AMoRaR Interview: David Green

A Month of Rain and Reads Interviews3 months ago10 min read

Welcome to A Month of Rain and Reads, a celebration of self-published and indie SFF throughout the entire month of November. To find out how you can take part and view the whole list of content, visit our introduction post.

Today, we have an interview with David Green, one of the masterminds behind Divergent Paths, a project dedicated to offering advocacy and support for neurodivergent people in publishing. However, David is also an author, and since he just released a new book, we will be talking a little about that as well.

I’m going to ask you to tell us all about Divergent Paths and what it is, but not just yet. I firmly believe that stories are about characters, so before we go into details, I want our readers to see the person behind the words.

Since you’re also an author, please you describe yourself like you would a character in your books?

Blimey. Well, I would say my character is rather at odds with my appearance. I’m tall, broad, bald and bearded. Imposing, you might say. But talk to me, and you’ll find someone quite uncomfortable in their own skin, shy, socially awkward and fidgety!

What else do you want our readers to know about you?

Being autistic is a major part of my being. It isn’t my personality, but it dictates a lot of who I am and what I am. I was late diagnosed, so the last few years have mainly been about reframing my life and becoming comfortable with myself which is much preferable to my prior experience.

Now, let’s get down to it. On your website, divergentpaths.co.uk it says you’re “Offering support and advocacy for neurodivergent people in publishing.” What’s your vision here? You’ve launched only recently, so you’re just getting started. What are you doing at the moment, and what do you aim to do in the long term?

Our vision is to help the publishing industry understand neurodivergent people, and to help neurodivergent people navigate the industry. The publishing industry, with its long-wait times, long periods of silence, rejections from editors (and readers in terms of negative reviews), and multiple pathways to publication from self-publishing to trad isn’t particularly neurodivergent friendly. And my partner in this, Shona Kinsella, and I believe there is a high percentage of diagnosed, self-identified and yet-to-be diagnosed neurodivergent people in the industry. And that isn’t just writers: it’s artists, agents, editors, PR people. You name it. Our aim is to set up the framework of understanding, basically.

At the moment, we’re just setting up. We’re looking for volunteers and we’re looking for partners within the industry. We’re fact finding, too. We want to talk to people and hear their stories and see where the opportunities for betterment are. Long term, we hope to be engaging with publishers directly as well as creatives, and we aim to offer a robust mentorship programme for neurodivergent creatives.

Why are you doing this? I imagine it’s going to be a ton of work. What need do you see yourself meeting?

We’re doing this for a couple of reasons. One, experience. I’m autistic and I’ve got stories and the scars to match. Secondly, there isn’t anything like this for neurodivergent people. There are other brilliant organisations for under-represented groups, but none for neurodivergent people. Evidence suggests that under-represented people are rejected more often than privileged groups, and therefore give up earlier. Neurodivergent people struggle acutely with rejection. This means an important voice and an experience point of view isn’t getting the platform it deserves. We hope to change that.

On your website, I read your article about Waiting Mode and submission (here – read it, it’s good), and I recognised the pain of not being able to start anything new because you’re waiting on something unfinished that might start later. I don’t have a diagnosis, but I can relate to a lot of neurodivergent traits. Do you see non-diagnosed people benefitting from the advice and knowledge you have to share?

Yes, that’s part of the hope. Self-diagnosis is valid, especially because of waiting times for diagnosis for adults when it comes to neurodiversity. A lot of adults begin to see themselves when coming across neurodivergent characters and experiences like the blog, and that’s important. For example, there’s good evidence of many queer people only realising or accepting that part of themselves when seeing themselves represented in work, or when they’ve actively written about it.

In the same article, you talk about how your cozy fantasy novel has been out on submission for twelve months. As I’m writing this, I know the book is due out on October 24th. It’s my impression that traditional publishing doesn’t work that fast, so I suspect you decided to publish the book yourself. Is that correct, and can you tell us a little about your decision to do it that way? You’ve self-published several books across multiple genres in the past, right?

Yes, so now it’s about 18 months! Magic, Maps, and Mischief is that book and I’m self-publishing it. The submission process was rough. There was a lot of praise and love for the book, but those who did praise it talked about how they were unsure of how to sell a book about an autistic character or how to convince the money people in publishing to go for it. Sadly, there were less accepting comments: a lot of asking to tone down the autism aspect amongst other things. Ultimately, I wrote another book for submission for my agent and once that went out, I was happy to withdraw Maps and self-publish. I think it’s a story that deserves to be read and while I was hoping for the biggest platform possible, I don’t think it’s currently a story that will sell to a traditional publisher. Hopefully if this book is a success and people like it, that may change.

I’ve self-published other books, but only from this year. Before this I worked with small presses but received the rights back to my epic fantasy series, Empire of Ruin, at the beginning of the year so re-released them with new covers and a refresh – particularly with the first book. This was all with an eye on perhaps self-publishing Maps as I’d begun to suspect it wouldn’t find a home with a traditional publisher.

[[- Update: In a post on BlueSky on November 19, David Green revealed that Magic, Maps, and Mischief had sold 1,600 copies since its release on October 24. /Nils – RIF -]]

After reading about Maps, I already know I want to read it, but I’m still curious to know more about the book and what’s in it. Can you tell me more – without spoilers?

Maps is a story about an elderly autistic man searching for his place in the world. Using magic, he creates an ink to create maps that chart the paths to people’s heart’s desires, but the results are unexpected.

Thematically, it’s very much about the autistic experience: navigating social life, finding one’s comfort, discovering the people who are meant to be your family. Maps is a book about acceptance, kindness and the different shapes love comes in.

Now, for the perhaps most important question of the entire interview: Will your book have a map at the beginning?

Ha, yes it will, but it’s not a map I’m super happy with, working on the self-publishing budget! My hope is to do a special edition Kickstarter at the beginning of 2026 (if sales are good so it looks like there’s an appetite for that) in which there will be many, MANY full colour maps illustrating Greton’s world. He creates a number of maps in the book, and I’d like to see them all brought to life.

To round things off, we have a few quick questions. What’s your favourite…

…book, in recent times?

The Witch at the Edge of the Wood by Liz Delton.

…game, in recent times?

Alan Wake II.

…writing advice?

Find someone you can vent to safely!

…advice for someone who’s written a book and who wants to get it in front of readers?

Sadly, paid advertisements through a promo-stacking site are probably the best at the moment.

…source of inspiration?

My son.

…way to clear your head when everything gets a bit much?

Watch 1980s slasher movies. Oddly comforting!

Finally, do you have any last words? Did we forget to ask about something you really want to talk about? Do you have a shoutout for people who supported you or books that inspired you?

I just hope people give Magic, Maps, and Mischief a chance! Autistic people, like anyone else, are capable of amazing things, but we also face rather unique challenges that are often invisible. If this book helps people feel seen, or helps them understand autism a little more – and they enjoy the story! – then I’ve done my job.

David Green

David Green is a neurodivergent writer of the epic and the urban, the fantastical, the cosy and the mysterious.

With his character-driven dark fantasy series Empire Of Ruin, or urban fantasy noir Hell In Haven, and cosy fantasy Magic, Maps, and Mischief, David takes readers on emotional journeys across the subgenres of fantasy.

Hailing from the north-west of England, David now lives in County Galway on the west coast of Ireland. When not writing, David can be found wondering why he chooses to live in places where it constantly rains.

David’s Path Of War was nominated for Best Novel at the 2023 BFS Awards and Beyond Sundered Seas and At Eternity’s Gates were both nominated for best novel in 2024. He is repped by Laura Bennett of LLA.