I was lucky to get an interview with Allan Batchelder, the author of the five-book series Immortal Treachery and a stand-alone horror/historical fiction, This Thing of Darkness.

Please, tell us a bit about yourself…
Okay, so, imagine Brad Pitt. He’s got nothing to do with anything, but I find people are happier when thinking of him. As to myself, well, I’m a professional actor, former stand-up comedian and full-time educator, dreaming of the day when writing is my only concern. I’m a foodie, a cat person (although I do like dogs), and I’m lucky to live near the mountains and sea, surrounded by beautiful forests.

Why should I buy your books?
My books are often called “Grimdark,” so they fit into a similar niche as those of Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, R. Scott Bakker, George R.R. Martin, etc. At the same time, they’ve been compared to Kings of the Wyld (although Steel, Blood and Fire came first), so there’s some humor there, too. And Immortal Treachery is a complete series – no need to wait…and wait…and wait for the next installment. If you enjoy the first book (and I’m betting you will), you’re set for months!

What about the plot, you ask? Well, if you grew up a fan of Bruce Lee, Clint Eastwood’s The Man with No Name, Kurosawa’s/Mifune’s Yojimbo or any other preternaturally gifted phenoms of violence, you’ll appreciate Tarmun Vykers, a one-man army, as arrogant and ruthless as he is lethal. Readers have described him as being so brutal that “he’d make Karsa Orlong and The Bloody Nine run home to their mommies.” But he’s a man with a mysterious past and uncertain destiny. The series starts at his absolute lowest point and, well, the final book is called The End of All Things…

With regards to This Thing of Darkness, you’ve simply never read anything like it. Period. William Shakespeare fakes his death and sails to the Jamestown Colony in the New World, where he runs afoul of one of history’s most legendary monsters. Among other things.

What got you into writing? And how long have you been doing it?
I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing, but it’s true that acting and, later, comedy took most of my focus for a number of years. It was only when my mother passed away that I realized I was running out of time, myself, to accomplish everything I wished. Sadly, she never knew me as a published author. I think she would have loved my most recent book.

Why did you choose to write fantasy?
My dad was an avid reader of fantasy and science fiction, and I generally picked up whatever he’d just finished. There was a lot of Conan the Barbarian/Destroyer/Conqueror/Insurance Salesman stuff, along with John Carter of Mars and many others. By sixth grade, I was into Tolkien, and, from that point on, there was no looking back!

I got into Grimdark before I was even aware there was a name for it. I adored the Dragonlance series, for example, but at some point I began to yearn for characters who were a bit less Noble Bright, and a little more like…um…myself? Characters whose motivations were hazy and ambiguous, whose actions were less black and white. In a strange, almost oxymoronic way, this type of fantasy seemed more realistic to me, and thus easier to escape into.

Which other author has had the biggest influence on your writing?
That’s a long list, but I’d say it includes Michael Moorcock, Glenn Cook, Steven Erickson, Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Douglas Adams, Shakespeare…

What’s the best thing about being a writer?
It’s either the endless baths in tubs full of hundred-dollar bills or the all-you-can-eat French pastry buffets.

Oh, you want the truth…

Yes, please.
Freeing all the characters in my head, who’ve been loudly demanding an audience most of my life.

What’s the hardest thing about being a writer?
Balancing all the other things that go with responsible adulting and finding the time and space to write. Life intrudes, even as it inspires.

Do you have any tips or an author app, tool, or resource that you can really recommend we try?
I spend an awful lot of time marketing across every social media platform I can think of. I wish I could say that’s the formula for success, but it is very time-consuming and often frustrating. I have also invested in just about every type of book promotion that’s out there, and I find most are a waste of time and money. Network, my friends, network!

And now it's time to yank out your Palantir! Let’s talk about the future. What new projects are you working on?
Okay, hold onto your hats…

My current WIP is a steampunk tale about a man who wakes up one day and finds he’s been transformed into a goat.
After that, I’ve got a horror story about a serial killer in the South.
Followed by a sequel to This Thing of Darkness
Followed by a collection of fantasy short stories that, together, tell a larger tale.

Followed by a collection of humorous horror shorts.
Followed by a story about Polyphemus, the cyclops blinded by Ulysses
Followed by a YA fantasy novel about a group of children
Assuming I don’t die in progress…

Do you have any dreams you’d like to share?
I imagine my dreams are pretty pedestrian – I’d love to see one of my books turned into a movie, but I’m guessing that’s true for everyone. For me, though, it would be the marriage of two of my life’s great passions – acting (and everything associated with that) and writing. That would be my barbaric yawp, if you will.

Anything else you would like to say before we close?
Yes. Rhubarb is criminally underappreciated.

True, I love rhubarb :-) Let me know afterward, if you want a good rhubarb dessert recipe, Allan.

Sure…

Please, find the delicious treat just below this interview :-)

Thanks, I’m always grateful for the opportunity to talk to/chat with readers and other authors. This has been great fun, thank you!

I hope lots of readers discover your writing. Thanks for doing the interview. And now, dessert…

Old-fashioned Danish Rhubarb Trifle*

The tartness of the rhubarb, the scrumptious and airy whipped cream, and the sweet and golden crispy topping. Delicious, just like my grandmother made it!

*) Danes call this a cake. It’s not…

Ingredients

8 servings.

Rhubarb compote
1 kg rhubarb (frozen or fresh)
175 g cane sugar (more/less depending on the sweetness of the rhubarb)
1½ tsp. vanilla powder (do not use vanilla sugar. You can use vanilla pods)
2 tsp. non-oxalic acid (read on the bottle how much to use)

Golden topping
35 g lactose-free butter
65 g cane sugar
2.5 dl organic oatmeal

And also…
200 g macaroons (this kind, not the colorful French ones)
Sherry (or port wine, sherry tastes best though)
5 dl lactose-free whipping cream

Method

Rhubarb compote
Wash the rhubarb and cut them into slices of about 1 cm (if you freeze them, you can make trifle all winter!)
Put rhubarb and oxalic acid in a pot (if you use frozen rhubarb, thaw them. In the pot it takes about 10 minutes over low heat. Stir often.)
Bring the rhubarb to a boil over the lowest possible heat.
Cook the compote over the lowest possible heat and under a lid for about 25 minutes. Stir often.
Take the pot off the heat.
Blend the rhubarb quickly (I use a hand blender.)
Put the pot back on the stove over low heat.
Add cane sugar and vanilla powder a little at a time. Achieve the right balance between the ingredients by tasting. The sugar must enhance the taste of the rhubarb, but the compote should be more tart than sweet.
Put the finished compote in the fridge. Delicious cold or tempered, but it shouldn't be hot.

Golden oatmeal
Melt the butter in a pan without browning it.
Add oatmeal and cane sugar and roast the mixture over medium heat and stirring.
Stir until it changes sound, color changes to light brown, and it becomes crispy.
Stir regularly as it easily burns.
Pour the roasted oatmeal onto a piece of baking paper (possibly on a baking rack.)
Let it cool off. Squeeze it in the baking paper so that it becomes sprinkles.
Store the mixture in an airtight container if you do not use it right away.

Final Preparation
Cover the bottom of a bowl with coarsely crushed macaroons (this kind, not the colorful French ones.)
Sprinkle some sherry over them.
Whip the cream into a light and airy whipped cream.
Spread the cold rhubarb compote on top of the macaroons.
Cover with a layer of golden oatmeal.
Put whipped cream on top.

The recipe is lactose-free and low FODMAP. I used Bing AI translate, so blame the AI if some of the ingredients/wordings don’t make complete sense ;-)

Yum, treats for the whole family!