Welcome everybody to my stop for the another tour by the Storytellers on Tour – Phil Williams’ Under Ordshaw. This was supposed to be the launch party of the audiobook, however, COVID-19 has been causing hiccups on the audible side as well. That does not stop us from celebrating the hard work put into books and here we are! š Though I have not yet had a chance to read this book, my book blogger friend Ollie spoke highly of it (see his stop post here).
For my stop, I bring you an interview with Phil WIlliams, as well as an excerpt from the book! Let’s get to know Phil first. Phil Williams was born in the commuter-belt of Hertfordshire, where he learnt to escape a comfortable life through sinister fantasy fiction. He divides his time between writing educational books that help people better understand English and fantasy books that help people better escape reality.
He has two novel series – Ordshaw (featured today) and Estalia.
About Under Ordshaw and Writing
- I am new to the urban fantasy thriller genre. What inspired you to explore stories in this realm?
Iām always interested in drawing a thread between the utterly unreal and the ordinary or familiar. I suppose I see it as a challenge as to how believable and relevant I can make my mad little stories. That and a desire to explore the āwhat ifās that plague me when I see or hear things that arenāt quite right.
For example, I was regularly travelling on the Prague metro, seeing how weary people looked with the sparks of the line flashing through the window, when I got a central idea for Under Ordshaw. As a piece of everyday fantasy of my own, it demanded that contemporary setting to be realised.
- In your other series you have explored post-apocalyptic themes through steampunk. How do you balance writing such a variety of genres?
For me, story starts and ends with character, so Iām trying to create characters I enjoy spending time with, seeing how they interact and following their emotional journeys. To frame that in a plot, I crank up the mystery and peril, and the result, more often than not, is something that roughly resembles a thriller. That can vary depending on the emotional journey ā Iāve explored epic war stories, coming of age and others, but it all stems from the characterās journey.
I see the wider settings of speculative genres as background to that other central theme. So I jump from, say, Mad Maxesque apocalypse or a quiet British suburb, more for a desired aesthetic that fits the story Iām currently interested in telling, rather than me trying to write stories that fit the setting. If that answers the question, Iām not sure!
- What’s your go-to source for mythological research for your fantastical creatures?
Oh good question; in general I tell myself fantasy creatures are an opportunity to come up with something completely weird and new, but I imagine mine are more stolen than I realise. But my go-to for inspiration is probably obscure Wikipedia articles on ancient beasts: demons from old religions, folklore of small nations, unexplained mysteries; these areas offer gold mines of unusual things to explore. I donāt actively piece them together, but sometimes make lots of notes that I never look at again.
About the Audiobook
- Under Ordshaw will soon be available in audiobook format and that is what we are celebrating in this tour. Was this your first time adapting your book to audio format?Ā
I should start by saying that sadly, at the time of writing, the audiobook hasnāt *quite* come out; itās complete and was submitted but weāve been waiting on Amazon to Okay it for some time. Which is a tense game. But weāre doing all we can.
That aside- yes, this was my first adaptation, but hopefully the first in a path to very many! Weāre already recording Blue Angel (Book 2) and Iām starting to record my own non-fiction work.
- What is aspect of the audiobook experience excites you? Would you recommend the audio over the text format for any reason?
I would absolutely recommend it because it brings the characters to life. My narrator, Fran Burgoyne, really acts out the parts and it adds a new layer of texture to the story. Itās hard to overstate how much it means for me as an author to actually hear my characters speak. And as I tend to write fairly minimal dialogue markers, this sometimes came out in surprising ways when Fran chose directions I wasnāt expecting. The performed version does lock in a certain interpretation of the story, whereas when reading solo you might picture something a little different, but itās a tremendously fun interpretation!
Under Ordshaw Synopsis and Excerpt
Welcome to Ordshaw.
Don’t look down.
Pax is one rent cheque away from the unforgiving streets of Ordshaw. After her stash is stolen, her hunt for the thief unearths a book of nightmares and a string of killers, and she stands to lose much more than her home.
Thereās something lurking under her city.āØ āØ
Knowing itās there could get you killed.āØ āØ
This blend of urban fantasy and contemporary thriller takes you on a journey into the heart of Ordshaw, in the company of such richly imagined characters that you won’t want to leave.
Pax had not slept. Years of enduring poker games that stretched into oblivion had taught her you could always find a second wind if you waited long enough. Or a third, or fourth. Rather than struggle to rest, she studied Rufaizuās book while she waited for the Ministry offices to open. After reading about glogockles and surveying tunnel layouts, she decoded notes on other unnatural creatures, taking satisfaction in solving the puzzles. She decoded the headings for The Drummer Horse, Invisible Proclaimers, and Tuckles before focusing on the entry for the Sickle in detail. Its image was a thing of nightmares, a humanoid torso atop four canine legs, with long, curved claws instead of hands. Its face had no eyes, just a jagged-toothed jawline that ran from top to bottom rather than left to right. The short misspelt paragraph curating it gave her the idea that Apothel was not exactly a scholar.
Sickles patrol on set lines. Strongest sense is touch; they look for vibrashans from movement. No eyes, no nose, no ears. Stay still and quiet, they mite not know your there. If cornered by a sickle, get the back legs, they lose balance easy. Sickles are very fast. Teef and claws rip flesh. Avoid ā do not fite.
In the margin she found a clue to another personās involvement in this strange enterprise. A triumphant addendum read: Tell that to Citizen Barton!
Pax leafed through the book, looking for other names. She reached a long section with no images and a single solitary note in the margin: Probably inaccurate. She translated the title, Layer Fae. One to come back to. Following that was a list, with pictures of different containers: jars, cylinders and an elaborate flagon that gave Pax a yearning for a medieval banquet. Nothing like the object sheād taken from Rufaizuās place, though.
Continuing, she found a couple of pages stuck together and peeled them apart. She hadnāt seen this one before, when sheād been looking for clues to the cypher. The image made Pax pause.
A full-page sketch depicted the insignia from Casariaās business card. There were symbols around it, passionately thick and underlined. It seemed Rufaizu, if the annotations were really his, wanted whoever found this book to know what this page had to say, because heād already translated each block of text in small lettering:
Do not trust the Ministry of Environmental Energy.
āJesus Christ,ā Pax said. She turned the page, but there was no more information. The book devolved into the half-dozen pages of short riddles, then, with their scattered words around them. Apparently Rufaizu had been trying to solve them.
And there ended the book.
Pax sat back and stared at the leather-bound tome. It was pure fantasy, except that it had thrown doubt on her plan of getting in touch with the Ministry.
Thanks for stopping by! You can connect with Phil on Twitter, Facebook. Goodreads or his website.
**Ā Under OrdshawĀ is now out. Keep an eye out on Audible for the audiobook release in coming days. **
Amazon Kindle
Book Depository
Be sure to see the full tour schedule here and stop at the other blogs!
Cover image: Photo by Fabrizio Conti on Unsplash
This sounds awesome! Iām definitely a fan of obscure faery tales and small nation folklore!
Thanks Neri, I hope it’ll be up your street!