Martin Cahill

Welcome, friend! I am back today to chat with author, Martin Cahill, about his debut Fantasy novel, Audition for the Fox, that I raved about in my previous post. Enjoy the interview and let me know in the comments if you will be reading the book!

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Get to know the author: Martin Cahill

Hi Martin! Welcome to Armed with a Book. To start us off, can you introduce yourself to our readers?

Sure thing! Thanks so much for having me. My name is Martin Cahill and I’m a writer of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and everything in between. I’ve been writing for over half my life and have been professionally published for just a little over a decade at this point. Audition For The Fox is my debut book in addition to many published works of short fiction, IP work, and more. I’ve also been working in this business for just as long, most recently for Erewhon Books as their Marketing and Publicity Manager. I live in Westchester County with my wife in NY, I love to bake, run games for my friends, and I recently started grad school.  

Nesi has failed ninety-six auditions before calling upon T’sidaan, the Fox. What made you want to tell the story of an underdog who keeps trying despite failure?

I mean, the answer is in the question, you know? There’s so much story to someone who won’t quit, and trying to figure that out, seeing what led them to this place of radical tenacity, to me, is inherently interesting. And even then, this is an age of underdogs. We need them! We need them especially when they fail. There’s a lot in this world that will try to put you down and force you back in place, or carry you to a box they want you stuck in, and it helps to see stories where someone, despite everything against them, goes, “No, I’m not doing that, and I’m especially not doing it because you want me to!”

Who was the first Pillar Nesi ever auditioned for? Did you always know she’d end up with the Fox?

Hmm, honestly, knowing her and wanting to get the hard one out of the way, at least for her, I can only imagine the very awkward time between her and the Boar of Hate. Not that he hates her, he is just the embodiment of hatred, and so that was a very weird afternoon of this giant, god-like Princess Mononoke-type boar ripping his tusks out with an acolyte who really cannot bring herself to hate something. And yes, I had always planned for the Fox to be her god!

If Nesi hadn’t been chosen by the Fox, which other Pillar might she have turned to for her final audition?

To be honest, she probably would have met with the Serpent, panicked at them, and then leave, and then take her chances with the Lion of War. Who would at least have some kindness towards Nesi. 

The Wolfhounds of Zemin are such a terrifying presence in the story. What inspired their creation?

You know, the Wolfhounds just appeared as they were in the beginning and I gave them those names because it sounded cool and then after a moment, had the benefit of a name that most folks think of as a positive thing; wolfhounds are fiercely protective dogs against predators, especially wolves, and I thought it made for a chilling idea; the Wolf of Zemin has so corrupted that land and bent the people to his ideals that he’s made something protective and good into a symbol of his own violence.

What are the mythological roots of your story?

I mean, there’s a little bit of everything in here, you know? I don’t think I was drawing from one particular source, but there’s definitely a little bit of the Fae and rules of Faerie, there’s some of that dream logic and soft magic of Tolkien or Lewis, there’s rules of How Things Are Done that evokes ancient myth and religion, there’s Animism in that everything has some kind of spirit or ability to have a spirit, and there’s also like, Brian Jacques and Redwall with all these animals having such human hearts to them.  

How was the first draft different from the final story?

The first draft of the novella I think was much tighter, but also there was a certain lack of urgency, a certain missing factor that only was found and a balance struck upon the edits; Brent Lambert and Jaymee Goh, the former who helped work on it in its submission phase and the latter my editor with Tachyon, both contributed to a version of the story that felt more real, more lived-in, and therefore more engaging.

“Born of clay and clouds” is such a striking phrase. What does that mean in Nesi’s world?

Aw, thank you! It’s basically their version of “Once Upon A Time.” It’s explained in the book so I don’t want to spoil it, but in many ways, it is how the people of Oranoya begin a story, and place it in their history; the time before mankind and the time after. 

How do the Ninety-Nine Pillars of Heaven relate to one another?

They’re a family! A big, messy, weird, chaotic family and all that that entails. Not everyone gets along and not everyone likes each other, but it does mean that fundamentally you have a pantheon that mostly agrees on how the people of the world should be treated and cared for.

Recently, books like The Raven Scholar have popularized animal-god fantasies. Do you have a favorite trickster or animal deity from literature, folklore, or your own reading life?

Not a deity but the Fox at Worlds Beyond Number is a classic little scamp and was a constant delight and inspiration over the last few years as I revised and sharpened my own Fox’s voice. Fish slurry for everyone!

What does the bootstrap paradox mean in the context of Audition for the Fox?

It’s one of my favorite time travel paradoxes and for me it was a cool way to anchor AFTF in some world of science fiction and also express that yes, in this world of gods and magic, logic can and does appear, like wildflowers shooting through a break in the concrete. For Nesi, it also helped with characterization and motivation; maybe she always was responsible for this, and maybe she wasn’t, but she is NOW, and that’s what matters moving forward.

What was the most surprising thing you learned while writing Audition for the Fox?

I think to just be as weird as humanly possible. This industry does not reward playing it safe and it doesn’t reward swinging for the fences, so why not swing for the fences? This is a novella with five interludes, time travel paradoxes, dick jokes, more worldbuilding than you shake a stick at, and I had a blast writing it. And from what folks have been saying, I think that’s been resonating. It really is kind of its own thing, so why not try to be yourself?

If you could pick another Pillar to write a full adventure about, who would it be and why?

Hmm, I think after all the wiliness of the Fox, there is something to be said for a more direct approach. There is a Pillar who shows up towards the end of AFTF that I won’t spoil but who immediately came to life before me and whom I became immediately interested in. 

If you had to become an acolyte to one of the Pillars yourself, who would you choose?

Oh, Invy’thi, Caterpillar of Stories, one hundred percent. That’s my lil guy right there.

If T’sidaan, the Fox, were to grant you one trickster gift, what would you ask for?

I would love to have a stopwatch from them of a single hour of frozen time. I could use it once a day, just to get a little time back, a little more sleep, a little more daylight with someone I love. Not too much, an hour, but you’d be surprised at what can be done in sixty minutes.

Do you have a favourite quote or scene that you find yourself going back to?

I have a few answers here, but I just love the Fox and the Turtle story; that ending solidified the Fox’s character for me, and sort of the heart of this book in total. I let the book tell readers, but I hope it resonates with them.

Which of the Ninety-Nine Pillars do you think would give the best (or worst!) writing advice?

Best advice? Invy’thi, of course, but as a runner-up, I think the Swan of Love. Isn’t every story a love story?

Worst advice? Agi’uhn, Koala of Sleep. Hasn’t woken up in a few decades, and the worst part is, he’s a procrastinator. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Just that I’m so incredibly grateful for your time, your curiosity, and your kindness. And the time of our readers here, and all who pick up the book. This thing, this whole writing thing, doesn’t happen without you all. So, thank you <3

Thank you so much for spending time with me and letting readers peek behind the curtain of your creative world.

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Thanks for joining us! Add this book on Goodreads. It is available wherever books are sold! You can find my review here.

Learn more about Martin on his website.

Many thanks to Kasey at Tachyon Publications for coordinating this interview.