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V.J. Mortimer
I was born in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland but as age has advanced the exact date is now unknown. At 7 months old I emigrated to New Zealand with my family though oddly I don’t seem to have an...view moreI was born in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland but as age has advanced the exact date is now unknown. At 7 months old I emigrated to New Zealand with my family though oddly I don’t seem to have any memories of the move.
Being Irish has coloured my life and memories as well as my hair (red when I had it). As a result my first book, Azraels Twins, is steeped in Irish mythology and folklore though the mixture is tinted with a New Zealand upbringing.
A particularly bad encounter with an Accountant was the catalyst for my first foray into story telling though I would never claim to be producing literature. My work is impacted by far too many re-readings of Douglas Adams works, Tolkien (for the dramatic fantasy world), Terry Pratchett (for laughingly implausible but unfortunately prescient fantasy), Stephen King (for disturbingly eccentric fantasy – The Dark Tower especially), and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series (for never-ending and neurotically compelling fantasy). Gibson, Hienlen, and Hinz continue to paint an alphabetical picture of a sci-fi and fantasy induced imagination while Dan Simmons influence rounds out the picture of this writer as a not so young man.
Living through the Christchurch earthquakes has taught me a thing or two about resilience and stickability – good traits to employ when writing a novel. Somehow I’ve managed to fit in writing around 4 shake induced shifts of house in 18 months, 2 children, an enthusiastic Labrador (is there any other kind?), a full time non-writing career, and a wonderful partner. Life in a resurgent post-quake city is proving challenging and exciting for the Mortimer clan but there is no place in the world we would rather be right now.
Back in the days when I used to have knees I managed to fit in a raft of sports, culminating in completing 5 Ironman distance triathlons which I raced in between 1993 and 2008. I find writing slightly more restful than training for Ironman’s so will almost certainly finish another novel before I finish another Ironman.
I am currently working on the second novel in the Azrael’s Twins series but, as I agree with Douglas Adams that time is an illusion and lunchtime doubly so, the actual date of arrival for book two will remain one of life’s great mysteries.view less