Getting to Know: E.G. Radcliff, Author of 'The Hidden King' (Coming of Aed, Book 1)

E.G. Radcliff, Fantasy Author of The Hidden King

Before introducing the interview with the lovely E.G. Radcliff, I would like to begin by saying that this interview with self-published and independent authors is hopefully one of many. This is a series that I hope to do with many unknown or semi-known indie-published authors of fantasy and historical fiction genres. With that being said, I hope this interview is enjoyed. 

On to getting to know E.G. Radcliff and The Hidden King!

The Hidden King by E.G. Radcliff is about a young man named Aed and his ward Ronan who after a tragic event leave their life of starvation and struggles to live in a place of unknown paradise and secrets, but while restarting his life, Aed finds out that there's more about him than he actually knows. 

The Hidden King is available on Amazon.com. 

You can find E.G. Radcliff on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and her website. 

What advice do you have for new and aspiring authors?

The most important advice I can give is to keep at it. It’s really easy to get discouraged by the publishing scene, but persistence is everything. While you’re persisting, learn. Read excellent fiction, and take notes. Experiment with different styles. Go over your old writing, decide what you’d change, and then see if those changes carry through to your later works. Give your writing to your friends, and people you know will be honest with you. Most importantly, enjoy your writing. It’s an art, and if it doesn’t give you pleasure, there’s no reason to do it.

 What inspired you to write The Hidden King? 

The world and basic character outlines came in a dream. Since world-building is difficult, I wrote down everything I could remember, and it got out of hand quite fast. I wrote forty pages the first day and just kept going from there. I actually ended up with over 150k words, then had to delete and re-write about half of that.

What made you want to write? 

I don’t know. I feel like some people meditate, and some people party, but writing was always my go-to release activity. It was always something to fall back on. It’s therapeutic and fun, and it’s always there when I’m stressed or just need something to do; besides, I like the feeling of productivity that comes with creating.

What was the writing process like? 

A disaster, frankly. I had never written something of that scale before, so I didn’t know how to organize anything, and it was a very steep learning curve. I got 150k words, and the majority were not plot-relevant. I started by writing a ton of disparate scenes that were nice character moments but didn’t necessarily all connect. I had to go back and figure out where the actual plot was hiding, and then do a lot of rewriting. 

How much Celtic lore inspired you?

That’s an interesting question. In terms of “inspiration,” a lot inspired me. I’ve always loved faery stories and their overarching aesthetic. As far as what actually made it into the book, there was significantly less. I wanted to make it my own instead of telling stories that had already been told. So, while some things remained, such as how the fae are culturally perceived, plenty of aspects things don’t match the folklore.

What made you want to self-publish The Hidden King? 

There are a lot of reasons that self-publishing was a better option for me. I could work on my own schedule and keep my own royalties, and given that my life was in a transitional period during the process, it was really important that I was in control of my own timeline. I also felt like I had a lot more freedom to say what I wanted and be perceived as how I wanted to be perceived. I didn’t have to constantly seek approval, which was also nice. With that being said, I did want to make sure that my quality level was the same as a traditionally-published book, so I definitely still jumped through all the same hoops as one of those would.

If you could meet any famous author who would it be?

This is a hard question… there are so many authors I admire. I would love to meet Sarah J. Maas because I found her books highly inspirational. I might have an opportunity to meet her in March, and that’s really exciting. It would also be amazing to meet Neil Gaiman; the worldview he explores through his stories is quite unorthodox, and I found that his approach helped me break some of the conventions that kept getting me stuck.

How many books in the series will there be?

Three. There will be a prequel, which will be centered around Ninian, and a sequel centered around Ronan.

Are we going to see more of the gang that Ninian was a part of in the prequel and any future sequels?

Definitely. I can’t say too much, but stay tuned!

As the author, what advice would you give Áed? 

At the end of The Hidden King, I think he mostly has his act together. During a lot of points in the book, though, I just really wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay.

What advice would you give to new writers and aspiring self-publishing authors?  

You don’t have to be perfect right away. Don’t be too hard on yourself; it’s a trap that I fall into all the time. But expectations of perfection will encourage you to stop writing, and that will ensure that you never improve. In terms of self-publishing, don’t be discouraged by the perceived oversaturation of the market. You can breakthrough with time and effort. And a lot of research.

Check out The Hidden King on Amazon, and be prepared for the Coming of Aed sequel which will be available for preorder and published in 2020.  

Thank you, E.G. Radcliff, for this interview.