This April, Ernst J. Dabel will release his new novel, Albino—a self-published YA ebook with distribution through Sea Lion Books. To help promote Albino, Ernst J. Dabel himself had a few things to say about his new book:
I was of course very curious, because at the time, my dream of becoming an author had not blossomed yet, but had only been a tiny seed. And I was very eager to write something that others had not delved into yet. Woodland creatures, he told us, living in the forests, not dressed up in human clothes and weapons as most of the cartoons portrayed, but dressed in grass, leaves, bark, flowers and other things from the wild. Their weapons would be made of wood, bone and other natural things but not metal.
Before I could open my mouth to respond to his comment however, he stopped me. Maybe he saw the look on my face. Woodland creatures! All the stories about them were for little kids, adults, if they were not parents, were not interested in reading such things. I was ready to move on to the next topic when he told me it had to be about woodland creatures that adults would not mind reading about. Then Les smiled. My brain processed his words and then the light bulb went on and I smiled back at him. He knew exactly what I was thinking, and he reminded me that I had always told him how J.R.R. Tolkien had written about elves, dwarves, and other fantasies, which in his time, were considered fit only for kids and not for respectable adults, and had written a story that both young and old alike has fallen in love with over the years. Now he told me, I might as well take woodland creatures, which in my time, is considered fit only for kids and not respectable adults, and write a story that young and old alike would fall in love with.
I didn’t need to hear any more. I was sold on the idea and so I locked myself in my room and wrote Albino in three weeks, pouring my soul into the work. When I finally finished and looked in the mirror, I was like Tom Hanks from Castaway with the wild hair and unkempt beard, lol (grins). It was the most grueling three weeks of my entire life.
I found an article as I was writing this blog post and I wanted to share it:
J.R.R. Tolkien, claimed in another lecture a couple of years later, entitled “On Fairy-Stories,” that “there is no true end to any fairy-tale” (Monsters 153). As if to prove his point, Tolkien took the Beowulf tale and reworked it: first as a children's story called The Hobbit, published in 1937, and then as “a children's book for adults” (Stirling 15), i.e. The Lord of the Rings, in 1954-5. The critics were confounded, especially since adults read the latter work; again and again, it seemed. What's more, in a major British poll conducted by the Waterstones book chain and Channel 4 television several years before the millennium ended, “adults” voted the trilogy the book of the century. To add insult to injury, the Folio Society1 decided they would check what readers of “serious” books thought, and yet again Tolkien came out on top… (If you’d like to read the entire article you can find it HERE.)
In the end, Albino does to woodland creatures what Lord of the Rings did for fantasy back in Tolkien’s time. In other words Albino takes woodland creatures into a story that even adults would care to read ;)"
Aided by an odd crow, he begins an adventure filled with action, danger, and ultimately a final confrontation against his worst nightmares.
The ancient and cruel rats called the Ma’aldee are on the move, while the Spiritual Guardians of the Land whisper in fear and dread of the coming of Emperor Loucura, Lord of the Ma'aldee.
Only Albino has the power to save the Land...
ABOUT E.J. DABEL:
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2 comments:
Always nice to see a post from Mr. Dabel! Although I must voice my disappointment that rats are evil in this book, 'cause I love rats. They're awesome little critters ... :-) Anyway, I posted a link to this post in my blog here: http://katysozaeva.blogspot.com/2012/03/links-to-some-interviews-with-ej-dabel.html
Hello Katy! You love rats, then you'll be delighted to know that not all rats are evil in the Albino series ;) I wish I could explain in more detail, but to do so would give away the heart of the story, lol :)