The team of The Hemlock Journal received an opportunity to interact with author Mariclaire Norton. She discussed with us some valuable insights about her book ‘Tara’s Journey: Tales of Eirlandia’.

Mariclaire Norton has been interested in writing fiction, especially fantasy short stories, since high school.  She is a published poet in a National Treasury of Poems Anthology, and wrote and directed a short play based on The Crucible which was performed in her high school.  M Norton is a long-time fantasy fiction fan, and especially has been influenced by such authors as J.R.R. Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey and Morgan Llywelyn. She has studied Celtic and Norse pre-Christian cultures for many years, and has used that knowledge in her writings.  M Norton is now retired, but is currently a Certified Therapeutic Musician who volunteers at a local hospital three days a week. Tara’s Journey is the first of a planned trilogy called ‘Tales of Eirlandia’, Tara’s story will continue in The Master Lifenstone and The Ruling Crowns.   

INTERVIEWER: Why did you choose to write a fantasy story? What makes it more interesting than any other genre?    

MARICLAIRE: I have always loved Fantasy to read. I read to escape, mostly, not to frightened, not to solve mysteries, etc.  Tara’s Journey started out as an Historical fiction; but there were era placement problems, so, in the end, I decided to make it a fantasy story placed on another planet so that I could set it were in time I wanted and bring in some magical/mystical elements

INTERVIEWER: Concerning fantasy novels, there is a general belief that they could be more entertaining than informative, and this genre could get more attention from kids than from adults or serious readers. What is your perspective on this?

MARICLAIRE: My novel leads heavily on years of research regarding Pre-Christian Irish and Norse cultures and mythos.  I believe in this way I can introduce readers to a world they may know little about while entertaining at the same time.  There is no reason why fantasy cannot also be educational as well as entertaining…look at the writings of Tolkien, one of the greatest fantasy writers of all time.

INTERVIEWER: Is there any reason behind introducing a strong female protagonist?   

MARICLAIRE: I have always felt that strong female leads are often missing in fantasy, often because there are more male writers than female in the genre.  This is changing, but I think it is good to see women in leadership roles like those of Tara and Maeve.  I have strong male characters also, so the males don’t get short-shift here.

INTERVIEWER: How do you look at feminism? 

MARICLAIRE: Honestly, it isn’t something I think about.  Females, long ago, were the leaders of their tribes in everything but hunting.  In some Native American tribes this is still true.  I think society needs to give females the same respect, the same money, etc. as males.  We are getting better, but still have ways to go. As I believe that no imagination is born out of emptiness and a fantasy story is subject to the imagination, as a reader, I am curious to know whether there was anything empirical that influenced you to come up with this plot.   Believe it or not this story started out as a role-playing game my then boyfriend (now husband) came up with to pass the time.  I played Tara, he Alaric, and as I mentioned before, it was originally a history thing and many of the characters, events, circumstances were different.

INTERVIEWER: When I read your book, I felt like I was lost in a different world with a strange life and language. Along with such a great imagination, I realised that you have done magic with the language you have used to set the realm of the story apart from reality. How did you see the role of innovative language and imagination in the creation of fantasy novels?  

MARICLAIRE: As a long time reader myself, I feel that fantasy languages allow the reader to become more fully engaged in the world.  My language use is sparing and is, to give away a secret, mostly just slight changes in spelling of normal English words and places.  For example, “Eirlandia” is based on the word “Eire” which is Gaelic for “Ireland”.

INTERVIEWER: You have stated that you draw influences from authors such as JRR Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Anne McCaffrey, and Morgan Llywelyn. How did they influence you to write the most inspiring fantasy fiction? Could you explain this in detail?

MARICLAIRE: All the above-mentioned authors were world-builders.  Morgan Llywelyn’s books are mostly historical fiction and heavily Celtic in origin.  She was the one who first introduced me to pagan Irish culture and it is she who deserves the most credit for setting me on the path of discovery that led, eventually, to Eirlandia.

INTERVIEWER: Since Tara’s Journey is the first book of a trilogy, can you share something about your forthcoming books, The Master Lifenstone and The Ruling Crowns with your readers?

MARICLAIRE: The Master Lifenstone will follow Tara II on her journey into the Forbidden Realm of Sidhera to retrieve the Master Lifenstone. It will also tell of Maeve’s experience as regent of Eirlandia while Tara is gone. The Ruling Crowns (whose title MAY change) will have Maeve questing for said crowns and her adventures and will also dive into Alaric2 and Tara II’s relationship and the final battle against their ancient enemy. I can’t say more than this without spoilers!

Click here to read the review of Mariclaire Norton’s book ‘Tara’s Journey