You are often compared to J.K. Rowling. Do you wish to break free from this?Learn more about the book and author at Lev Grossman's website and The Magicians website.
No, that connection is one that I invited semi-explicitly in The Magicians, so I’m the last person who should complain about it. Rowling might want to get rid of it, if she’s even aware of who I am, but I enjoy thinking of myself as being part of the tradition that she’s in, so it’s certainly not something I discourage.
Your fantasy characters are grounded in reality. When you go about your regular day, do you see magic in everyday little things?
The thing I note about magic is its complete absence from reality. The novelists who are most important to me – they’re fantasy novelists but also the modernists. Woolf in particular, Joyce, Hemingway, Fitzgerald. These really meticulous, moment-to-moment observers of reality. They’re at least half of where my inspiration comes from and who I think of as my influences. I most often begin with a fantastical scene and then try to think about how it would actually play out in reality. If you’re casting a spell, what does it feel like? Do your fingertips get hot? Is there a certain smell in the air from magic? What does it sound like, what kind of light does it cast, what sorts of shadows? How long does it take? I sort of picture a fantastical scene, then try to observe it the way...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: The Magicians.
--Marshal Zeringue