It would seem winter has settled here already. In my case, a couple of logs on the fire, a steaming cup of organic chai latte and a good book...perfect. Read on, you might feel the urge to lose yourself in the world Diane has created.
Could you share a little about yourself and
what led you to become a writer?
I never expected to be
a writer. In fact, as I left high school
I didn’t expect to be much of anything. I
had learning disabilities and failed out of pretty well everything I took in
school. My writing skills were so bad
that I was embarrassed to write a letter. The wounded child within needed a lot of
healing for me to believe that I had anything to offer the world. But love
heals, and unconditional love is tremendously healing. The years passed and I graduated with a Masters
of Divinity and became a pastor in a church.
A few years in I overdosed on people and needed a break. The only thing I had the remotest interest in
taking at a nearby retreat centre was a course on writing fiction taught by
Joanne Gerber, author of “In the Misleading Absence of Light.” I thought it would be an easy undemanding
week; a puff ball course. It
wasn’t. I had no aspirations to be a
writer up to that point. To this day I
believe Joanne was just being kind when she said I could do it if I choose to. On the way home I had the idea for Ben the
Dragonborn and started writing.
Do you write full time? How much of your life is
set aside for writing?
I am still a pastor
and for the moment that is my full time work.
I have a lovely congregation that is very supportive and appreciative;
however, in the not too distant future I hope to give writing a more central
place in my life.
Could you tell us a little about your novel?
Ben the Dragonborn is
a YA fantasy. It is your basic unlikely
hero story. Everyone, including Ben
Would you take us on a brief tour of your novel
and the world you’ve created?
Ben the Dragonborn
opens on a mysterious island off Canada’s west coast. On this island there is a little known school
where students from around the world are trained and prepared to go through
portals to others worlds. There are six
worlds bound together under the care of one known as the Guardian. Each world has a school. The principal of the school is also the
Watcher. He or she has a mystical
connection with the Guardian, other Watchers and with their own world. When their world is in pain the Watcher knows
it. Ben is sent to see Miss Templeton,
the Watcher of Earth to talk about his fear of water, and finds himself
unexpectedly sent to a world full of water. Chosen and sent by the one known as
the Guardian.
Where does the inspiration for you main
character and story come from?
I am really not
sure. I’m astounded that I am the writer
of this book that makes my heart sing.
It seems incredible that I had the imagination and the ability to do
this. All I can say is that Ben is an
unlikely hero, and I have an affinity for unlikely heroes, perhaps because I am
one. I have also always been drawn to
dragons. So it makes sense that dragons,
both hero and villain have a central role in my story.
What is the message behind the story? Was it
something you specifically wrote a story around or did it develop as your
characters came to life?
Any story I wrote
would be grounded in the values that undergird my faith; however, Ben the
Dragonborn could not be described as a Christian book. It is a value based book with a spiritual
thread. I did not start out to write a
book with a message in mind. Any message
people find in it developed as the characters came to life. The message that I hope people read into it, is
the message that we are all more than we think we are. I would love people to feel inspired to do
what they can to make the world a better place for us all. I would like people to see themselves like
Ben, as chosen and called to make a difference in the world. However, Ben the Dragonborn was first and
foremost intended to be a good story, and if that is all it is then I am
content. Of course it will be the
readers that will determine whether it is a good story. The jury is out until people read and review
it.
Do you work from an outline or just go with the
flow? If you use an outline, how detailed is it?
I had no idea where I
was going when I started writing. I had
the basic idea: A boy who was dragonborn,
six worlds, six schools, and a guardian of all.
I started with those basic concepts and started writing.
What is the time span in your novel, weeks,
months, years? How much research went into it?
The time span in this
book is a matter of weeks. I did a
limited amount of research.
Could you tell us how you go about your
research, how you ‘catalogue’ information to make it all work?
I went to the swimming
pool and asked about life saving techniques and searched on line for other
information. A catalogue would be too
organized for me. I can see the value,
but organizational skills are not my strong point. Perhaps I will try to have a card catalogue
system next time because there were times when I forgot a minor character’s
name.
How does this book differ from what you have
written in the past?
I have never tried to
write a novel before. I once had a
puppet skit published, and a sermon I wrote after the attack on the trade
towers was published, and the occasional article for the local newspaper was
published. And of course I write a
message for most every Sunday. There are
a lot of creative opportunities in ministry.
Over the years I have written several short skits and dramatic
monologues and always had people willing
to act in them. I have really been
blessed.
How have the changes in present day publishing
impacted your schedule as a writer?
I know very little
about present day publishing as this is my first book. All I know is that it is hard to find time to
work on the sequel to Ben the Dragonborn with my job, volunteer activities, and
remodeling my house. I also need to make
sure I walk the dog every day so his evil twin does not show up. Now that Ben the Dragonborn is published I am
finding other distractions to keep me from writing. I spend more time online, and I am meeting
authors who have written some wonderful books.
I hope to carve out some time for the sequel as I have an idea for a
third book.
How do you handle marketing? Do you have a
plan, a publicist or just take one day at a time?
I read Mark Coker’s
book on Marketing and implemented at least two of his suggestions: I made a
signature for my email and joined Twitter.
I also made up bookmarks. Twitter
was an excellent idea, which has opened up other possibilities. My next step is to do a trailer for youtube and
put in place some advertising. I also
plan to write something to give to the local newspaper and contact a training
centre that has an independent book store.
I also thought I would see if the local used book store would take print
copies of my book.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Rewrite, rewrite,
rewrite. Edit, edit, edit. If you can afford it hire an editor. I wish I would have. When you think it is ready, rewrite and edit
some more. Make sure it is the very best it can be before you release it. After editing Ben the Dragonborn a zillion
times I still found mistakes short days before it was to be published. In fact the person who is doing the Youtube
trailer for me found a half dozen mistakes.
Could you tell us what you’re working on now?
I am working on a sequel
to Ben the Dragonborn. Ben will need to
go to his mother’s home world to learn how to transform safely. A strange boy named Willie, with a knack for just
knowing things without being told will go with Ben. As will Allison, a girl who makes Ben’s heart
go pitter-patter.
Available at Kobo
Available at Barnes
and Noble
Available at
Smashwords
Available at Kindle
Ben the Dragonborn is
also available on able as an ibook and will be available from Amazon as a print
book.
Diane, it was a pleasure to "meet" you. Then unlikely hero theme applies to so many of us, without even knowing it. I think the unlikely hero is the best kind of all.
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