The Archivist

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

As a kid I was always reimagining the world around me. I was never simply in a restaurant. I was dining with rebel informants or spying on imperial officers. Home Depot? How about an abandoned base that was slowly being taken apart bit by bit. Imagination was always my hobby. Summers were spent playing video games or playing outside where my best friend, the neighborhood and I came up with adventures to go on. There could be dinosaurs or robots. The relationships could be different. Someone was related to someone else or was a parent to another. We were roleplaying and didn't even know it. The one thing that changed was my relationship to the story. When I was a kid I was the main character. The Hero. The Chosen One. Now days I want others to be that. I'm much more interested in the story, the underlying emotions and nuances that are all swirling beneath the surface. Stories aren't just stories, as cliché as that sounds. They are experiences. We are those strange things that listen to other people's experiences and some how can absorb their story into ourselves. We aren't just consumers. We're more like absorbers. Taking in that which was given and incorporating it into ourselves. In a way we ensure that stories remain timeless. Immortal.

When and why did you start writing books?

I knew from a young age I wanted to write. I told my 3rd grade teacher I wanted to be an author. Why? I don't really know. There wasn't any one thing or moment I could point to that was the defining moment of this path. It almost feels like it always just was. Yeah, I know... all that mystical crap and what not but isn't the deepest parts of life the mystical moments? Writing became more than simple story telling when I became a teenager. Life then was... well hellish. I felt the weight of a reality where my bad decisions stacked up and pressed in upon the present. It was, as Rupert Shelldrake puts it: The Hell of the Irrevocable. That was life. It was also a never ending stream of chaotic, intense and seemingly violent emotions (violent in their ferocity and assault upon my psyche). I couldn't just be happy. I had to be overwhelmingly happy. Sadness was a drawing deep into the bottom of the ocean, far away from the sunlight. Anger was volcanic. Destructive. Yet it was through writing that I found an outlet. Looking back on it, I realize now, that I was performing a sort of therapy. A Jungian styled psychoanalysis of myself. The stories I told were archetypes of my life. My journey. The emotions I felt. The consequences to actions. Stories were how I recontextualized the world. How I put the broken pieces back together to create something... dare I say: beautiful.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

It was when I saw one of Chris Fox's earliest videos. It was so eye opening that people could write and publish themselves and be successful. It was that moment that I knew the stars had aligned and that a path was open. All I did was have to undergo the journey and not give up. I'm still in that phase of hard journeying and refusing to give up.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

That's... a hard question. My favorite book is one I haven't even written so far. It's the one I'm working to. Of the one's I have written I would have to say it was the first book I actually finished. Jaegryn: The First Law. Jaegryn will always hold a special place in my life for being the first character to survive. It's even more impactful when you realize the first book I wrote of him happened a year earlier but due to a falling can of shaving cream that 50k word document was forever lost. The product I ended up with was much better than the one I would have had. Jaegryn survived. As he always does. In that way Jaegryn is also my favorite (thus far). He is my exploration of the question: What happens when your whole world is taken away? How does one deal with the absence of what you once made you feel whole? How can you watch the things you gave your life to become broken, bent down and built them back up with worn out tools (From the poem IF by Rudyard Kipling)? All questions I'm still trying to answer.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

Ikon: Altared. That book was the most extensive lore building and rewriting possible. It was the first time I used the Campfire Write program and it really helped me to flush out characters, locations, items, pantheons and philosophies far more than I had ever done before. It was the first time I did a whole draft run solely dedicated on adding and deepening the worldbuilding elements that were there.

Who is your favourite author and book?

Favorite author is Brando the Mando Sando (Brandon Sanderson). He's an icon of generosity and a love for the craft. I listen to his talks on writing at least twice a year. I really think Sanderson has done more for writers (especially those of the Fantasy and Scifi persuasion) than all the schools combined for the last century. He's humble. Genuine. A caring and devoted person who loves his fans as much as they love him. The One True Nerd. My favorite book? Again, that's a hard one. At the moment the one that comes to mind is Darth Plagueis by James Luceno. I have always loved Star Wars. It's the perfect blend of Fantasy and Scifi. Technology and mysticism. The way James handles the story of how Plagueis works to manipulate the galactic powers into the right position is incredible. Some have discounted it as the "Dark side of politics" but it's so incredibly good even if it is simply political maneuvering. Not all action is out in the open. Those who wield true power often do so from the shadows. It also does an incredible job of showing Palpatine's grooming to become the ultimate Sith lord we all know and fear. It really is just a masterclass in good storytelling.

What book are you reading right now?

Slowly trying to work my way through the Wheel of Time. I didn't get to read that stuff when I was younger, so in a way I felt like I missed out on those golden classics.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

From literally everywhere. There's a question that is on loop in the back of my mind. How can I incorporate this into my universe? If I see something I like, I try to take the time to understand why I like it and then build off of that part that I like. There's tons of lore within my universe that was created in this way. I see, hear or read about something that I like. I break it down and then build up something akin to it.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Playing video games with my kids or playing board games (our current favorite is Mr. Jack and The Great Wall). I have also recently taken up drawing as I want to eventually start creating my own artwork.

Do you have any new books in the works?

Oh yes... Lots. I'm still working out how to get all the ideas out, figure out which ones get written and, dreadfully, which get left on the cutting room floor. My goal is to hopefully find a balance of having novels, novellas and short stories (maybe even some flashfiction) in order to explore all the ideas swirling inside me.