Please welcome Garland, to my blog. Shall we have a chat?
1. Please introduce yourself to those reading this blog post.
Hello everybody! My name’s Garland Redvine! I’m a pseudonymous self-published author who specializes in fantasy, science-fiction, and adventure books.
2. Has writing always been part of your life and when did you “know” that it was time to start writing your first book?
I always loved to read and write. I learned to read quickly when I was young. As for writing and storytelling, that came equally as natural to me. Even though I was pretty shy, I used to tell and write stories to entertain my family and friends. To me, hearing, telling, or writing a great story was just magical.
I’ve been practicing writing my first book ever since I knew how to write (I’m not kidding!). I knew I wanted a career in literature, movies, or video games. I had dreams of writing a successful book or series.
3. How difficult was it writing your first book?
If I’m going to be honest, calling it “difficult” would be the understatement of the century.
For the past few years, life has been stressful. I was stuck in a struggling dead-end job that hardly paid any bills. I didn’t have any connections or network. Not even an online presence. And I was totally alone.
Basically, I had little money, no friends, and virtually no control over my life.
All these things overwhelmed me and I sank into a deep, dark depression. I felt invisible and helpless. I even felt like all the pressure was making me physically sick! It was horrible.
But if I ever had anything I could rely on, it was that I loved to write. So I did.
4. Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you?
The stress of my situation definitely wore on me and there were times where all I wanted to do was lay there on the ground and rot. But my will was strong. I wasn’t about to let the unforgiving world stop me from doing what I loved.
I motivated myself and wrote that fantasy story that had been sitting around in my head for years. I knew that if there was anything I wanted to do in this life, it was to publish a book. I got inspiration from Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird (the creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Amanda Hocking. Their stories of success in self-publishing inspired me to try my hand at it.
5. Who is the most supportive of you and your dream to be a writer?
My parents generally gave me moral support. My father in particular really nurtured my love of reading and storytelling. My parents were ecstatic to see that I managed to self-publish a novel given my circumstances.
6. Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
I believe a story should not just be well-written, but exciting, emotional, and keep you turning the page. The first book in my fantasy series, Nova Terra: The Secret of Galeeza, is available on Amazon! Kindly leave a rating and review to support your new favorite fantasy author! 🙂
7. What is the best advice given to you (book or otherwise), and by whom?
“Success is a planned event.” – a random fortune cookie.
8. What is your target audience and what aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?
My target audience is adult fans of fantasy, science-fiction, and adventure. The aspect of my writing that I feel targets the audience is the sense of adventure, wonder, and nostalgia while also exploring complex, unique characters.
I also believe in writing a story that is never boring. I want my books to feel like a movie in your head.
If you like Legend of Zelda or Final Fantasy, you’ll enjoy my work too.
9. Did the cover evolve the same way, or did you work with someone to make it come together for you?
When making the cover, I remember I had a specific image in mind: That of my two main characters, Deronis Narpaz and Greenstar, fighting a monster (the Chimera as its known in the story). I wanted the cover to be eye-catching so I requested my cover artist to make it vibrant. I also wanted readers to feel like they were behind the characters as if preparing to fight the monster too. It would look both ominous and interesting.
10. What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt?
The next book in the Nova Terra series is called The Crystals of Order.
The following excerpt is a monologue spoken by Sivaldion, the God of Order to his team called the Defenders of Order:
“We have tasked ourselves with locating the six Crystals that hold my divinity. So far, we have been successful in doing that. They are in six different areas of Nova Terra: Tamas, Miktlan, the Mechanisarria, Midgard, and Ybardia.
To combat the plans of the Tribe of Insanity and their mad god, we have carefully selected five capable, honorable warriors to get back the Crystals and restore Order to Nova Terra. Those warriors, dear friends, are all of you.”
11. Any last words before we wrap things up?
Writing a book, whether traditionally-published or self-published, is anything but easy. It requires money, commitment, passion, and creativity. My goal is to give readers a literary experience they’ll never forget. Any and all support is welcome and appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on any of my socials!
Links needed for: Blog, author page, website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon, Tumblr, Barnes & Noble, Instagram, etc. Give them in list form, thanks.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Nova-Terra-Galeeza-Garland-Redvine/dp/B0C9S9QBW2
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/garlandredvine
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garlandredvine/
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GarlandRedvine
