The Tears of Time

How did you come up with the idea for TOT?

This is kind of hard, because it was quite some time ago, so I can’t really remember. I started writing quite a different story on Quizilla, but with the same basic plot. I think the idea for that came from a discussion with a friend, who said that there were never any stories to do with God on ‘Zilla. After reading a rather dreadful story with a character who was supposedly the Angel of the Apocalypse, I decided to do the idea justice.

(Disclaimer: the dreadful story I just mentioned had the main character as your clichéd heroine, who got kidnapped by a dragon, randomly turned up at a house full of hot elves, vampires and demons, then randomly got taken over by the demon spirit of destruction. Not exactly TOT material, so please don’t accuse me of nicking someone’s idea!)

Is there going to be a sequel?

To be honest, I don’t think there will be a sequel. The word ‘Sequel’ implies that Elanor’s story isn’t finished, and by the end of TOT, her story is well and truly over. However, I’m not going to say I’m completely finished, as that would limit my future options. At the moment though, my next project (if I can even call it that!) is undecided, and probably won’t be based in Ella’s universe.

Are there any authors/ other books which influenced you?

Not exactly. I read a lot of fantasy, so I’m sure some of it rubbed off into this. There are a lot of elements which have been nicked from the first book I wrote. In comparison it was fairly rubbish (based on vampires/ werewolves) though I had an idea for shadow magic in there, which sort of evolved into the idea for nothing here.

Was Raphael always meant to fall for Elanor?

Nope. Originally, it was Gabriel who was in love with Elanor, but as I developed his character, and Raphael’s, I realised that Gabriel wasn’t the impulsive one, and that Raphael was the one who would admire Elanor (at least her human side.) Though Elanor isn’t really meant to return his feelings. It’s one of the things I need to figure out if I rewrite this!

Why Elanor & Raphael? Why not Elanor & Gabriel?

Again, the above kind of explains this.

Is there are special reason for the main character being called Elanor?

There’s no special meaning or anything, though it holds a special significance to me. My mum wanted to call me Eleanor, but dad really didn’t like the name. I’ve always wished I was called Eleanor, so…

All the other names for angels/ demons do have relevance:

Gabriel - the lord’s messenger. [messenger]
Raphael - prince of angels/ warrior. [seeker/ warrior]
Dina - angel of knowledge. [caster]
Ambriel - angel of truth. (altered from Amitiel) [seeker]
Typhus - great warrior. [warrior]
Izra’el - angel of death/ retribution. [warrior]
Dumah - angel of silence. [caster]
Mihra - angel of divine mercy. (altered from Mihr) [caster]
Ramiel - angel who oversees vision and souls on the judgement day. [caster]

Jezabel - queen/ princess in bible, corrupts a man.

What was different from the first draft?

You’ve got to remember, I only got to the fourth chapter of the first draft. Elanor was far less human in that version; she went through a cycle of reincarnation before she reached a form where she could bring on the apocalypse. I used the second & first world wars as examples of when the world nearly comes to an end, but Elanor gets killed before she can realise her potential. Everything is written more from Gabriel/ Time’s view.

What’s the picture in the banner?

The picture is of a statue, called the ‘L’Angelo del Dolore’ (or angel of grief in English). I came across it Googling, and thought it captured part of Time’s struggle with the dark side of the human nature. Wow, sounds philosophical!

Are you going to get it published?

Ideally, that would be amazing. However! I think it needs a lot of alteration first, extension of the plot etc. I also need to locate myself a good publicist/ reader person who would be interested in my genre. It’s one thing publishing stuff online; it’s another to send off a copy to a publicist. It’s a bit like sending away a bit of your soul. And I don’t want to be put off writing by sending off a bad copy and then getting a nasty put-down.

What does Elanor look like?

I know I’ve never really given a great description of Elanor, mainly because I wanted readers to be able to imagine her. But I’ve always thought of her as looking vaguely Mexican; long black hair, oval face, dark eyebrows and eyelashes over deep brown eyes, medium height, though once she’s changed a little taller.

Do any of your religious beliefs rub off on the book?

Yes and no.

Firstly, I don’t think there are angels wandering around, and I’m hopeful that demons don’t exist. The whole concept of Nothing is contrived from an idea I’m still exploring at the moment; the idea that God could be everywhere, existing in us, around us etc. I also like the idea that he/she/it is neither good nor evil. Though I wouldn’t want you to take those ideas at face value, they’re something to think about.

What are Time & Fate doing when they open the book in the prologue?

This is another of the things I need to sort out. First, I thought this would be them ending the world. Obviously this didn’t work, so I explored the idea that date-wise this would be the 6th of the 6th 2006, the day when Elanor has her first vision of the end. However, at this point I’d already written the next few chapters, which seems to have no time gap between opening the book and 2010, so I had to scrap that. In the rewrite I will make this the 6/06/06, and then zoom forward.

How come Elanor ends the world but then gets reborn?

One of the theories I’ve tried to exploit here is the sense that time is eternal. I didn’t think Time had the ability do die, being rooted in a different area/thing. Elanor, as Time’s daughter, would also survive the end. Fate would die, as a symbol of humanities mortality.

If they continued, shouldn’t the world be remade? Who else to do it but Elanor? This also explains the fact that Time knows everything, as she has witnessed the world a thousand times over. As Dumah and Time say in a few of the final chapters; “ Everything that has a beginning has an end… and everything that has an end has a beginning.”

Did you intentionally publish the last chapter on the 10th of September?

Yes, I did! I realised early on that it was coming up, and that was the date I had set already. An added bonus was the rumour that a science experiment was going to create a black hole that day and end the world!!!

Read anything good lately?

Definitely! Check my latest review of this is all by Aiden Chambers, and I’ve got a journal pointing towards some of my favourite online stories at the moment. And I also just reread one of my story ideas, which I think could be a potential candidate.

Does Lucifer have a favourite animal?

Yes. It’s a panther; I find it reflects his personality very nicely.