Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Elton Gahr
Book Title: The Thirteen Gates Apprentice
Released: 05/04/21
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Interview by Heather L. Barksdale
What inspired you to write “The Thirteen Gates Apprentice”?
Gahr: I’ve read quite a few books where magic exists but is a secret to the general population. I wanted to write a book where everyone discovered magic existed and see how that changes the world.
How did you come up with the names of your main characters?
Gahr: I changed the names several times. Tim stuck pretty early, but Quinn was harder. Finally, I asked a friend who is a schoolteacher for a name that fits and wasn’t too common. Once I heard Quinn, it just clicked.
Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?
Gahr: Only that I’m still improving. Apprentice is one of the first books I wrote I felt mostly happy with, but the series just gets better.
When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?
Gahr: I used to have writers block far more. Eventually, I realized it was because I was trying to skip the first draft and write something good. Now I just get a story on paper and then make it good in the editing process.
If "The Thirteen Gates Apprentice” were adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?
Gahr: I’ve thought a lot about what the characters would be like as actors but I’m terrible at that game, especially with my work where I have such specific ideas of what they’re like it’s hard to adjust that for an actor.
Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?
Gahr: Write a few short stories before you jump into a novel. You’ll get the worst mistakes out of your system and learn about your writing process, which will save you time in the long run.
What is your favorite genre, book, and/or author?
Gahr: My favorite genres are equally science fiction and fantasy. For me, the idea of a world different enough from the one I’m in that I can see things from a new perspective and leave a few of my own assumptions behind and going on a grand adventure. The best books in both genres do that wonderfully.
My favorite book is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s the only book that I reread regularly and what I almost always pick up when I need to improve my mood. What’s odd is that it’s not my favorite series of books. For that, it’s The Wheel of Time, which has so many great moments that it rises to the top even though none of the individual books do.
There are so many great authors that I can’t pick just one. Currently, I am working my way through Brandon Sanderson’s books and they are excellent. But I also love Jim Butcher and The Dresden Files, Isaac Asimov, Lovecraft (despite the obvious problems) and a lot of writers of classical fiction, especially early modern science fiction writers like Shelley, Wells and Verne.
What are you working on next?
Gahr: What am I working on next is a more complicated question than one might think. I am currently editing 3 books, including two in the Thirteen Gates series and one in the Spaceship Vision space opera series and I plan on releasing one every two or three months. I’m also working on the worldbuilding for an epic fantasy series and plotting out a couple of more. I also put out free short stories fairly regularly.
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