At AuthorsWiki, we are delighted to connect with Lyn McGinnis, an author from Ontario, Canada, whose decades-long journey of exploration, reading, travel, art, and imagination has culminated in the creation of an extraordinary fictional world.
Lyn McGinnis is the creator of the Anu Awakes Series, an ambitious eight-book epic fantasy series set on the Planet Anu. Their latest work, Dalinantu Emergence, is the third novel in the series, following Hesha Vira’s Challenge and Amarel Mountain.
The world of Anu has been decades in the making. Influenced in part by literary classics such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Frank Herbert’s Dune, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, Lyn has developed a richly imagined universe shaped by utopian ideas, distinct species, evolving societies, and the profound workings of the Tatchlan System.
Their creative journey also draws from a lifetime of travel and exploration. Experiences ranging from climbing the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico to witnessing sunsets over Istanbul and celebrating the New Year at Bangkok’s Temple of the Emerald Buddha became part of the “inner chamber” from which the world of Anu eventually emerged.
In this exclusive AuthorsWiki interview, Lyn McGinnis takes us behind the creation of Planet Anu, discusses the decades-long development of the Anu Awakes Series, shares their writing process and literary influences, and explains their desire to explore utopian fiction in a literary landscape often dominated by dystopian stories.
AuthorsWiki: Apart from writing, what is your occupation for livelihood?
Lyn McGinnis: I am a PSW (Personal Service Worker) for someone with cerebral palsy.
AuthorsWiki: Tell us something about your first book.
Lyn McGinnis: The first novel of the Anu Awakes Series is titled Hesha Vira’s Challenge. On a distant planet named Anu, three narratives emerge from a world in transition. One is Sinkin, a member of a defeated quadruped species known as the Suvuka. They had mounted a war of aggression, only to be repulsed by the Tolku. The Suvuka are now confined to a small portion of their home continent.
Sinkin is a youth beginning a rite of passage into adulthood that involves running with a few members of his herd over a long course culminating in a difficult challenge. The other two narratives follow members of the species that defeated the Suvuka but are themselves divided against each other.
One is a Tolku youth named Seti, a waif picked up by a merchant ship because he claims he can speak to the invisible spirits of the old religion and read dreams. While he is extraordinary in many ways, he also suffers from delusions. The other is a young Tolku woman named Shuna-Shapta, who lives in the new force’s seat of power. She studies to become an Invocate, able to travel within the “Skin of Anu” and work within the Tatchlan System. She and her community of Masters face a rebellion from within Tatchlan itself.
These three disparate characters lead their respective associates across the planet towards unlikely meetings with one another, as the fate of the future is determined. The second novel of the series, Amarel Mountain, is publicly available. The third novel, Dalinantu Emergence, is about to be published.
AuthorsWiki: Would you like to tell us about your published books?
Lyn McGinnis: The Anu Awakes Series will be an eight-book octology. They all take place on the Planet Anu and all involve the profound workings of the Tatchlan System. Each novel stands alone, as they are set in very different periods within an extended timeline.
AuthorsWiki: Where did you get the inspiration for publishing books?
Lyn McGinnis: Writing and publishing each of these novels is like opening the sluice gate on a giant dam. I built the Planet Anu over the course of thirty to forty years.
AuthorsWiki: How do you manage your time to write a book?
Lyn McGinnis: I am an early bird. I do my best work first thing in the morning and, as work and circumstances permit, into the early afternoon.
AuthorsWiki: What is your favourite writing method—the one in which you write the most?
Lyn McGinnis: For years, I laboured on what could be called expository or appendix material. Even here, most of what is now established came about in sudden flashes out of the depths. I only found myself ready to write some ten to fifteen years ago. I wrote several first drafts of the series before even considering getting anything published.
My writing method? I always have an idea of how a chapter is going to start, but once I begin, the juices flow, the characters come to life, and I become a stenographer, trying to get all the dialogue down as it comes tumbling out.
AuthorsWiki: When did you start writing, and how did your interest in writing begin?
Lyn McGinnis: As a young, bullied, confused teen in Toronto, Ontario, I found myself taking refuge in art and books. Early on, I fell in love with the eighteenth-century artist, poet, and mystic William Blake and began to paint and write my own strange inner life. I also had a special love for contemporary science fiction and fantasy. In the early 1980s, I was immersing myself in the epics of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, Frank Herbert’s Dune series, and Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series.
While I read much else, these three stirred something in me, like an immense inner chamber full of unknown inhabitants, echoing to the feelings these masterpieces inspired in me.
In early adulthood, I had the opportunity to travel. Climbing the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico, seeing the sun set over the domes and minarets of Istanbul, and joining New Year celebrations at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok also stirred my “inner chamber.”
It was fed and enlarged and took on a life of its own. I began to have images, and I painted them. I began to have concepts and a sense of a place, and began writing everything down. What began as tentative explorations inspired by William Blake became a force with its own life. The Planet Anu was born, and for decades, I worked on all aspects of a world that continued to surprise me with new visions.
It also revealed a consistency of an interlocking universe. I finally felt ready to write my first novel, Hesha Vira’s Challenge, revealing the foundations of Tatchlan, a world system whose birth transformed a planet.
AuthorsWiki: Is there any special achievement in your life that you would like to share with us and your readers?
Lyn McGinnis: Creating an entire world, peopled with several distinct self-aware species, able to rise out of the darkness of raw life to build a perfect society.
AuthorsWiki: Are you planning to write or publish a book in the present or future?
Lyn McGinnis: My third novel of the Anu Awakes Series is about to be published. Given that this is an octology, that means there are five more to come. The first drafts of three of them are largely complete. The first draft of my fourth novel, Shelter from the LIGHT, is three-quarters written.
AuthorsWiki: Would you like to give a message to your readers and fans?
Lyn McGinnis: While dystopian fiction is a dime a dozen, it appears few have the courage to write the flip side of the coin: utopian literature. Sir Thomas More coined the term “Utopia” in his 1516 work of the same name, presenting his vision of an ideal island society.
My initial teen visions and concepts had no political motivation. They were the makings of another world, and while all fictional world creations have Earth and human history as their starting point—the Planet Anu is the same size as Earth, with andas being the equivalent of kilometres—my deep esoteric readings and exotic travels have fermented inside a quite original brain to bring this world about.
I can write utopian literature because the Planet Anu is strong and vital inside me. It is exultant in its meeting of challenges and forward-looking in its trajectory. I am clear on what I find interesting and what I skip over. While the framing of culture around things like sex and violence holds an ongoing fascination in my work, you will not see sex or battle scenes, only preludes and postludes and how these events affect my characters. My novels are about ideas and the exploration of novel concepts.
I spend no time rattling around inside the heads of characters. I find that kind of narrative profoundly tedious. You will know what my characters think through the primary mover of the story—dialogue. If they think it, they will either say it or do it.
Even though the larger story arc leads towards a terminal destination, the generations of characters march forward triumphantly in the ongoing creation of their utopian society. One further message: all my worldbuilding work, providing deep background and context for all eight novels, may be found on my Anu Awakes Series website.
AuthorsWiki: Every writer has their own ideal. Do you also have an ideal writer? And what are your favourite books that you always want to read?
Lyn McGinnis: I have already mentioned my primary sources of literary inspiration: authors who, like me, create epic landscapes where very large ideas play out through vast populations.
AuthorsWiki: Apart from writing, what are your other hobbies that you enjoy in your free time?
Lyn McGinnis: Talking about interesting things with friends, watching online lectures while having lunch, and watching brilliant films.
AuthorsWiki: Would you like to remain in the writing world in the future as well?
Lyn McGinnis: My contribution to the writing world is the Anu Awakes Series. My mission is to see all eight novels published.
About Lyn McGinnis
Lyn McGinnis is an author from Ontario, Canada, and the creator of the Anu Awakes Series, an ambitious eight-book epic fantasy series set on the Planet Anu. Their writing draws upon decades of reading, travel, artistic exploration, and worldbuilding. Influenced by authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, and Philip Pullman, Lyn has developed a fictional universe exploring utopian society, different forms of life, evolving cultures, and the profound workings of the Tatchlan System.
The series began with Hesha Vira’s Challenge, followed by Amarel Mountain, with Dalinantu Emergence as the third novel. With several further drafts already underway, Lyn’s long-term mission is to bring all eight novels of the Anu Awakes Series to publication.
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It was a pleasure conversion with Lyn McGinnis, whose journey and reflections offer a meaningful glimpse into the creative life of a writer. We sincerely thank them for sharing their time and wisdom with the AuthorsWiki community.
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