Author Q&A with Andrew McDowell

Author Q&A with Andrew McDowell

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Andrew McDowell became interested in writing at age eleven, inspired by childhood passions for stories and make-believe. By the time he was thirteen, he knew he wanted to be a writer.

Andrew studied History and English at St. Mary’s College, and Library & Information Science at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is a member of the Maryland Writers’ Association.

1. Tells us about your writing/ published book(s)

Mystical Greenwood, published by Mockingbird Lane Press, is a young adult high fantasy novel, intended to be the first of three in a trilogy, One with Nature. It’s a story about a teenage boy named Dermot who’s drawn into an epic conflict of good vs. evil after he encounters a gryphon and a healer. The only hope for his homeland against the will of a wicked wizard is for an ancient coven of sorcerers to reunite. Dermot discovers something sacred and magical within the forests he travels through, and in the process discovers his own role in the conflict may be more vital than he thought.

Mystical Greenwood was a finalist in the 2019 American Fiction Awards for Fantasy: Epic/High Fantasy, sponsored by American Book Fest. I’ve also had poems, short stories, and a creative nonfiction essay published in magazines and anthologies. The aforementioned essay, which was about my experiences with Asperger Syndrome, won second prize in the creative nonfiction category of a contest hosted by the Maryland Writers’ Association some years ago. The most recent of these were poetry and short stories in two anthologies from Fae Corps Inc, respectively titled Fae Dreams and Madness Echoes (the second book in the anthology trilogy Nightmare Whispers).

2. How do you approach starting a new book?

In terms of plotting vs. pantsing, I am more of a pantser than a plotter, but usually there is some plotting/brainstorming before I start. I haven’t written that many books yet, but I certainly have a number of “starting” ideas that I’d like to expand upon eventually. Usually I’d like to think about genre first and/or the type of story I’d like to tell. These “starting” ideas have chiefly come from various things that have interested or fascinated me at different times in my life.

3. Do write under a pen name? If so, tell us about how you chose it

No. I considered it for a while, and came up with many different possibilities. I even toyed with creating a “writer’s name”—what I refer to as my real name but different ways to write it using initials, full name, etc. Ultimately, I decided to just go with my first and last name because I felt I really didn’t need a pen name. And people already knew me as a writer by my real name. That doesn’t mean that I might use one for something in the future, but I can’t say that for sure.

4. How do you choose your book’s title(s)?

I try to consider the story overall and choose something that represents it in that regard, and I would like for my titles to be symbolic in a way if I can, depending on the story. In the case of Mystical Greenwood, I was trying to think of something that would represent the themes about Nature and also the forests, but I also wanted something more unique than just ‘Magic Forest’ or ‘Enchanted Forest’. The word ‘greenwood’ first came to mind, and then one night ‘mystical’ came too, as it sounded better, and a little more unique, with ‘greenwood’ than ‘magical’. And in the end, I knew I’d chosen a good title when I discovered it was the first result in an Internet search. A previous working title, Beyond the Forest, survived as the name of a song in the book.

5. Do you do research for your books? If so, what kind of research?

Yes. I do all kinds of research. I look in many places, from books to the Internet to documentaries. Research is vital for worldbuilding, and story and character development, no matter the genre. But I always try to remember the story and genre when I do research. And I look back at my own personal experiences and interests to see which would fit well with what I’ve found in my research.

6. Would you want your book made into a film?

Only if I have a considerable say in who and how it is adapted. I would want to make sure the film remained extremely faithful.

Where can you find Andrew?

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