Hello fans and followers! This week we've got a great Featured Artist post. It is an interview with Author Brae Wyckoff.
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Now on with the show. . .here's the fantastic interview we were blessed to capture with. . .
Author Brae Wyckoff
*A zealous fan approaches your book signing table and wants
to know
everything there is to know about writing a book…right now!
There’s
a long line of fans waiting, and you only have a few
seconds…what one
thing would tell them to encourage them to become a writer?
“Pay attention to your tears because they point to your
destiny.”
*What book or books are you currently working on? Can we
expect a
new release soon?
The Orb of Truth was just released November 2012. The sequel,
called The
Dragon God, will be out in 2013. The Dragon God story is
completely written, but
now it is the fun task of re-writes, running it through a
critique group, and then
off to the editor for the polishing touches. I will begin
the 3rd book, The Vampire
King, real soon…it is currently outlined and ready for
action.
*Do you prefer writing the good guy’s dialogue or the
villain’s? Give us
an example of your amazing talent…write us a line of
dialogue from
your favorite good guy or villain.
They go hand in hand. The bad guys are fun because they are
so overconfident
while the good guys are balancing their morals and their
decision making.
Personalities are key because some characters swing both
ways.
Here is a scene in The Orb of Truth with the evil King
Manasseh and his
wizards…enjoy.
“How does an Ordakian continue to elude my best?” There was
no
response from anyone.
“ANSWER ME!!!” The King shouted at the top of his lungs.
Spittle
flew from his enraged lips into the face of the wizard in
front of him.
The trembling voice crackled to life, “My King, it has had
some help.”
“A Dwarf and a human? That is what you consider help? That
is what’s
besting my best? Then perhaps I need to find better!”
“My liege, there is something different about this group.”
“Different? Explain yourself.”
“Your magnificence, I have sensed a power that radiates from
the
Ordakian. It is something that I have not felt before.
Perhaps it is a magical
item. We have discussed this amongst ourselves, and—”
“Discussed?” the enraged King interrupted him. “I am the one
who
gives permission to discuss, Constable! Your group of
misfits sicken me!”
*We all love stories – especially yours! Would you be
willing to give the readers a synopsis of your current book?
In essence, The Orb of Truth is all about The Orb, but it
goes much deeper
than that. Without giving too much away, the heroes are
swept up into an epic
adventure starting from the opening chapter all the way to
the very end. Here is
what is displayed on the back of the book.
In the hundreds of years since the Holy
City
the land. Human kingdoms have seized control of the realm,
scattering the other races
into hiding.
Bridazak, a skilled thief, and his friends, a Dwarf and a
fellow Ordakian, have
dared to remain within the human communities and live
relatively quiet lives, until they
discover a mysterious, magical artifact. The three friends
are thrust into an adventure that
will challenge their faith, their purpose, and their destiny
as they chase a forgotten and
lost prophecy across the realm of Ruauck-El, where they hope
to discover the origins of
the strange item and their place in its history.
An ancient, unknown enemy threatens the completion of their
journey at every
turn. Bridazak is about to face the biggest adventure of his
life, one that may change the known realm, and answer the questions he has carried all his
life. Will they unlock the
truth?
*Creativity. Where does yours come from? This is something
writers are asked about much of the time. Would you be so
kind
as to elaborate on where you get your ideas and what sparks
your
creativity?
I pull on creativity through many resources. This is just
me, but I love to listen
to Pandora music, like Top 40, and then write. There is
something in the music
that flushes out creative thoughts. Other situations for
creativity to flow are while
taking a shower or driving…these places conjure ideas and
then I’m off tapping
the keyboard or writing the thoughts in my journal.
The other and most important area of creativity is actually
submerging myself
within the genre and what I mean by that is actually gaming
D&D with others.
Creating a character and taking that character from first
level to the highest level.
Amazing ideas and encounters come up during this
process…something I like to
call “research and development”.
*Love and romance, paranormal, epic fantasy, sci-fi,
mystery, thriller,
drama, and the list goes on. Where do your books fall as far
as genre
and reading audience?
My genre is clearly EPIC FANTASY and the audience is young
adult to all those
who love to be taken to a magical land and escape reality
for a little while.
*Social media has become a part of being an author. What are
your 3 best tips of the trade for upcoming authors when it comes to
building their social media platform?
Start NOW. Don’t wait until your book is out, but instead
start joining groups,
interacting, and help others by promoting their material.
When it comes time
for your turn, your hope is that you have built some relationships
to help you
succeed. You can’t do it alone and you have to get out of
the mindset that it
is a competition. People read books and then they are off to
the next so don’t
worry about some other author taking your readers, that is
just a bunch of crap
nonsense.
Build you brand. Make your own author page or book page.
Introduce yourself
with a personal video and be sincere with everyone you meet.
*If you could personally thank one person, or several
(living or not)
for giving you the strength, determination, and perseverance
to
continue in your writing who would you thank?
This is easy…my wife. She is a gem and she has been my Orb
of Truth. I love
her so much and am thankful that God brought her to me. She
is my biggest
supporter, she believes in me, and encourages me constantly.
She is a woman of
integrity and when you meet her, you will think, wow, she is
someone special.
*Who is your favorite character that you have created?
An extremely fun character is a gnome named Trillius. He is
not in The Orb of
Truth but makes his appearance in book 2: The Dragon God and
will have a big
role in the third book as well.
Trillius is a thief, looking out for himself, but he gets
mixed up with the heroes
and villains and becomes the focal point for both sides.
Here is an un-edited scene from The Dragon God, book #2, due
out in 2013:
“You’ve brought guests to Pirates Belly,” a mysterious
smooth voice came from
behind the adventurers. Startled, the heroes turned.
They saw an impressive pirate who wore dark blue pants,
black leather boots and
belt, a white billowy long sleeved shirt with frills around
the cuffs and collar, and a
beautiful maroon hat with a large brim. A yellow frazzled
feather adorned his cap. His
headwear and the downward tilt of his head concealed his
face from view.
“May I introduce to you the ones who brought down King
Manasseh,” said
Elsbeth.
“We are honored to have such heroes among us. My name is
Romann de Beaux.
Welcome to my humble home.” He pulled off his hat and bowed
elegantly. The
swashbuckler stood back up, his face pale white with eyes
that swirled red and blue like a
whirlpool. His smile revealed pearly white teeth with two
prominent fangs.
The group of heroes were wise enough not to insult the
creature by saying aloud
that he was a vampire. That is, all of them, except one.
“You’re a vampire,” Trillius chimed in awe.
“Forgive—,” Elsbeth began but Romann held up his hand to
stop her.
“And what is your name?” he asked. He kneeled down as if
talking to a child.
The gnome answered tremulously, “My name is Trillius.”
“Ah, yes, of course. Well little-one, since we are being
candid, I will call
you ‘Snack’.” Romann lifted his lip slightly to reveal one
of his fangs while emphasizing
his last word. Trillius back peddled away and clung to
El’Korr. The dwarf was pleased
as he knew this encounter would keep the gnome on board the
ship.
So, hope you enjoyed this little scene…and just so you know,
Trillius does NOT
stay on the ship.
*Do you create and design your own book covers?
Definitely NOT! I seek a professional, someone who is good
and is able to take
your idea and run with it. The best covers are the
simplistic and to the point
covers. They are the ones where you can identify the genre
just by looking at it.
*As a self-published author do you recommend having your
novels
professionally edited?
YES, YES, and YES! You need an editor. You are too close to
your own work so
you need a fresh set of eyes and not only that but someone
who knows what they
are doing. Try to get someone to critique and help edit the
actual content and not
just place commas correctly. The cover and editing are
crucial.
*Where can we find your book(s)?
Click this link to find The Orb of Truth on Amazon…printed and digital
ebook.
You'll also find Brae around the web at the following links. So c'mon - what are you waiting for? Get out there and discover all there is to discover about this amazing author!
WEBSITE OR BLOG ADDRESS: http://www.theorboftruth.com/
FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/theorboftruth
TWITTER HANDLE: https://twitter.com/BraeWyckoff
~ ~ ~
Thanks so much for taking the time to join us this week for our interview with
Author Brae Wyckoff. We hope you will help us spread the word about this amazing author and all the talent he has to offer in the literary world!
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Until next week - stay casual, live life to the fullest, and have a piece of chocolate for me.
Your Blog Host:
Owner/Founder JLB Creatives
Author Janet Beasley
