When I met Kathy, I knew that I would marry
her right away. We went out once, and two weeks later I proposed.
When I started writing Shadowmancer, she was pleased that I
had actually started to do something she knew I should have
done twenty years before. Kathy is very supportive, but also
always tells me if she thinks I am being too risqué or
near to the bone with what I write.
G.P. Taylor on Faith, Religion, and the Occult:
15. At 16 a voice told
you to become a vicar. At 21 it called again. What made your
finally listen to the voice inside?
You can only run so far away from G-d before
he grabs you by the scruff of the neck and pulls you back. As
I grew up he let me grow through the rebellion and just kept
waiting for me. He was there on every street corner picking
me up dusting me off and then waited until I fell off the road
again. Eventually I had to listen to Him, He has a very loud
voice and you can't get away.
16.
Why did your calling from God scare you so much? Or why did
the prospect of becoming a minister scare you so much?
I was from the wrong side of the tracks, kids
like me didn't get ordained. It's like Eminem becoming the right
hand man to Pat Robertson - an awesome task and not to be treated
lightly. After all, we have to answer to Him as ministers for
everything we get up to in His Name.
17. How did your years working on the violent streets as a police
officer strengthen your faith?
It made you realize that everyone is created for a purpose and
that death wasn't the end of life. I have seen death in every
shape and form. From kids to oldies in peace and violence. It
made sense of all the things I had learned in church - life
is tough, wrongdoing has consequences but that everyone is capable
of being pulled out of the gutter and redeemed. It also made
me understand fully that we are all created equally regardless
of race, color or religious belief.
18.
What are some of the best things about being a vicar?
Being trusted by people and being allowed to
share with them in good times and bad. Being with the lonely
and the dying sharing the joys of new life and seeing people
grow in their faith.
19.
Have you found that teens are becoming more interested in religion?
You have said that the occult is the fastest growing faith system
among 14-17 year olds. Please discuss.
Teens are not becoming more interested in the
Church per se, but there are other faiths that appear more exciting
to them. Unfortunately, in some cases the Church of England
has gotten rid of the supernatural element of faith and this
that what attracts many people to G-d. That is why they get
involved in the occult because if you tell people that G-d can't
help them then who do they turn to? I believe in a powerful
G-d who can change people's lives.
20.
How is it that you are an authority on witchcraft and the occult,
but are also a vicar? Where does your fascination with the occult
come from?
I became interested in the occult at the age of 13 and read
everything that I could. At that time, the idea of being a Christian
was abhorrent to me. My parents had no time for religion, mainly
because they worked so hard.
Before becoming a Christian, I was desperate to find out who
God was… a lot of my research into the occult over the
years happened with the hopes of discovering God. In the end,
I only found him in Christianity.
After all of the research, I was left with the legacy of all
of this knowledge. I was fascinated by the scientific value
of ghosts. I was asked to pass along this knowledge to other
groups. People wanted to know what exactly witchcraft and magic
are, what ghosts are, and what are the powers behind these forces.
I gained a lot of my experience through talking with people
who had experienced these things, visiting sites where these
things took place, and leafing through many old volumes.
21. A newspaper
article mentions that you have been lecturing on esoteric subjects
for 20 year. Like what?
I most often talk about poltergeists,
ghosts, witchcraft, and folklore.
22.
You have had all types of experience with vampires, Goths, witches,
and ghosts. Is that par for the course in Yorkshire?
No, not really - I was just in the wrong place at the wrong
time and these things tend to find you. I am not frightened
by the occult or spirits so it was me that was always getting
involved. Plus being the vicar in a small town that has hundreds,
if not thousands, of vampires visit each year, it falls to me
to deal with these matters.
23.
What statement are you making by making the anti-hero in Shadowmancer,
Obadiah Demurral, a sorcerer, murderer, rapacious mine-owner,
and ghoul, but also a priest? Who is he based on?
I may be making a
few statements:
The ministry in the eighteenth century was too often peopled
by third sons of the gentry who had nothing better to do. They
weren’t particularly spiritual, let alone pleasant. Many
were local tyrants who exploited their congregation via the
tithing system. I am making a point about the abuse of religious
power.
Today there are people in the Church who preach hell and damnation.
And there is not much Christian love behind it. They say ‘This
is evil, that is evil,’ but they are not keen on looking
at themselves.
Or one another way to look at Obadiah is that maybe he is the
person that I could have become-- a shadow self that we all
have and are too afraid to talk about.
G.P. Taylor on the reactions to Shadowmancer:
24. Were any
of your parishioners surprised when they first read Shadowmancer?
No, they liked it so much that they told me to go home and write
another one.
25.
Do you think that your parishioners could be more accepting
of the occult themes because Whitby is in Dracula country?
I don't think they see the
dark themes, they just see the exciting story and adventure.
The book is read on many different levels and we bring to it
our own agenda. To a child it is a classic adventure for an
adult it is a classic gothic novel.
26.
Have you had any negative reactions?
I have had the odd letter threatening me with
the fires of hell for promoting witchcraft. This is nonsense
of course. The book is about good winning over evil. Most evangelicals
would not know a witch if one sat next to them on the subway.
Otherwise, the reactions have been overwhelmingly positive.
27. Do you think
that people feel that Shadowmancer is a Christian story?
Certainly not. I get letters from people of
all faiths claiming it is about their particular way of belief.
It's amazing...everyone is claiming it as their own.
The Wee Web would like to thank
G P Taylor for sending us this interview!
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