Interview with Lance Horsman, Author of Bad Medicine
06 Dec 2023
What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Bad Medicine?
I wanted to write about themes of Found Family, forgiveness and our assumptions around what is good and evil. I think these are important questions, and believe that fantasy is a great mechanism to investigate our underlying belief-systems. I also had an idea about a magic system that involved the combination of matter and time, and so included that in Bad Medicine as the tool for how Magic works.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Bad Medicine, what would they be?
Eddie – Immigrant song – Led Zepplin, Becca – – Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mathilda – Straight Outta Compton – N.W.A, Sko – “I saw the light”, and The Odelia – Volare – Dean Martin
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
Yes – Fantasy and sci-fi are my favourite, hands down… but I will read anything that is interesting or well written!
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
Shantaram by Gregory Roberts and An inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
The fight scene in the department store was absolutely the most fun I had whilst writing Bad Medicine! It’s got rocket launchers, demon possession, ancient Irish magic, Davey Crocket’s knife from the Alamo, personal realisations in the midst of chaos, fire mages… it’s a smorgasbord of intense action, and was really fun to write!
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
I need to start writing with a cup of tea. (Writers are, after all, the vanguard of civilisation, and so we should set the standard! What is life when we can’t start important tasks with a cup of tea?)
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
“Take all the wins.” I say it often to myself. Being a bit of a perfectionist, it’s easy to focus on the negative or dwell on what’s not right so I can strive to fix it. This can be very productive at times, but it also means that I don’t always acknowledge the amazing things that are happening around me at any point in time. By reminding myself to ‘Take all the wins’, it helps me to take time to smell the roses and acknowledge all the good things in my life.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
Find your tribe, and hold onto them tightly!
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