About Gorian, Alfred Bekker [books for new readers .txt] 📗

QUESTION: First question can not be different: when did you start writing? What was your first story?

BEKKER: I began writing at the age of seven. One of my first stories dealt with a bank robbery. The first scene opened with a man who was thrown through a closed window. Obviously I was very interested in all kinds of action and suspense.

QUESTION: You are author of more than 300 novels and several hundred short stories. Where do you draw inspiration for so many stories?

BEKKER: The best way to get inspiration for writing is writing itself. If you
create a story you always have to make dicisions and answer questions.
Who will be the protagonist? What is the issue you want to write
about? Will your protagonist survive? Does he marry and have children
and if he does so, what will happen to them? But there is always more
than only one possible answer und according to your answer the whole
story might go on into perhaps very controversal directions.
In fact you have to think about a lot of alternate story lines
although only one of them is going to be written down.
But some of those alternatives are usable for another story. Thus you
get always new ideas for plots and characters.

QUESTION: Would you tell our readers how do you work? Do you prefer to work during the day or at night? What gives you the energy for writing?

BEKKER: I have no preferred writing time. And the energy I need for my
business is based upon the joy I feel during the writing process. In
fact writing is my favorite activity.


QUESTION: You have tried many literary genres. Is there any genre that you like
most?

BEKKER: I prefer Fantasy and Science Fiction.

QUESTION: Is there any genre that you have not tried and you would like to change it in the future?

BEKKER: No, but literary genres are always in a permanent and fundamental
process of change. I'm not really interested in the very special
frontiers of several artificial genre realms. In my personal sight,
they are only marketing features.

QUESTION: And in what genre you are not interested at all?

BEKKER: I never wrote dramatic love stories about doctors and nurses - and I
think it would not make much sense if I would ever try to do so in
foreseeable future.

QUESTION: If you could pick from so many of your characters the one you like most which one it would be?

BEKKER: I always thought the evil characters to be more interesting and
excitig than the good guys. So I think Morygor (from the
Gorian-Trilogy) is a good example for what I mean.

QUESTION: Recently you are focusing on books for kids. When was the first time you thought that you could try children's literature?

BEKKER: Before I worked as a writer only, I have been a teacher for several
years while I was writing my novels, which were only adult stuff till
then. Some of my pupils asked me: Why don't we have any of your books
in our school library? The answer was quite clear: I wrote about
issues which were nor interesting neither appropriate for kids. But
because of my profession as a teacher I leraned a lot about literature
for young readers and so I tried it - and seemingly I was talented to
do so, because it was succesful.

QUESTION: Are there any difference between writing for adults and for kids?

BEKKER: You have to use clear, simple sentences and comprehensive language -
but in fact, adults appreciate clarity, too.


QUESTION: Did you create some story that only your son had chance to hear? If yes, did you publish it later as book as well?

BEKKER: There were a lot of stories which were for my son's ears only. When he was a little child, he wanted me to tell him a good-night-story every
evening. But he didn't want a story which was already written. It
had to be "brand-new", as he insisted. I had to invent the story at
that special moment, because he thought this would be more exciting -
comparable to a live act like football, where you always expect
dramatic things to happen.
Some characters of those good-night-stories appeared later in some of my books.

QUESTION: Many of your novels are fantasy. Which authors have affected you most?

BEKKER: The fantasy author who influenced me most was Michael Moorcock.

QUESTION: Do you have any favorites present authors of fantasy?

BEKKER: Well, Michael Moorcock is still alive and still my favourite.


QUESTION: Some heroes of your books are from past. Are you fan of history?

BEKKER: Yes, I was always interested in history and some of the first books I
ever read, were about this issue. Therefore I like it to write about
historical subjects.

QUESTION: Would you tell us if you are currently working on something and what is it?

BEKKER: There are a lot of novels to come. A new seven-volume-series of
Fantasy books for young readers, called ZWERGENKINDER (Dwarf
Children), the fourth book of my series about THE WILD ORCS (Die
wilden Orks), a new adult fantasy-trilogy and a crime novel titled THE
DEVIL OF MUNSTER (DER TEUFEL VON MÜNSTER), dealing with a man
suffering from savant syndrome who thinks to be Branagorn the elf
warrior. Branagorn is a character of my Fantasy Book "The Empire of
the Elves" (DAS REICH DER ELBEN) und in THE DEVIL OF MUNSTER he really
seems to have some fantastic elf-like abilities... This could be
explained by the savant syndrome and a special kind of personal
delusion as well as by Branagorns allegation of his origin from the
parallel world of the elves.


QUESTION: What other hobbies do you have? How do you relax from writing?

BEKKER: I like sailing.

Text: (c) by Alfred Bekker
Publication Date: 12-14-2011

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