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1. What is the name of your latest book? Tell us about it.
Before we begin, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to chat today. My latest book is called Sojourn - The Wildlands. It's a dystopian adventure/romance novel centered around the heroine Rayn Mirago. I'll give you the blurb to help explain what it's all about:
Rayn Mirago's seventeenth birthday is tomorrow, but there will be no party, no gifts, and no celebration. Like every other child in this world where humanity is on the brink of extinction and resources are at a premium, she must make her Sojourn across the former United States to prove her worth. The human race has nearly been wiped due to overpopulation, global warming, and our own ignorance and conceit. The coastal cities of the U.S. have been reclaimed by the ocean and the Midwest is now a vast desert wasteland known as the Deadlands. The remaining fifty thousand or so survivors in the old United States now live in one of five walled cities, called Enclaves where they eek out a meager existence.
Rayn's Sojourn begins when she steps through the gates of the Vegas Enclave and into the vast wilderness between the old city and Deadlands, an area known as the Wildlands. She will face many struggles and dangers that will challenge her, make her doubt herself, and force her to realize that she is stronger than she ever imagined.
But first, she must overcome the burden of leaving her old life, everything and everyone she has ever known and loved behind.
Rayn's Sojourn begins when she steps through the gates of the Vegas Enclave and into the vast wilderness between the old city and Deadlands, an area known as the Wildlands. She will face many struggles and dangers that will challenge her, make her doubt herself, and force her to realize that she is stronger than she ever imagined.
But first, she must overcome the burden of leaving her old life, everything and everyone she has ever known and loved behind.
2. How long have you been writing?
I've been doing it seriously for about five years or so, but I've been tinkering with ideas and story concepts all my life. I think my early years playing Dungeons and Dragons (nerd alert - proud to be) helped hone my creative energies.
3. Do you have any favorite books or authors that have influenced you?
Tolkein...I mean that's where I first learned to love reading and think about writing. Mt other favorite book is a little obscure...it's called Windhaven by a fairly well known writer called George R.R. Martin (wink, wink) in collaboration with Lisa Tuttle...it is a fantastic book. I have a very worn out paperback copy.
4. What is your favorite quote from Sojourn?
I never knew this was what the world was really like outside the Enclaves. I mean, they tell you in class how things used to be and what happened, but it really doesn’t give you a sense of what it’s really like. The descriptions in school don’t mention the clothes you find scattered on the ground, the toys abandoned in the sand and the empty places where people used to live, work, and love.
I always pictured the Wildlands as some sort of barren landscape wiped clean of any evidence that humans had ever even been here, but it’s not like that at all. We all know that the world used to be filled with people, billions of people, but until you walk out here you can't understand the loss. It’s one sad sight after another.
It's more a passage than a quote...sorry about that.
5. So, this is always a little bit of dreaded question, but I have to ask, where did the idea for The Pharaoh's Cat come from?
It's hard to say really, but part of it came from the news, from real life I suppose. I'm not trying to preach here, but we all know that Global Warming is a thing, a real thing and the longer we allow ourselves to deny it, the harder it's going to be to stop it before it's too late.
6. Can you tell us anything about what you're working on now?
Well, in addition to the other three books in the Sojourn series, I have three other novels in the works...an urban fantasy called EVE, a steampunk adventure entitled Amaveo, and an old book that I am trying to re-work called Aperios.
7. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors or anything more to say before you go?
Just write. Don't worry about what other people say...just write. I'll be honest, I have not made much money from my books so far, and I want too, or course, but the writing is what should matter to you...the creation of new worlds, the birth of characters that you eventually fall in love with...that's the payoff...although money would be nice.
Also...don't concern yourself with bad reviews...I've gotten my share...but no one loves everything...even the best novels are disliked by many people. If you get a great review and a bad review, then you know that you are a real writer.
Don't forget to check out B. D. Messick's books!!
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