Interview with Rune S. Nielsen - Part 2, Personal
Q: Is your name really Rune?
Rune S. Nielsen: Indeed, it is. I was baptized “Rune Schiermer Nielsen,” as a ‘wee child.’ The given name Rune is not uncommon in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Belgium. Rune is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse word rún, meaning “secret”. I was baptized, Rune Schiermer Nielsen, when I was a little kid. When I got married, my wife and I started to use my middle name as our common last name, but I still use my full name as an author.
Q: If you could travel to any fictional book world, where would you go and what would you do there?
Rune S. Nielsen: There are so many great ones. I would like to talk to Gandalf. Cook him a nice dinner. I think he would enjoy that. Get his take on life, death, and everything. Have tea with him and Bilbo in a cozy hobbit hole one afternoon.
Find a nice big old wardrobe and go visit Aslan. Then go sailing and riding when we arrive at the great city of Tear, marvel at the Stone of Tear, and watch what happens around Rand, all the crazy seemingly random events. Hang out with Moraine, Egwene, and the others at a posh inn. Spar with Lan outside, and get him to introduce me to his wife. The next day I would follow a certain soldier through a bog and watch as he gets his sword misenchanted.
Q: What are your favorite authors?
Rune S. Nielsen: There are so many fantastic authors out there today, self-published as well as the more traditional kind. However, many of the authors that I love the most are the ones I read when I was really getting into fantasy (in my formative years a few decades ago. I wrote this article about which.)
However, I recognize that it’s unfair. The sheer quality of fantasy has improved tremendously since I began reading fantasy in the 1980’ies, and many of my favorite authors are not any better (they are worse in fact) than what people are writing today. It’s just that they were first with a lot of things and ideas, that we take for granted today, and to me, their works have a nostalgic quality.
Quality has improved especially with the boom in self-published authors. Instead of a few publishing houses controlling what fantasy is, we today have so many great authors writing what they want to without being dictated to and streamlined by corporations. In much the same way as you have seen in the music business. This gives us more interesting novels and lets talent float to the top on their own.
Q: What books are on your reading list?
Rune S. Nielsen: I have a ton of unread books (mostly fantasy and sci-fi.) I'm currently reading The Blood Mirror by Brent Weeks (I loved the beginning of the series but heard the last book, The Burning White, was not as good, and so have been putting off reading the ending.) I began reading Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey, but it’s currently on hold. I do love the Expanse series. (I even reviewed one of the prior novels in the series here.) On Audible I have begun listening to Red Sister by Mark Lawrence's, Book of the Ancestor trilogy. So far, it’s great.
I took Brandon Sanderson’s amazing YouTube writing course. That man is so smart, and I decided to read (on my Kindle) his The Final Empire. Once I get through some of the books on my shelves, like the sci-fi novels I borrowed: Jack Campbell's Genesis Fleet: Triumphant (I’ve read almost all books written by him and reviewed this and this), Craig Alanson's SpecOps, and Columbus Day, and Ian Douglas, Star Corpsman, Bloodstar.
Plus three hardcovers by Anna Smith Spark, The Court of Broken Knives, The Tower of Living and Dying, and The House of Sacrifice, and Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, and Gary The Gecko’s Guide to Getting Your Humans to Get Together by Christina “DZA” Marie. The title alone should make anyone want to read it :-)
Q: Most recently you read?
Rune S. Nielsen: Recently finished A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay. I liked the characters, and the fantasy novel had a “sweet sadness” about it. It was not a page-turner for me, however. Maybe it was just me, but I put it down a few times. Still, I liked the ending and it was worth the time I put into it. Recently I read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I much enjoyed this self-help book for writers (and anyone desiring to live a life of creativity.) It’s easy to read, the text and the arguments flow through you, and it’s an insightful read. I especially liked the first half of the book. always good fun to read about someone who has the same experiences regarding being creative as oneself (what she writes about the physical bodily sensations and the deep feelings (spiritual if you like) accompanying the idea creation process and the experience of writing, and I can totally understand why she is concluding being inspired by a genius (the Roman version not the renaissance one), a spirit, muse, angel or whatever we call it. I do the same thing, though I might call it by another name. Hi Uriel. Gratitude always.
Some of the books I reviewed.
Q: Any advice for dealing with bad reviews?
Rune S. Nielsen: Dear author out there: Treasure the kind words. Use them to fuel your soul while you write your next book. Ignore the unkind words or use the anger to fuel your desire to write even better. Please, keep writing. Don't let them get you down 🙂
Regarding bad reviews I see it this way: reviews are inherently subjective. If a reviewer feels that something you or I wrote is trash, then that is their opinion. They are entitled to their opinion. Just like the reviewers who love what we write, are entitled to their opinion.
Also, there are bad reviews and then there are bad reviews. Most reviewers just want you to know how they feel about something you wrote. They will point out something in my novel, that they didn't like 100% (or perhaps even disliked,) but if they also point out some of the things I did well, I can't complain. Sure, I might disagree, but I respect their opinion.
You simply can't expect every review to be 5/5 stars. That said, my novels get plenty of good reviews. I can’t complain. Dear author out there: If you apply yourself, yours will get good reviews too, just don’t expect all reviews to go your way.
Secondly, the fantasy books I treasure and love, I often see people writing negative things about on social media, and If you look at these bestselling, kick-ass novels/series, that I LOVED to read, up on Goodreads, you will find they often have a score around 3-4’ish.
A lot of people will like the same stuff you do. Others definitely don't. Why then should something you wrote get higher scores?
Also, a few reviewers (thankfully only a few) like to bash stuff. Especially if it's popular, and they are confronted with it in the mainstream. And speaking of bashing...
Thirdly, you have the "trolls," "wannabe reviewers" and "wannabe authors." The troll has no manners and likes to smash stuff. Period. You can’t really argue with them. They will just keep calling you names.
Again, people are entitled to their opinions, but I’m also entitled to think that it’s sad when people enjoy talking others down. In my book that is bulling or ‘gossip with the intent to harm.’
"Funny" how someone can crap on something I wrote, while other bloggers gave the SAME novel a 5-star rating and so much praise. I know there are differences of opinion, but here we are talking about being so far apart I just can't take these (hopefully few) people seriously. I can only guess, perhaps they believe unkindness makes them tough, or they get a real kick from this. Who knows.
Q: How do you deal with writer’s block?
Rune S. Nielsen: I tend to come up with a lot more ideas than I will ever put to paper. Ideas are not a problem for me, but there is more to the birth of a novel. It takes a lot of discipline and time to pull off right, and some days you get more done than others.
For me, the trick is to keep working every single day, but never overdo it. Make sure to get a decent amount of sleep, exercise every day, don't skip meals, and try to remember that having a life besides writing makes you happy too and from that happiness, you become inspired. If you don’t or are prevented from doing these things, stuff sometimes slides.
When I’m down or in a noisy environment, and have to work, I listen to music. That makes me focus. Here are the tracks that helped me through the writing of Doomsayer Prince. I also use specific tracks to put me in a specific mood. This makes it easier to stay in “the zone.”
However, you need to respect that your mind works better some days than others. This is a common human phenomenon and is not limited to writing, just ask any scientist who studies the way the brain functions.
On the days when I'm feeling down, I do not get mad at myself but recognize that I should not write right now. Instead, I do related things like content or layout on my website, draw the maps or images for the book, or PR tasks.
Other ways to get a boost of positive energy, including fueling your desire to write, is reading books about writing or watching movies.
I can recommend reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. Lots of positive energy, and to get your priorities (metrics) in order, read Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. It really helped me prioritize what was most important to me in my life. And do watch Po’s journey, from the beginning as a noodle chef and fanboy till full dragon warrior. Yes, I’m talking about none other than Kung Fu Panda the movie written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. You might already have seen it. It’s a fun break and has two important messages for writers. Control is an illusion is one. What the other one is? Go watch it.
Q: How do you deal with stress?
Rune S. Nielsen: I do experience it on some occasions when I have worked too hard too long. I get worn out. Then stress impacts my performance negatively in the coming week or so.
The thing that typically leads me down this road is deadlines. They are poison for the mind. Not poison for my creativity. I’m quite creative under pressure, but there is a price to pay afterward. So I never set any deadlines., just work a lot, and for me, as long as I work a lot, and do my best, I feel I have a clear conscience. This leads to less worry about my progress, and that the novel progresses at a steady pace.
Q: What is your take on the debates around #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, or Cancel Culture?
Rune S. Nielsen: I don’t pretend to have all the right answers, but I recognize them all as important issues. Each in their own way.
Q: Why would you group three so very different issues into one?
Rune S. Nielsen: Because sexism, racism, and intolerance have always existed in some form, and they need to be opposed. You might think I should not even talk about this, and that is fine. I respect your opinion. However, to me, these debates are something we need as a society.
Q: But you are not really affected personally by any of these.
Rune S. Nielsen: I believe in free speech, and so I will talk about them, if I want to, but true. I’m not one of the people being killed by cops during arrests or shot by “accident” (I’m male, white, don’t leave the house much, try very hard not to break the law, and I live in a country that is a welfare state and which does not have much police brutality). I don’t get groped or raped (I’m not female, young, or pretty. In fact, I’m 50 and the opposite of slim.) And I seldom get bullied online. However, I will neither condone the choir of (probably mostly well-meaning) people wanting to tell others that someone is suffering, and to do this they make other people suffer. This makes little sense to me. We should try and fix the issues not create even more sadness and victims. I’m not a fan of anyone trying to say that only they are allowed an opinion. Everyone has an opinion. People are not dumb.
Q: But still, these are totally different issues.
Rune S. Nielsen: You are right, but instead of going deeply into each issue, what I will say is, that to me, when I look “behind” each issue, what I find is one common issue: a lack of respect for others. If you have little or no respect for someone, isn’t easy to abuse, hate, or ridicule them.
Every living person wants to be respected.
To me, those three issues are, each in its own way, a symptom of groups of people (or even societies in general) being disrespectful towards other groups of people. Children growing up, and being taught to hate, fear, or disrespect others, is the saddest of all.
Instead of focusing on the symptoms, like outlawing specific words (which will just be replaced by other derogatory words next week), we should “cure the disease” by becoming more generally and sincerely respectful towards every living person. You don’t use language to hurt those you respect. Unless you are teasing them. Less hating, more respecting. Fewer groupings, more ‘one big whole.’
And sure yes, I have sometimes thought or done things that I shouldn’t, but then you learn, and you grow as a person.
We can be including you and me. Open-minded in all our interactions with all people. No matter who they are, what they believe, what they look like, who they love, and so on.
Or we can shut the door and only listen to people who want to abuse or fight others, but if we do that, new issues will escalate in the coming years, and we will see more violence. It is our choice.
I know you might think my answer is too simple, that I’m sadly naïve. Fair enough, and sure, there are lots of other things in play here like lust, wanting to get ahead by stepping on others, feeling powerful by way of badgering someone, genuinely feeling superior morally, and wanting to impose your views or beliefs on others, but to me, it seems that the first step to ever resolving anything is talking to each other as equals. If I’m talking to a friend (or someone I respect) I won’t badger, abuse, or hurt them.
Respect each other.
Where we go from here is our choice. Nothing is given. Things don’t have to stay the same if we want them to change.
Q: Your novel contains violence (war, assault, magical combat, and so on). If you believe we should be more respectful, including and less confrontational, don’t you have a responsibility to set an example for especially young people, and not have such things in your books?
Rune S. Nielsen: It could be fun to do a novel about a future utopia at some point, but currently my writing is a mirror, and even though it is fantasy, it does reflect the world you and I live in. Both the good and the bad, and if I show you some bad things and some good things, it is with the hope that it might make you think about them. Could things be different? Could the world work in a different way? What would I like the world to become? Are those who intend others harm, someone I should fight against?
Also, my target audience is adults and the oldest of teenagers. My writing is not intended for children. My novels are no worse than most other novels in print, and basically, all adult fiction includes conflict and likely both mental and physical violence in some form, it is typically what drives the story. Imagine a book about someone who never does much, never sees anyone, just stares at a wall all day. True, there would be no violence or any offensive things, but it would also likely be so extremely boring you would never finish the first page. A lot of fantasy revolves around a quest wherein the main characters try to improve their world by overcoming some force that if left unchecked will make the world a terrible place to live. The reader needs to feel that this is important, or there is no reason to read on.
Q: You also cover kidnapping and sexual assault. Regarding #MeeToo, as you mentioned above. Is this necessary?
Rune S. Nielsen: A) One of the reasons that roleplaying games are a good tool to use in a prison or amongst those that might become criminals is that it is a free space to watch cause and effect. You pretend that your character is doing something, and then you get a response from the game master. Through the story, we all learn that our actions have consequences. If you steal someone’s car, he might show up on your doorstep with a gun. You might not like that. If you flee from the police after a robbery, they might block the road further ahead. You might not like that. Then how do I get a car? How do I get the money?
Stories make it possible to examine things in a safe environment. Look at them, understand them better, try things out. Face things that are bad and scary, and overcome them. We must remember that stories and games and other make-believe are not only entertainment but ways of trying to feel what others feel. Empathy and compassion and understanding that mostly it is better to avoid conflict but that sometimes you can’t, and that some things are worth fighting for.
B) (spoiler) Those assaulted actually gets the upper hand, and I think, I have obtained a balance in the way I wrote it, where it stresses that the kidnappers are bad, but also that the female protagonists are tough, clever, and will stand up for themselves. Those assaulted in the story should hopefully make you think, I feel sorry for them, this is wrong, and hopefully, you will understand that those doing the assault are to be opposed. Without any bad things happening, it is difficult to establish that someone is worth being in opposition to, or that there are reasons to oppose them. Light without dark might be a good thing for us personally, but in a story, it quickly gets boring.
C) The assault is a tiny part of the story, but a relevant one. Not only to the plot but as a social commentary on today’s society. I’m holding up a mirror to our society, and should you not like the reflection, that does not make it less true. If we talk about those things and get them out in the open, we might help the victims or help prevent it from happening as much. Hiding from this does not make the problem go away. If you pick up a history book you will see that rape and other sexual violence were a part of ancient times, as it still is today. You can read about it on the news every week. It happens. It’s real life.
Q: Is it true you have an asexual hero in the Doomsayer Prince?
Rune S. Nielsen: I do not use the term asexual in the novel. I do have a magical discipline, where ALL the practitioners gradually become disinterested in romantic sex as well as the physical act. They also become extremely rational and detached (some to the point of being lethargic.) One of the heroes of the series is such a magic-user and some of the villains.
Q: Is this intended to glorify or oppose asexuality in some way?
Rune S. Nielsen: No, these are imagined characters in a work of fiction. This is NOT intended as me glorifying or opposing asexuality. Nor extremely rational people, or being detached. However, I thought all of these were topics that were interesting to explore.
Q: Why?
Rune S. Nielsen: When I imagine characters, I like to think about their motives and their psychological makeup. It is interesting to have characters that do not think the same way and to have them interact. Not only can I show what happens to the reader from more than one perspective, but it is also in itself interesting to me when I write. Regarding very rational people this is the same mechanism that you might find in Star Trek when the logical and rational Vulcans clash with the emotional and typically less informed humans. It makes for interesting character interactions.
Q: What about detachment? Why is that interesting?
Rune. S. Nielsen: A lot of us are, to a higher degree physically, if not emotionally, detached from everyone else, if you compare to just a decade ago. We sit in front of our screens and interact with the world through a digital filter. Some say that makes us lonelier, fatter, and that it’s easier to abuse others, as they are not standing next to us. You might also say it makes us more honest, as we can say what we really mean without consequences. Whatever you think about this, I think that detachment is one of the big defining things of our age, and so I like to explore it in my writing.
Q: And back to asexuality. Why is that interesting?
Rune. S. Nielsen: I thought it would be interesting to explore views about something, which we in many societies have gotten aware of the existence of quite recently, namely the asexual: persons who might avoid, and be less controlled by (if you like) the sexual aspects of themselves and others.
I have not read any fantasy literature about these two topics and thought it was worth exploring. My agenda in this is simple if we try to understand other people, there is a much higher chance that we will respect and understand them, and if we don’t, misunderstandings even hatred might flourish, which I think is sad.
The fantasy genre gives me the possibility of imagining and exploring a new world. I see that as a privilege. To imagine different societies or circumstances: tweak social structures, imagine how people might behave in such a society, how they think about things. I.e. how warfare would look if some people could fly or dish out devastating short-range combat magics, how an asexual magic user who is also a great hero might behave. I say might, as I’m not asexual, nor a great hero, and therefore can only imagine these things (and this is not true asexuality, it is an imagined state.)
Q: You seem to be an including guy, or just politically correct. Good will towards man, topped with rainbows and unicorns. Do you have ANY sort of edge?
Rune S. Nielsen: Sure, read my writing. There are lots of edgy action, badass characters, and a very cool magic system. There is even an angry werebear that kicks ass, and the Vulture Sentinel is epic. Go read my novel, and you will understand.
Q: What about politics? I guess you are too coward to talk about that if you are so politically correct, right?
Rune S. Nielsen: Not true, but I do try to keep my personal opinions about politics and religion very much distanced from my writing when it comes to dialogue or basic character interactions, as I want the books to be entertaining, and I can’t do that if I piss readers off by telling them to think a specific way, that they dislike.
Q: That was what I thought. You are a coward.
Rune S. Nielsen: No, I just decided it was all right for me to be inspired on a "truly global scale," or “the big issues,” if you like. I find inspiration from trends I see in our world today and things that happened a long time ago, then put them into a fantasy world context. Mostly things that just seem so wrong to me, that they inspire, and make me want to put them into the books.
Q: Like what?
Rune S. Nielsen: One such historical thing is the American Revolutionary War. I can empathize with a part of a nation that does not want to be a part of something they are opposed to. Breaking free from British rule is a source of inspiration that I used for the Ata'stux colonists living on Gaia. Their plight is inspired by that piece of American history.
However, it is also inspired by what is going on today in Hong Kong and Taiwan. I see clear similarities in the plight of those people, even though the latter are not armed conflicts. Oppressions and freedom fighting. Pure and simple. Hopefully, a few hundred years from now the Chinese people will understand that I’m right, just as a lot of British people hated the Americans for fighting them during the American Revolutionary War, but today understand perfectly. With time comes perspective, and sometimes we are too close to something to understand it objectively.
Another example is the Pyramid King (the main villain or “big bad guy” in the Doomsayer Prince.) His personality is a mix of stuff I came up with out of nowhere, and suggestions from the beta readers. Add to that in a few bits and pieces of warmongering dictators, serial killers plus some of the truly awful leaders of today. Only a tiny bit from each.
He is certainly not a caricature of any specific person, and what he does should not be viewed as my take on anyone specific leader of today. The Pyramid King is what you end up with if you put a lot of people into a blender. Also, there are good things in him too. Nothing is black and white. I’m sure, dictators also do a bit of good here and there.
Q: You don't sound like you have a lot of respect for today’s political leaders.
Rune S. Nielsen: True and untrue. There are both good and bad leaders today. Like always.
BUT we are moving the slider from democracy towards dictatorship.
The problem today is that we have, unfortunately, leaders in KEY countries around the world, who are just as bad as the ones we had before the first and second world war.
Some are closing in around themselves (we are the greatest.) Some look hungrily at neighboring countries (that strip of foreign land belongs to us. Now, how about that place over there?)
They disregard any fact that they find annoying. Ridicule, persecute, imprison, or kill their political opponents. Undermine or take control of the formerly free press, while taking political control of the formerly independent courts. Thereby gathering all the power in their society for themselves, and then hold on to it for as long as possible. Whatever the cost.
Q: Where do you think this is headed?
Rune S. Nielsen: I fear another world war. At least, if we don't start to vote in some better leaders soon. That is my opinion, though I hope I’m wrong, and you are welcome to think otherwise.
Though we have clever leaders who respect others, there are too many of the other sort today.
We the people are really bad at getting the most decent people into office, and we like to troll any person who dares to take office or voice any sort of opinion while being too cowardly ourselves to do the same. It is easy to point a finger at someone, taking an actual stand is difficult. We need to find the people who want to do what is best for all living beings in a broad sense, and not just themselves or their friends. Who considers scientific advice and rational arguments. Who have clear opinions, but will compromise and include others with different opinions in the decision-making to form a majority. Who understands that when you do this on the most important issues, then when the power shifts (as it always does), the legislation remains, and you will be included in some of the decision-making.
Leaders who understand they are also one of the people. Not someone high above everyone. Sure, some of today’s leaders are like that. Fantastic people. But the same was true before the previous great wars.
Q: A world war on the way, really?
Rune S. Nielsen: People have forgotten that war sucks (we were not alive during the last ones. Most people’s parents weren’t either.) Some are even eager to try out their latest doomsday devices for real, and while world war 2 devastated so many countries, today the weapons have so much longer range and are so much more devastating.
Q: You yourself said that things are not black or white. This seems very black.
Rune S. Nielsen: True, and it could still be good. If we vote for the right people, support them, and stand up to those that want war. Change society for the better, make it better than ever. Not tear everything down, just because we are angry. Changing people’s hearts can be done mostly peacefully but look at what happened in the last few decades.
The Berlin wall fell in 1989 and the east block was crumbling. There was so much optimism in Europe and many other parts of the world. From the end of the eighties and throughout most of the nineties things were looking up, right up till the point where the US government made a string of bad decisions (on the surface seemingly capitalistic and liberal, but in reality just ill-informed politics, allowing a stupid amount of greed based on make-believe real estate loans), and meanwhile, the Russians decided that oil-money and organized crime was the right substitute for communism and that in-effect dictatorship was better than a failing democracy. The great economic issues started to pile up in the late nineties, and the giddy and optimistic feeling was replaced by fear and worry. It had seemed that the cold war was ending, that things had been looking up. But then some of us realized that the fear of the third world war and complete nuclear annulation had just been postponed, till the next time the world is full of bad leaders in several key countries.
This leads us to today, where despite there being lots of good leaders, we, unfortunately, have several leaders who are just as bad as the ones we had before the first and second world war.
I find it deeply troubling as these key leaders are amassing too much power. It seems fewer and fewer people decide if we should go to war. Be they fought with weapons, economy, or ideas. So many old men are full of spite and hate. Why don’t we vote for some middle-aged people instead? Those who have enough experience to be great, but who still recognize that they need to listen to others, not so set in their ways they think they know it all, and so old their worldview is ancient. Someone with at least a bit of youthful energy left.
But no, most counties like old men and they are even more attractive if they have a few of the traits from the “evil despot list of key traits” like ignorant, greedy, overconfident, fearless, paranoid, bigoted, or megalomaniac, and add to that we currently like leaders who are corrupt, criminal, zealot, or just plain old lobby stooges. Perhaps even being blackmailed into doing someone else’s bidding. Why can’t people see that this is not a clever way of selection?
Q: How do I recognize if a leader is bad?
Rune S. Nielsen: If we look past the people who actively support dictatorship, then sure, it can be tricky as most of our leaders are clever, savvy, and have huge teams of people just trying to make them appear greater than they truly are.
Forget what they say. Look behind their rhetoric and the laws they pass.
If all someone wants to do is undo all that the previous administration built “because if we stick it to our predecessors, then we are satisfied.” Then they are defining themselves by hatred, and if they do not hate the predecessors, then check if they hate a segment of the population which they want to quash, or some other country (they would invade if they had the power.)
People who primarily define themselves by hate are to be feared and should be kept out of power.
Q: This has gotten me in the mood for some horror. Tell a super short horror story.
He pressed 'y' and his Book_Del.bat program executed smoothly.
"That's it," said RootKid the hacker to his pitbull Ted Bundy. "I just wiped every single device in existence, and with all the libraries we burned yesterday, the world is now free of all literature. What’s next Ted? Is it time for that fire sale?"
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