Interview- J.Scott Nelson

J Scott Nelson is the author of the “Saga of the Riven Blade”. You can get a taste of his writing style from excerpts of the first book in the series—“Path of Peril” by clicking here. J Scott has been kind enough to take the time to answer a couple of questions for me, despite being a very busy businessman. ~~~ Holding down a full-time job and writing a series of novels must take an awful lot of stamina—how do manage it? I don't know about "stamina" -- because writing is something I love to do. It certainly does take time, though, although that is (usually) also considered "fun time" for me. So do you have a set writing routine? Not as set as I would like it to be (say -- 8 hours every day!). Unfortunately, I am not able to work in little pieces -- I need to devote a couple hours to really create good writing. I can edit in small time segments, but to create I generally need to write first thing in the morning (almost every weekend that is my main creation time). I prefer to have at least four hours, and usually within that time I can get a rough chapter done. It will need a lot of revision and editing, of course, but I really need to immerse myself in each character's mind for several hours to feel I get them "right." Since I write in multiple POV's, I can't easily switch between them. I usually choose my POV's with the idea of them being very different people, in different places of the story, with different perspectives. Have you still got time to read for leisure? Almost every night I spend at least 30 minutes reading for fun before I go to sleep. I know some fantasy writers say they can't read fantasy while they're writing -- but I love fantasy so much I almost can't read anything else! And I can rarely read only one book at a time. Right now I'm reading "Waylander" by David Gemmel, "House of Chains" by Steven Erikson, and I've ordered Patrick Rothfuss' "In the Name of the Wind" (he is also repped by my agent Matt Bialer.) Do you ever wish you’d begun writing the “Saga of the Riven Blade” sooner? If I had, it probably would not have been the same book. I brought a lot into it that related to the time when I was writing it -- themes I was interested in from the world around me, character and personality traits that I was seeing around me. So -- I guess I could NOT have written it sooner. How hard is it for you, as a “fresh face”, to find a publisher? What’s been the greatest help in your search? What’s been the biggest disappointment? Obviously, it IS pretty hard -- because I haven't found one yet! The greatest help was getting an A-list agent to represent me -- he knows the business, who to talk to, etc. The biggest disappointment is that I haven't been picked up yet -- although only a few houses have looked at me. I understand it took Matt a couple years to find Patrick Rothfuss a home -- but look how well his book is doing now. So I have no doubt it will happen when it is meant to. Does “Path of Peril” contain any commentary on current events or our world? Completely! I enjoy delving into the "gray areas" of life. It is rare in my writing to find anyone who is "completely good" or "completely evil". That is decided by motivation, context, and situation. I believe that is true in almost every conflict -- and our world has plenty of conflict. The story involves two empires clashing over resources and political differences. Neither side entirely understands the motivations of the other, and both operate under false assumptions that lead to a lot of bloodshed. There are layers to the story that involve ego, eliminating those who are different from you, even genocide. I basically look at the world around me, usually pondering "how do we ever fix this?" There isn't a lot that I can do about what happens directly in the "real" world, but I can play with scenarios and possibilities in the worlds that I create. I try very hard with my characters to make sure they face very real, universal types of challenges and opportunities. With the hundreds of readers who have responded to the samples on my website, over and over I hear how interested they are in the characters. Just like real life, sometimes they make the right decisions and sometimes they make the wrong decisions. I think the readers will be very involved with them and care when those critical junctures occur. Do you feel your characters are a reflection of parts of your own personality? Certainly in many senses that is true. I certainly have identified with Bria -- who is a plucky but naive person who doesn't know much of the world but who is trying to do her best and make a life for herself (this publishing journey is something like that!) Baron Fralen is an honorable soldier who begins to question the orders he's been given and the motivations of those he serves -- certainly many of us are feeling that way about our foreign relations these days. Visicus reflects some of my dark side. Lady Deidre desperately wants to save her country but the tools she has available for that lead her to a difficult place -- and I've felt that way at various times when decisions require a "means versus ends" consideration. I think it would very difficult for a writer to say "I've written this character and they are nothing like me." Perhaps we haven't always done all the things our characters do -- but we've wanted to -- or at least have imagined how we could be driven to do so. Happy Birthday! Have you anything specific in mind to celebrate? What’ll be your wish be as you blow out all those candles? There aren't THAT many candles :) I'm not big on birthdays, but I'm hoping that in the next year I can celebrate a book deal. I've had over 21,000 visitors to my website to check out my samples, and I'd like to celebrate getting to 30,000 visitors! ~~~ Show your support for J Scott Nelson by visiting his website, and signing the petition! Publishing is a lucrative business, so by expressing your interest in someone's work you improve their chance of striking a deal. It's a win-win situation because publishers then have a better idea of what books you want to read!