E-Interview: Herbie Brennan Author of The Shadow Project

Hey guys, Today I just finished an Email- Interview with the author of the Shadow Project and the Faerie Wars, Herbie Brennan! Here we talk about OOBE's (Out of body experiences), The Secret Prophecy, and much more!

To the readers out there who don’t know what an OOBE is, can you describe how it works? 
The classic OOBE is the experience of finding yourself outside your physical body, wandering about the world like a ghost. Everything looks real and solid, but you can walk through walls. Some people also report finding themselves in a different reality. The pivotal part of the experience is leaving your physical body while awake. Typically you can see your physical body on your bed, in a chair or   wherever you left it.

Have you ever experienced an OOBE yourself?
 I experienced a series of OOBEs during my early twenties, first when I floated up out of my body during  treatment for a medical condition, next when I briefly found myself standing in a country road an instant after retiring to bed and the third time, a few weeks later, when I left my body lying on the bed while I tried to go to the loo in the bathroom next door to my bedroom. Although a ridiculous experience, the third example was my most persistent OOBE, lasting some twenty minutes while I clambered back into my body several times in the hope of persuading it to come with me to the bathroom. For the first few minutes of the OOBE, I did not even realize anything unusual had happened and was wondering why I could not seem to turn the doorknob of my bedroom door until I realized my fingers had sunk into it.

In the Shadow Project OOBE’s play a major role, do some of your characters OOBE’s mirror you own? 
Not directly, but after my personal experiences, I researched the whole OOBE phenomenon extensively and used much of this information to ensure the OOBEs in Shadow Project were as authentic as possible.

Will you ever write a third Shadow Project book?
No plans at the moment — I’m concentrating on non-fiction just now — but I’ve discovered it’s dangerous to say never. I don’t actually have much control over the books I write. Characters appear in my head and keep nagging me until I give in and try to tell their story.

How about your new book- The Secret Prophecy- can you give us any spoilers on that? 
Ah-ha! I’m very pleased with Secret Prophecy. It’s about a young boy who finds himself caught up in a very bewildering, very, very scary set of circumstances after his father dies unexpectedly. I’ve long enjoyed conspiracy theories and this one is the conspiracy to end all conspiracies. It’s very difficult to judge your own work while you’re in the process of writing, but when it came to the proof stage, many months later, I found myself thinking Hey, this one isn’t bad at all. There have been a couple of pre-publication reviews so far and both were extremely kind. One called the book a ‘masterpiece,’ the other said it was ‘spellbinding’ and the ending was ‘outstanding.’ Can’t wait to find out if readers actually like it.

Are you planning anything after The Secret Prophecy?
I have a major non-fiction book on spirits (spooky not boozy) coming out next summer. Title hasn’t been finally decided yet, but it will probably either be Spiritus or The Whisperers. It’s a survey of the impact spirit contact has had on human history and an investigation into what spirits really are, where they come from, what they want Apart from that, I have one more non-fiction idea simmering and a novel started that needs quite a bit of rewriting to get it back on track.

Out of all the series you’ve written, which one is your favorite?
Faerie Wars. Best fiction I ever wrote. I’m still trying to figure how to match it.

Are any of the names in your novels important?
 It’s an open secret now, but all of the faerie characters in the Faerie Wars series have butterfly names, either their common names (the Purple Emperor) or their Latin names (Pyrgus Malvae.) That didn’t happen by accident. A brilliant writer friend of mine, Steve Peek (you can find his work on Kindle) suggested butterfly names would make great fantasy characters. I checked and he was right. That was part of the inspiration for the series in the first place.

What Advice do you give to new aspiring authors?
You actually have to write something. I know that sounds stupid, but I keep meeting people who are planning books, considering books, developing characters, finalizing plot lines and definitely getting started next month. Anything except writing the damn’ thing. I met one woman in Italy who’d been planning her book for ten years! That may make it the best book never written. You have to get the words on paper. If the first draft is rubbish, you can always edit it afterwards. But you must, must, must actually write it.

Thanks for the interview! Anything else you would like to say? (Book Promo’s… etc.) 
Thank you for thinking of me for the interview — I very much enjoyed it.