More Than Alive: Death of an Idol was published on June 22. Set in Japan and with anime-influenced tropes and themes from within Japanese culture, this is a major departure from your previous books. How did that happen?
One of the problems with modern-day literature is that so many writers are drawing upon virtual, rather than personal, experiences. There are two many "Google explorers" and not enough people like Hemingway and Twain. My first book, The Shadow That Endures, was a result of time spent driving around England and Scotland while A Habit of Resistance was the result of decades spent with family, and neighbors who fought in the Second World War. More Than Alive required sixteen years of puttering about in Japan, including having an actual address the last four. I don't believe in writing stories that someone else could have written. Lately, I've noticed a trend where writers are using Japan as a backdrop due to a general interest in the culture. That’s not a problem, but there is something beneficial about being an actual part of a community and having the time to naturally gain experiences that then coalesce in a story with personal meaning.
Many readers might be surprised at my departure from European literature, and I probably shouldn't have recently watched that Bob Dylan documentary, where everyone screams at him for plugging in his guitar. I hope everyone understands that there is still a consistency about my work and the only curiosity is that I avoided drawing upon my experiences in Japan for so long. Early-morning strolls in Zen temples, conversations with elderly neighbors, and ghostly encounters in the Higashiyama Hills near my Meiji-era house where the rain lightly patters upon the roof tiles. All of these images germinated within my creative consciousness until the breakwaters could no longer hold back their force.It's risky to do something creatively different than what people might expect, but David Bowie—who also loved Kyoto—said that is how you know you are on the right path.
You say, rather tantalizingly, that the house "has generated a wealth of experiences that helped form the basis for my latest book." What sort of experiences?
It may not be glamorous trying to figure out Kyoto's residential trash rules, still, every once in a while, you wander down a creative road those who stayed at home could never have imagined. In More Than Alive, Alice—our protagonist—has to become a Jpop idol to complete her mission. The first time I met a Jpop idol was entirely by accident. I was at an Osaka theme park and decided to get into line outside a souvenir shop. I've often gotten into such undefined lines in Japan, only to find it was for a seasonal sweet, or something interesting. When I got to the front, however, I found myself face-to-face with two members of a popular idol group called AKB48. At the time, they were rather like Japan's Beatles with around a dozen number one hits. We looked at each other in utter bewilderment. They seemed pleased to see a foreigner, who they assumed was their fan, but their handler ushered me onward before I had time to ask any questions or absorb what had happened. Unknowingly, I had entered a sort of handshake event, although this was more of a merchandise hand-over where they presented you with your purchase. In the years that followed, I would run into other idol groups at the local mall, and I slowly began to understand the rules that governed their subculture, some of which were very curious. In the book, I describe idols as "Japan's vestal virgins" because, from a Western perspective, that is a cultural touchstone I understand. In More Than Alive I use the Japanese music industry—and idols in particular—as an analogy of how Hollywood treats those who pass through its pearly gates. That's what immersing yourself in a different environment should do for a writer, provide you with a new context in which to examine your own life.
The novel deals with the afterlife, ghosts, and demons, but from a Japanese perspective. What differences can readers expect from the ghostly and demonic traditions of the West?
Anyone with an interest in the supernatural will enjoy More Than Alive, especially if they want to learn about the similarities and differences between such cultural traditions. I draw upon both Western and Eastern traditions in the book, and what is interesting is how naturally they co-mingle, which might be revealing in and of itself. Because it can be challenging to learn about Japanese supernatural folklore, More Than Alive provides a painless way to ease into the subject. Characters, such as kappa, oni, and devils—such as agyo and ugyo—all make appearances. Oni, which are a kind of demon-ogre, especially play a central part in the story. Alice, our protagonist, uses a traditional way of fighting oni, which I would have never learned had it not been for my time at Setsubun events in Kyoto.
Could you tell us about your stunning cover art, and your protagonist, Alice Suzuki?
The cover takes place at Inari Shrine, its torii gates just barely visible in the background, where I often take morning walks before the tourists arrive. On one occasion, I decided to take a friend who was visiting from out of town to hike beneath its torii gates after dark. Little did I realize that it was one of the most haunted sites in Japan. The first sign of trouble was when my friend began to point out a woman who fed cats. The only issue was that she kept randomly appearing in multiple spots along the trail. Ominously, the sound of snorting wild boar followed us as we climbed beneath spiderwebs that seemed to reach down to snatch us. At one point, my friend decided he had enough. I tried to help guide us down an unlit path where the torii gates had concluded, believing it would lead us back to civilization. Something was wrong, though. The shadows seemed without end, like a vortex to another world. Sensing something, in the pit of his stomach, my friend refused to go even one more step, something he has never done in the decades I have known him. No matter how much I implored him, he refused to budge. Finally, I acquiesced, and we backtracked. To this day, he is convinced that he saved me from being compelled into the world beyond. After I got home, I decided to see if there was anything to what he was saying. I was surprised to discover many local stories of people who had lost friends while visiting Inari Shrine at night. I haven't been back after dark, since.
Alice Suzuki is pictured on the cover as a ghostly maiko, an apprentice geisha, which is how she appears whenever she harvests a soul. Having recently died, she has been recruited to serve as a type of psychopomp that collects souls, but rather a specialized one. The kind of psychopomp who works at hospitals and battlefields is called a "buzzard," but she is of a higher rank that often has to solve a mystery before she can collect her target. The ward in Kyoto, where my house is located, is rather famous for geisha, so I've had the opportunity to learn quite a bit about their culture. Over the years, there have been many personal encounters, such as having them perform at my birthday or merely talking with them at local festivals. Just as they are apprentice geisha, Alice is an apprentice psychopomp. One of the changes I had to make to the cover was that Alice's kimono was originally drawn left over right, but the dead wear it right over left. Alice, while technically not a ghost, is recently deceased and so she wears her kimono as if prepared for burial. Also, she has a triangle on her forehead, which is often seen in illustrations of Japanese ghosts and is another clue that she is in a supernatural form. This piece of cloth is sometimes called the tenkan, or heaven's crown, to show that one has passed on from the world of the living.
It's fair to say that your first two novels, A Habit of Resistance and The Shadow that Endures, are completely different. But there is a Sci-fi and Fantasy theme to them all (in a sense). Why is that?
Exactly. Art that is strictly materialist lacks weight and universality. The tension between our material world, and the spiritual one, is what makes our existence interesting. The old masters understood this, and it is why their art endures throughout the ages. Even in A Habit of Resistance, which is set in WWII, there is a moment that is either supernatural or happenstance, depending on your perspective. It's one of the funniest moments in the story, and I'm not sure I'll ever successfully pull off anything like it again.
As part of your bio, you mention your many years working behind the scenes at ABC/Disney, Inc., where you worked on some iconic shows. Please can you tell us something about that earlier part of your career, and how it has fed into your work as a writer.
The job I had at ABC, as a network suit giving notes, was far from creative (well, occasionally I had to pitch a joke or line of dialogue to solve a problem), but it gave me the opportunity to spend a decade and a half on the set with the type of talented writers and producers who perhaps don't exist anymore. I think of it as going to both Harvard and Yale for story structure and comedic timing. Because you have such a limited amount of time per episode, it greatly influenced my writing pace. I like to say that I write 500-page novels that are only 300 pages. In television, there isn't room for anything that fails to move the plot or character arcs forward. Wasting five pages telling people about fly fishing, just because it coincidentally happens to be your new hobby, isn’t something that happens in television. This outlook contributes to a tighter narrative structure while respecting the reader's time.
Many of the shows I worked on weren't fully appreciated when they first aired, especially the TGIF shows (Boy Meets World, Family Matters, Full House, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch). Still, some of them are now being remade for a new generation. I especially gained valuable experience from my time on the set of Home Improvement and My Wife and Kids, where there was a real spirit of family and collaboration. Eventually, the network asked me to serve as a judge for its writing development program. Inspired by a quadriplegic writer that I mentored, this led to further contributions within the special needs community. After I left the network, I eventually transitioned to being a full-time professional writer.
And humour. An important influence and an important part of your style, which brings me to A Habit of Resistance, a story about nuns who join the French Resistance – a story with a historical foundation. How difficult was it to strike a balance between humour and the dark historical situation?
Without my time in television, it would have been impossible. That's what I mean about writing stories only you could write. My family has an intimate history with WWII, so I'm well-aware of its sensitivities. In television, you also have to be aware of where the line is both legally and from the expectations of the audience. Most writers would have either gone off into parody or failed to realize that humor can be an honest way to process the horrors inherent to the human experience. I've seen several fairly good attempts recently, but they always step over the line in a couple of spots. I was influenced by Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator, and Casablanca, but I'm proud to have produced a unique work that continues to grow in popularity.
How did you research More Than Alive? And what is its enduring appeal?
Fantastic stories endure because they offer something relevant to say about the human experience while allowing us a respite. Using immortal beings to examine our existence’s seemingly temporal nature is a common theme throughout my work. What I've done in my latest book is use Virtual Reality as a way of examining what it means for us to think of our world as being "real." If all solid matter can be reduced to nothing—when you break down the base parts of an atom down to the spaces between its electrons—it makes you wonder if a chair in our world has any more meaning than one in a video game. Ultimately they are both reflections of light, off of rapidly moving electrons, that can be broken down to nothing. These are the sorts of questions I ask in More Than Alive that will give it enduring appeal. What is the nature of reality, and how should it affect our perception of life and death. These are universal issues that are too readily ignored in our era of click-bait and hashtags. That said, I went to a great deal of effort to make the story as easily enjoyable as possible. There is no benefit in examining such constructs if the story contains too much friction to even be approached.
Your first book, The Shadow that Endures, was influenced by time spent traveling in England, and by reading the work of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Why do you think two such quintessentially English writers who lived a comfortable life as Oxford Dons have had such an extensive and enduring impact?
Interestingly, while intellectuals, they also had real-world experience upon which to draw. Tolkien was influenced by his experiences in WWI when he wrote the Lord of the Rings. There is nothing wrong with being ensconced in academia, as long as you have the experiences through to process through its disciplines. Two stints in graduate school has helped me appreciate the ways in which Tolkien and C.S. Lewis might have benefited from such an approach. Also, they have taught me not to exist in isolation as a writer—as is my inclination—which is why I joined Writers In Kyoto.
Talking about The Shadow that Endures, you say, "One of the constructs, within the novel, is the possibility that God uses a many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics as a way of resolving free will versus predestination." Please can you tell us more about this?
A many-worlds solution allows God to select the "base reality" while allowing for free will. Free will is essential because, without it, real love is impossible; however, it also introduces the problem of evil. God's existence would seem to be its own argument for predestination, as the highest possible being would certainly want to select their vision for reality. This is why so many people struggle with the issue of free will, even if they don't understand the philosophical doctrines. A many-worlds approach allows God to allow for free will while selecting the base reality of choice, as all possible outcomes occur. To those who postulate that we live in a simulation, this is not so different a solution in that God serves as the master programmer, with the beta realities simply discarded as unnecessary code. This formed the philosophical foundation of The Shadow That Endures.
What are you working on at present, and what do you plan to write next?
As for fictional work, I am mapping out the sequel for More Than Alive: Death of an Idol, but the demand will have to exist to justify it. I have already set up the foundation for the sequel within the first book, and I had an experience with an android deity (the temporary inclusion of this robot at Kodaiji temple was widely reported) that would serve as its inspiration. I've also written a series of seasonal poems about Kyoto that are being turned into a Japanese lantern. Currently, I'm calling it the Reiwa Lantern, and it is being made in collaboration with two other well-known Kyoto artists (an accomplished calligrapher and a friend who is a lantern maker). My hope is that this unique poetry lantern will be displayed somewhere within the city of Kyoto.
You have mentioned Tolkien and C.S. Lewis as influences, but you also talk about the serious purpose behind books like Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. Why are these writers important to you, and what other books have influenced you?
Well, Jonathan Swift wrote about the "real" world versus the one that exists within your perspective, themes common to my work. For example, in Gulliver's Travels, the reality of one's size is a matter of perspective, as is what you consider the most valuable attribute of a society (for example, the Laputans value the cerebral but are unable to perform a real-world task like making a properly-fitting suit). These three writers have all influenced me in that they successfully make difficult concepts entertaining. To create fiction, of actual weight, that is simultaneously accessible and entertaining is a dying art. Too many modern writers simply resort to repeating the talking points of those whose favor they wish to curry, in a vain attempt to imbue their work with meaning. This leaves any meaning feeling tacked on rather than part of its core structure and is actually a strategy, not art. It takes inspiration, and intellectual rigor, to bring a new thought into the universe, but that is what makes literature special. If speculative fiction is not to be drowned out by Hollywood's special effects, it will be because it moves human enlightenment forward. As lazy as most popular entertainment has become, this particular moment in history represents an opportunity for those of us in literary fiction to lead the way in both entertainment and intellectual enrichment.
You mention that you love writing music and photography. Can you tell us more about this, and also what music you listen to?
I'm not sure if it's an original thought, but I've decided to issue a collection of original music connected to my novels. It will be available on iTunes and all the other digital streaming sources sometime in the fall. Whenever I have a book trailer, I always write and record the music, and this has made me wonder if it might be a way to distinguish myself from other authors. I have also thought that a musical version of A Habit of Resistance would be something I would like to see, and I have a few songs that are intended to serve such a project, should the opportunity ever arise. Lately, I'm listening to a lot of Japanese music, as immersion furthers my comprehension of the language. Right now, I am listening to Utada Hikaru, whom Western audiences might know from her work on the Final Fantasy series.
Photography started as a way of preserving my memories, but developing your sense of ascetics is also helpful as a writer. I take a very hands-on approach to my book covers, and any artist who has worked with me can tell you that I am very patient, but I will also produce multiple emails on the exact position and form of a slice of cake. That is actually a true story from one of the illustrations in my new book
Your three novels to date seem quite different. Is there an underlying thread or theme that links them?
They are all speculative fiction about our notion of reality with an underlining theme of redemption. I have placed many touchpoints within the stories to underline their connection, the most obvious being the poem in More Than Alive, which is called "The Shadow That Endures." Also, there is a puppet analogy found in all three books as a reference to free will. Then there is the image of the dragon, which appears on a scroll in More Than Alive, and is a callback to my first novel. There are so many such intentional cross-references that I am thinking about issuing the three books as a combined work, but I haven't made a firm decision. Perhaps these common themes will simply continue to materialize, as with Dali and his clocks.
All three books speculate about our reality, with just enough logic that what they propose might actually be true. The Shadow That Endures asks, "What if this is a multi-world universe? Could fantasy actually be reality somewhere?" A Habit of Resistance asks, "What if a group of nuns joined the French Resistance because it was the most moral choice?" Lastly, More Than Alive: Death of an Idol speculates, "What will our future look like if technology erases the lines between what is material, supernatural, and fiction?"
I'd like to encourage anyone interested in such questions to join me on this journey to examine the meaning of our existence through fiction. I'm looking for readers who have an open mind and imagination. Won't you please support me in my search, which will often lead to dead ends and mistakes, but ultimately might conclude in enlightenment? Thank you for your time, and I look forward to counting you among my readers.
About Fernando Torres
Humorous stories, that explore complex moral dilemmas, are what define this author's mission. From his first novel, The Shadow That Endures, Fernando Torres learned the foundations of world building and developed his fast-paced interweaving storyline structure. His second novel, A Habit of Resistance, became a best-seller and was at the very start of the French Resistance literary revival. After setting down roots in Kyoto, Japan, Fernando began to write about his experiences there, which led to his third novel, More Than Alive: Death of an Idol. Early in his media career, Fernando Torres created the definitive definition of media interactivity. At ABC/Disney, Inc., he worked behind the scenes on such shows as Boy Meets World, Family Matters, Grace Under Fire, Home Improvement, My Wife and Kids, and the Power Rangers. Influenced by many of his generation's most talented writers and producers, Fernando Torres' style developed a light, humorous edge that continues to influence his writing to this day. During his time at ABC/Disney, Inc., he participated as a judge and mentor in the writing development program, which inspired additional contributions in education. Many of his stories are inspired by his travels, though he has more permanent roots in the United States and Japan. An instrument-rated pilot, he also enjoys writing music and photography.
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