Keith was born in Sydney, Australia. Writing fast-paced action in both the contemporary and heroic fantasy fields is his passion.
What’s your favourite band?
I refuse to pick only one, so here is my top 6 in no particular order:
Breaking Benjamin, Seether, Papa Roach, Poets of the Fall, Shinedown, Fish!
Your favourite book?
Ooh, I can see through you, you hate me that’s why you ask these questions, right? I’m going to go for the Yarnsworld series by Benedict Patrick. And yes, I’m cheating. Again. Sue me 😛
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you go? (If you wanted to leave Hungary, that is)
I’d try out Japan for a while. That country intrigues me, but I don’t think I could stay there long. California is another place I can imagine living for a while, but I’d miss Europe. So that lives me with either Italy or the UK. Italy has a nice climate, and I rather like Italian food as well as their landscapes. In the UK I have a few friends and it would be a nice change to live in a place where I actually have friends.
Summer or Winter?
Umm… neither? Summer is too hot, winter is too cold. I prefer spring and autumn. Where I can wear anything I fancy at any given day without dying from cold/warm.
Which genre do you prefer to read?
I read fantasy in the first place, but I like historical fiction too – I have a degree in History so go figure.
What are you currently writing?
Right now? Answers to your questions 😉 Seriously though, I’m working on a short story with the working title of InkFeather. It’s going to be a mystery with a tinge of fantasy. Ben Kingsley detective is trying to solve a mysterious serial murder case, where his only lead is a tattoo of a feather on every victim. Gabriel Hawkins is the lead singer of an upcoming band with a hard childhood behind his back. The question is: what connects them? Where is the line between good and evil, fantasy and reality? If there is one…
When do you anticipate it will be available?
Err… Hopefully I’ll get it done this year. I’m currently translating the first draft and have a lot on my plate so writing is a bit sidelined. But I’m determined to get it done by the end of the year. Someone feel free to kick my ass and make me work on it, because I’ll probably need it, lol.
Do you prefer writing in Hungarian or English?
Good question. Up to this point I wrote everything in Hungarian. I mostly used English to communicate online – before my blog, that is. I didn’t know if my English was good enough for writing. Now I’m more confident in my abilities and sadly use English more than Hungarian – except when it comes to speaking, obviously. It’s a bittersweet thing, because I love Hungarian it’s a beautiful and rich language, and sometimes it feels like I’m losing it more and more everyday as English slowly becomes more prominent in my everyday life. And I hate that, because I still can’t express myself exactly the way I want – mostly because Hungarian is more complex and my brain was trained with that language – and honestly, nothing beats your mother tongue. On the other hand, I often find myself mixing the languages – in some cases I can express things better in English, in other cases in Hungarian. And of course words and phrases always pop up in my head in the other language than I’m trying to write in at the time. I don’t want to give up Hungarian, but in the future I think it’ll be more convenient for me to write in English from the first draft – saving me time and energy if I don’t have to translate.
Favourite food?
I’m not really crazy for food. But if it comes to me, you can’t go wrong with Bolognese Spaghetti or Pizza. Apparently I like Italian food.
Would you prefer to own a dragon or a pet demon? Why? Or, I suppose, a pet angel I guess (although that might not be as much fun?)
Ugh, a tough one. Angels can be pretty badass, so don’t write them down! Although, admittedly, they don’t have free will. But then that makes them obedient. A pet demon could be fun, we’d wreak some havoc. A pet dragon sounds really cool, but it would require a lot of place which I don’t have, and a shitload of supply to feed him which would cost a lot. And I shouldn’t be trusted to take care about another creature. Anyway, I think I’ll pick the demon, my life is too boring, I need some fun.
If you could live in any fictional world, which would it be and why?
That’s a really unfair question, as I mostly read dark fantasy… and while I LOVE reading about them, living there would be another matter alltogether. In the end I would still pick the Wizarding World as it’s a modern one with all the comforts but with magic. You really can’t beat that. Sure, there is Voldemort, but hey, all world needs some bad guys and I’m no Harry Potter so I don’t have much to fear.
What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
Oh, I have quite a few plans…
April: One of my favorite bands comes to Budapest, Poets of the Fall, I’m hoping to score an interview with them *fingers crossed*
May: My cousin’s wedding and I’m going to see my favorite Hungarian band
June: Halestorm, Three Days Grace and Disturbed concerts
July: A friend of mine probably will come to Budapest for a visit, also thinking about seeing Black Stone Cherry
August: I’m heading to Dublin for the WorldCon! Anyone is welcome to come say hi to me as I’ll be too nervous to do it myself.
October: I’m not sure yet, but BristolCon is in the plans for now
November: Another friend of mine will visit Europe, so we discussed meeting up in Vienna so I could finally see a panda! Vienna Zoo has one and although I don’t live far from it, I just never had the chance to pop over – okay, I did, but other plans always got in the way.
If you’d like to get in contact with Keith McArdle, you can find him on social media:
Check out The Reckoning, the first book of The Unforseen series or his SPFBO4 entry, the Fallen Empire, first book of the Ironstone Saga!
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