It’s somewhat fitting that writing a fantasy novel became a decade-long quest for an Ellijay author. Fortunately, Ian Conrey persevered and is now enjoying the fruits of his literary labor.
Conrey’s self-published novel, Hælend’s Ballad, was released last November. The book, which took 10 years to complete and covers almost 800 pages, is a dark fantasy that wrestles with such themes as suffering and mortality.
“It deals with some of the deeper questions about life, but at the same time, I tried to make it entertaining. It’s big, but it moves at a fast pace. It’s very quick and to the point. It’s also (printed) in big font,” Conrey said. “It’s not inappropriate, but it is dark. It could be too much for some people and is not for the light of heart.”
The story concerns two countries at war and what happens when men and women from opposing cultures realize they may not be on the right side, the author explained.
“There’s a young orphan who is killed and comes back to life, but he’s haunted by these ghosts who tell him he’ll be the end of the world and the death of everyone he meets. It’s about how his life impacts everyone around him,” Conrey said.
Hælend’s Ballad is Conrey’s first book, and it was inspired by his love for true history and fantasy fiction, as well as his Christian faith.
“I’ve always loved history and authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and how they believed you could capture certain truths in stories of fiction and myth,” he said. “That was kind of the idea, being influenced by history and my own personal faith, as well as the power that stories have on people.”
Conrey said the novel blends the literary genres of dark fantasy and steampunk fiction, which uses elements of science fiction and Victorian literature to mix futuristic technology with historical settings.
“It has 18 points of view, including five main ones, and there’s a lot of main characters. One of the reasons I used multiple points of view was I felt like it really helps you see the humanity of both sides of the story — how the hero for somebody is often the villain for someone else,” he added.
Conrey, who previously taught history at North Georgia Christian Academy and now teaches government for a home school co-op, started out with a series of books in mind. That changed as the story progressed.
There were high and low points in the ample re-writing and editing needed to complete the book.
“I had written the first half to be the first book in a series. It was my first draft, and first drafts are hardly ever any good. I wrote the first half and realized it was terrible, then I let it sit,” he said. “I had to go back and write and re-write, then go to the editor, who (would) say, ‘This is great, but we need to work on this.’ You may think you’re done, but you’re never quite done.”
Fortunately, Conrey’s wife, Kara, and friends were willing to accompany the author on his quest, if only for a few pages at a time.
“I had quite a few friends in the Ellijay area who read drafts, as well as some very early bad versions,” he said. “My poor wife, I read it all out loud to her twice, so she had to endure that. But when you read it out loud, you catch so many things you need to go back and fix.”
Conrey said he loved writing Hælend’s Ballad, which is named for a scripture that’s key to the unfolding story.
“I connected with some of the characters tremendously, so to see their story arcs come out and see the conclusion was just huge,” he added.
Novel writing is something Conrey hopes to do more of, but it’s just one part of his own story. Along with teaching, writing and helping raise three kids, he’s also pursuing a Masters of Arts degree.
“I never get bored. I always have something I can do,” he said.
Conrey is also a freelance private detective who assists in human trafficking cases.
“‘It’s more of a ministry for me. I work on one case at a time and try to help out families and law enforcement,” he said.
The novel’s distributor has made it available at most major book stores, as well as from Amazon and Walmart, Conrey noted. Locally, copies can be found at Walls of Books in East Ellijay and a few downtown Ellijay shops.
In a short period of time, the book has been named an Amazon best-seller in two different categories and received a Literary Titan Award, which the Literary Titan website gives to best-reviewed books.
It’s also been entered in about a dozen contests this year, Conrey noted.
“We’ll see how that works out,” he said.
Conrey said he’s enjoyed meeting and hearing from people who’ve read the novel, and is looking forward to doing more book signings. He’s currently in the midst of a signing tour that started in January.
“Connecting with the readers and getting emails from people who’ve read the book has been one of the best parts. I love that. I heard from one guy who wrote eight pages of notes and wanted to talk to me about them. That’s really the fun part,” he said.