Can you give us a brief overview of
your latest book? Is it part of a series?
Dragon Apocalypse is a funny fantasy adventure. It follows a Gurken Stonebiter, a berserker
dwarf, Maximina Nobility, an under-elven (Don’t call her a drow!) Jill of all
trades and master of none, and Pellonia, a little girl who must learn to become
a leader in order to complete their quest to save a small village from a
rampaging dragon demanding sacrificial maidens.
It is the
second in the series The Berserker and the Pedant. It can be read on it’s own, but I’m a big fan
of ongoing jokes, so many things in Dragon
Apocalypse are funnier after reading The Berserker and the Pedant. It’s hard for me to choose a favorite of the
two, Dragon Apocalypse is about 1/3 longer so it has at least 1/3 more jokes,
so probably that one. Don’t tell The
Bersker and the Pedant, it’s sensitive.
Do you have a favorite character?
Do you have a favorite character?
Maximina
Nobility is my favorite character because she is based on the aspect of my
personality that learns very fast, but gets bored easily and moves on to the
next challenge. This shows up in my life
with the way my wife and I play games together.
At first, I dominate the game, then over the course of a few games she
gets closer and closer to winning. After
she starts winning, it never turns back.
She continues to win most of the time.
We have a large collection of games.
Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?
Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?
Arthur
Gimble, wizard of the tenth rank, pedant, and master grammarian was intended to
be a minor character in The Berserker and the Pedant. He was there to annoy Gurken and then get
killed. This was to tap into the
frustration many people, myself included, feel when they are in the midst of an
online “discussion” and are interrupted by someone who has nothing to add but a
correction to their grammar.
Unexpectedly, Arthur and Gurken had an amazing interaction and I decided
to save him from permanent death, which allowed me to have him killed again and
again, after being resurrected each time, in many satisfying and hilarious
ways. It completely changed the path of
the novel and the sequel.
Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?
Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?
I traditionally
published a book on programming, so had some experience with that part of the
industry. I decided to go it alone with
my fictional series because it gave me more control over what happens with my
writing. I’m not beholden to a publisher
who maintains the rights to that work.
I’m considering going in for a mix of traditional and self-publishing
because being published by a traditional publisher comes with an air of
respectability that you don’t get being self-published.
What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?
What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?
I usually
get up very early in the morning, forgo a cup of coffee first thing so as to
wake up naturally, and start writing. I do not listen to music when writing in
the morning. If I’m writing during the
day, I listen to Deadmau5 4x4=12 continuous track because it’s mostly
instrumental and it serves to crowd out the noise of the cafe.
Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
With Dragon
Apocalypse, I wrote the first chapter without an outline, it introduces
Maximina Nobility to the series. She’s
an under-elf Jill of all trades. She
Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?
Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?
Oh my
goodness, yes. I can’t find most of my mistakes because I’m too close to the
material. I consider myself a good writer, but writing a novel teased out some
mistakes I didn’t realize I was making.
Then vs. Than was probably my biggest mistake, followed by using the
phrase “begins to” or “start to” too much.
I also am constantly momentarily confused when doing possessive with
“it” That frustration actually appeared
in the story in The Berserker and the Pedant when Arthur makes a fateful
decision about the nature of magic.
What have you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?
What have you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?
I’ve
learned that while writing a book is a great accomplishment, the journey is
only just beginning. Getting people to
read that book is even harder. The
Berserker and the Pedant has won several awards, is highly rated with a decent
number of reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, and people seem to like it, but
breaking into people’s awareness against all of the 10’s or 100’s of thousands
of books published every year is difficult.
Then, many avid readers have a stack of books they want to read and the
challenge is not only getting onto that list, but convincing people that your
book belongs on the top.
Being a
funny fantasy book, I have a strong advantage with a certain kind of
reader. If you love fantasy books and
you like to laugh, then there aren’t a lot of books that cater to you. Funny fantasy is a pretty small genre, so if
people really enjoy The Princess Bride or anything by Terry Pratchett or Monty
Python and the Holy Grail, then it’s much easier to get on the top of their list.
Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?
Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?
Not
yet. My plan right now is to focus on
writing. Marketing pays more dividends
when people have more to buy. If I spend
$100 on marketing and only have one $3 book to sell, then I have to attract a
lot more buyers than if I had a dozen books ranging from $3 to $9 or more
collections. I do some marketing now,
like this book blog tour, to see what kind of effect they have and start to get
my name out there and into readers consciousness, but right now my focus is on
writing.
What’s next for you?
In 2016, I’m going to publish 2 more books, go to at least four conventions in bay area, and work on getting a short story published in a sci-fi/fantasy magazine or collection. That will finish off The Berserker and the Pedant trilogy and start the next one, get my name out there with the local fantasy community, and reach out to a broader audience. It should be a pivotal year for me.
What’s next for you?
In 2016, I’m going to publish 2 more books, go to at least four conventions in bay area, and work on getting a short story published in a sci-fi/fantasy magazine or collection. That will finish off The Berserker and the Pedant trilogy and start the next one, get my name out there with the local fantasy community, and reach out to a broader audience. It should be a pivotal year for me.
BLURB:
On their
way to apprehend a temple thief, Gurken Stonebiter, a templerager of the temple
of Durstin Firebeard, and Pellonia, a little, but infuriatingly clever, girl
stumble onto a quest to save a town from an evil dragon. The dragon is
demanding sacrifices of maidens, and the town is fresh out. Can they discover a
way to sate the dragon's bloodlust and save the town?
Along the way, Gurken and Pellonia
meet up with Maximina, a half under-elven woman that also happens to be a tad
psychic, a ranger with a dash of necromantic ability, a smidgen of samurai
training, and just enough time living as a rogue to acquire the ability to
sneak up on and stab a foe in the back. Maximina is full of clever ideas on how
to gain a tactical advantage over her foes, and on occasion they even work.
During their adventures, Gurken,
Pellonia, and Maximina face a snarky unicorn, do battle with a terrible frost
giant, contend with a rival adventuring party bent on their utter humiliation,
and confront the end of the world in the form of an evil sorcerer and a teeming
dragon horde. Can they save the world one more time?
Amazon buy link:
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
JOSH
POWELL, wielder of the Sommerswerd, destroyer of the thread, expeditioner to
Barrier Peaks, discoverer of his magic talent, and venturer into the Tomb of
Horrors is known for having survived a harrowing adolescence full of danger and
fantasy. He's gone on to write The Berserker and the Pedant and Dragon
Apocalypse and is currently working on the yet to be named third book in the
series.
He
also spends some not inconsiderable amount of time wiggling his fingers over a
keyboard as a software engineer. He
lives with his wife, Marianne, and two amazing children, Liam and Chloe, in
sunny California, where winter is, most decidedly, never coming.
Website:
Twitter:
Goodreads:
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