It was pleasure to contact this young man with creative writing skills along with with a positive view of his future-A.G.
- Is
your main character a composite of you or people you know? Does he/she
have some characteristics that you wish you possess?
Rather than being a composite of
just one person, I believe that my main character, all his behaviors, quirks,
humor and persona, in general, are drawn from a wide range of persons.
Just like Damien, I have seen some
of my friends in leadership positions that labor under the weight of
expectation, of being that magical bullet that solves every problem. I have
seen some friends that fall in love, like Damien, and how he nurtures that
relationship does, admittedly, reflect some of my own personal beliefs.
Characteristics I wish I possess?
Maybe strength in the face of adversity. Like every human being, I sometime
suffer under the scorn of others or face a problem that feels insurmountable.
However, if I possessed the power of whatever Damien faces in the world of Gaia
(being the savior of humanity no less!) perhaps I will find a better life.
- If
you had to rewrite the book now, would you change anything about it, such
as adding another dimension to character?
Ah, God, I hate the word ‘rewriting’ by now! Readers don’t
notice but I believe authors everywhere can sympathize with my plight. We
rewrite the first time, then the second time then we lose count as we chisel
here, nick and smoothen out the edges of our work. By now, my fingers are numb
from the number of times I’ve written the same sentence again and again only to
delete it afterward! Story of author’s lives sadly.
Anyways, rant over. If I could, maybe I would have made
Damien grimmer? The novel does get quite dark in some places and maybe a
protagonist that reflects the world around him might have been a better way to
move the story forward.
- Do
you plan on this being a series? If so, how many books do you think the
series will be?
Yes I do! So the first book is entitled The Gaian
Chronicles. I have written storylines needed for a trilogy or 6 book series,
depending how well the first book does. If it sells well and readers and
reviewers alike love it, I may bend towards a 6 book series. If not, then maybe
3 books is enough!
The second and third books already have titles. The second
book will be entitled The Valkyrie Chronicles: Pinnacle of Dreams and the third
is entitled The Earth Chronicles: Shadow of Despair. I hope readers and future
fans of the series will anticipate what comes next for Damien and co.
- What
are your ambitions for your writing career?
That’s the question, isn’t it? Your
ambitions. Your dreams. What you want to achieve through writing. Well, I think
the answer is simple. When people purchase and enjoy my stories, I’m happy and
chalk it off as success. Of course, I won’t complain if I earn some money along
the way.
Other than that, I hope to do this
full time or at least balance this out part-time with other part-time projects
I have in the pipeline.
- Which
writers inspire you?
Oh, there are just so many. Let’s
see…well the first author which introduced me to how fantasy should be written
is Brent Weeks, author of the Night Angel Series (Way of Shadows, Edge of
Shadows, and Beyond the Shadows). He introduces a diverse mix of characters,
from the anti-hero Durzo Blint, the reluctant protagonist Kyler Stern plus the
cunning Momma K etc.
Readers enjoy the characters and
the complicated relationships each share. It helps that there is a coherent
plot throughout all three books, an achievement in itself. Other than that, I
enjoy the uplifting stories of Mitch Albom, especially Tuesdays with Morrie,
and The Shack by William P. Young
Other fantasy cult favorites
include George RR Martin and Stuart Hill (Author of the Cry of the Icemark
Series).
- So,
what have you written?
Before writing my first novel, I have written two
novellas before this. The first one is a thriller entitled “Stab in the Back:”
about a government assassin performing his last job before retirement and a
happy life with his fiancé. The second one is entitled “Phae and the Sun
Chariot”, which is an urban fantasy adventure about a godling called Phae, the
son of the Greek God Helios and his quest to repair his father’s Sun Chariot.
If I were to say myself (without sounding too proud!),
both novellas were minor successes. Both were available through Smashwords,
iBookstore, Barnes and Noble and other ebook stores for free. In total, both
have had over 1000 downloads and counting, which is considered, in my book,
pretty swell for novels between 4-9 chapters long.
- What
is it about?
It’s about a boy called Damien and his special ability to
summon a beast called a Morphe. Morphes are a reflection of your inner being, a
mirror of your unimaginable desires. Damien’s Morphe is a reflection of the
emotion of Hope and, like his Morphe, he shoulders the hope of an entire galaxy
that is afire due to the Vangarians, an alien race that also have the ability
to summon Morphes.
The first book is based on just one planet called Gaia,
where readers will be able to experience many wonderful sights such as the
sand-blasted plains of the Tahiba dessert to the rocky and lava-flooded valleys
of the Smulders. In the end, it’s a battle between good and evil, between hope
and despair. But a lesson that I want my readers to learn is that sometimes,
it’s not always that black and white. In war time, there are always shades of
grey instead.
- What
genre is your book?
Fantasy/Sci-Fi
- What
draws you to this genre?
The fact that you can create worlds with just your
imagination. I would be sitting down by the window, my head lolling in my
hands, when suddenly inspiration would strike me! My mind would race, ideas
would pop up like bubbles and webs are intricately spun in between these
floating ideas to form the worlds, characters, desolation, happiness and
relationships. An entire existence is created out of scratch. If that doesn’t
excite anyone, I don’t know what does!
10. What made you decide to sit down and actually start something?
It was during my high school years that I realised that I enjoyed
writing. I especially loved English class. There would be a time during class
when we would be provided with an essay title which provides you the first line
of a story, for example, and you just write! My creative endeavours grew
incrementally during my school years and, when I went to uni, I flowered
creatively which led me to release two successful novellas online
11. Do you write full-time or part-time?
Part-time! But hopefully I can do this full time.
12. Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
It’s just when I have free time, though I do try to write for at
least 2 hours every morning before I go to uni. Mostly between 8am to 10am
daily.
13. Do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?
It depends. I usually write 5 days a week every morning unless it’s
a public or university holiday. Then I take a break. Writers are human too! We
love holidays.
14. Where do your ideas come from?
Some ideas on dialogue and the characters found in the book are
based on my interactions with real life people. Some come from deliberate
research, especially since it is sci-fic, I try to get my scientific facts
right as much as possible. However, most of my ideas just come from my
imagination, especially in world building. I hope readers will enjoy whatever
my mind could conjure up J
15. When is the book available?
The novel will be available in e-book copy on Amazon on the 15th
of November 2015for PRE-ORDER. This will be to facilitate Kindle users
first.The release date for the book is on the 1st of December 2015
For those with Apple or B&N devices, the novel will be available
on the 10th of December 2015 for PRE-ORDER on iBook store and on
B&N. The novel will be released for other devices on the 20th of
December 2015.
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