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Featured Novel: 'The First Pillar' (Everville, #1) by Roy Huff


Featured Novel: 'The First Pillar' (Everville, #1) by Roy Huff

Welcome to the rich world of Everville, a world from another dimension, and the primary setting of Roy Huff's latest young-adult epic fantasy novel The First Pillar, the first of the Everville series.Owen Sage is a college freshman at Easton Falls (Somewhere in New England) who discovers the world of Everville, and he has a great quest ahead: He must find a way to save the worlds of both dimensions from the dark forces that dwell in The Other in Between, the darkness forged between the two worlds. And to do that, he would have to join the race of Fron and The Keepers.

 

Interview with Roy Huff

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How did you develop the world of Everville? A significant portion of the novel is devoted to world creation, though I would say it as in depth as Middle Earth.My novel actually has a detailed explanation of the terrain, the realms, and the inhabitants of Everville. Everville is actually the underground center with 8 lands above. Across a portal there is a dark realm known as The Other In Between.That world is surrounded by a vast wasteland with 8 worlds surrounding it. There are other realms that connect the two.Each land or realm has its own characteristic and inhabitants. Some are populated by giants in massive underground. caverns, others have unique characteristics and are populated by vicious wild creatures. It sounds like "Good vs. Evil" is one of the themes of your novel. How do you explore this theme in your novel? Good vs. Evil is clearly a main plot driver in the story. While life can often be many shades of grey, it's nice to create a world where there is a clear villain and a hero. Not that there aren't shades of grey or character complexities within the story, but it's nice to have a hero that's worth rooting for and can be a canvass to create an ideal self.Are there other fantasy or sci-fi works that have influenced your writings?The book actually started as a college English paper. I received requests to turn in into a book. I started writing it slowly, then I finally decided to finish it late last year. I have many influences. I am a huge Trekkie. I have seen every single episode of every single series more than once as well as all the movies. I am a big lover of parallel worlds, time travel, dreams, alternate realities. I have 5 degrees in various fields and love all things sci-fi and fantasy related. I'm a big futurist.As to pure fantasy, I read the Prydain Chronicles in high school along with mostly non fiction science worlds related to physics, time travel, and various futuristic concepts. Movies and television have also played a huge part in my influence. I've seen just about every sci-fi movie and series out there.You said that you are fascinated with time travel and alternate realities. Was it challenging for you to create that aspect in your novel?  In this novel, time travel is less of an element to the story but there is an aspect of time involved. The other world and the portal between worlds are fantastical and the laws of physics are not strictly explained but are more metaphysical. Much of my background is probably seen more in the parts of the story where the main character, Owen Sage, spends in the earthly realm at the university where he is attending, Easton Falls. There is a lot of back story and character development before the climax. This requires some background understanding of various fields in order to give it a more believable tone.Do you believe that a lot of technology we see in sci-fi today would eventually become a reality?  I have no doubt that scifi tech will become science reality in the future. This is already coming to fruition in many regards. Cell phones, flat screens, and space travel were all once the creation of great science fiction minds. Science fiction will continue to be a creative driver behind actual innovation moving forward so long as we have science fiction writers willing to write.

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