When I was on the Book Junkie.

As I get ready for yet another book tour, I'm reminded of some of the many stops I enjoyed when I did my book tour for The Enthronement. This is a copy of the breif interview I had with the amazing writers at the Book Junkie.

How would you describe your style of writing to someone that has never read your work?

Disney Dystopia. I know that sounds odd but imagine a book that’s a mix of books like Hunger Games, Divergent, Matched, Ender’s Game, and merge that with Moana, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, and see where it takes you. I pretty much say all my books are like that. They start more Disney and end more dystopia. My dystopia is fantasy far more than sci-fi as it is set in a magical world not like ours, it’s Disney Dystopia.

Do you feel that writing is an ingrained process or just something that flows naturally for you?

Most days, writing flows pretty naturally for me. Though I do have writers' block where I have to fight through it to get good words on paper, but I do need a process to get into the grove some days.

What mindset or routine do you feel the need to set when preparing to write (in general whether you are working on a project or just free writing)?

My routine starts with a little meditation prayer to get my mind into the mood. Then I put on whatever playlist I need to get the emotion of the scene I’m working on. I also will almost always put on an air freshener or essential oil diffuser to put a smell into the air that tells my mind it's writing time.

Do you take your character prep to heart? Do you nurture the growth of each character all the way through to the page? Do you people watch to help with development? Or do you build upon your character during story creation?

I have a map of where I want a character to go for sure, but sometimes that road gets messy. So it’s a mix of both, but I’d say I lean more into I build more during the story creation. I call it being an actor-author. I write the scenes and put myself into the shoes of the character to try to figure out how they’d react in every situation and type out how I feel it would go. I get surprises along the way sometimes, that’s for sure.

Do you have a character that you have been working on for a long time that still isn't quite ready, but fills you with excitement to work on the story?

There is one. She doesn’t have a name yet. Right now, I just call her by my gamer handle Emberiss. I love archery and when I’d shoot alone in my yard, I would imagine all these scenes and moments I’d play out in my mind as I’d shoot, and I always role-played it as this character. I have a plot in mind for her too I’m very excited to write. Her name will almost certainly change so I can keep my gamer handle though.

Have you found yourself bonding with any particular character(s)? If so which one(s)?

I bonded to my first character Cedrick Custod for sure. I literally grew up with him. I started his story when I was eleven years old and only finished his story when I was in college. He’s really become a part of me more than I think any character ever will because I won’t grow up with a character like that again.

Do you have a character that you have been working on that you can't wait to put to paper?

Yes. One that isn’t also Emberiss from the other question before. He does not have a name, but he’s a mix of some of my favorite paranormal/Halloween stories, and though I hardly have much plot for him, I can’t wait to sink my teeth into his character and learn more about him and his tale.

Can you share your next creative project(s)? If yes, can you give a few details?

My next project is wrapping up The Enthronement series. I am quite a way into book two and even have a first draft for book three. I won’t go too much into it, but I expect to have both published by late next year so I can start on Emberiss or unnamed man’s stories next. We’ll see who gets my attention and passion burning first.

What are some of your writing/publishing goals for this year?

My goal is to have the enthronement’s squeal ready to publish early next year. To finish book three’s next draft by the end of the year if I can so early next year, I can do my final edit and send it to editors. Then I can turn my attention to my next creative process as post-production rolls on the Enthronement series.

Have you ever felt that there was something inside of you that you couldn't control? If so what? If no what spurs you to reach for the unexperienced?

Sometimes I have quite a competitive fighter edge to me. There was time in school they ran a simulation where they did kind of a mock dystopian meeting where they were setting up this dictator system, and I don’t know if I’ve ever felt more of a determination to fight in my life. It was kind of fun yet frightening. I think it’s part of what drives me to enjoy dystopian and paranormal stories as they deal with that excited mysterious energy. You know what I mean?

Where would you spend one full year, if you could go ANYWhere, money is not a concern? What would you do with this time?

I’d travel Europe and the Mediterranean. I’d want to soak up all these cultures, most of all as many of them are the basics of so many of our fantasy tropes and cultures. I’d then want to do the same in the middle east, Egypt, as many African nations as I could. Then I’d do the same in China, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia.

I’d go shark diving in south Africa and hopefully see a great white shark breach in person. (I love shark week.) And try to see as many sharks and ocean creatures as I could while diving.

All the time, I’d be writing about what I learned and writing my books using as much of the cultures as I was learning as I could so others could enjoy what I was enjoying too.