Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
A1. I’m R. S. d’Arcy. I was born and raised on Long Island in New York. I started with a career in movies. First as an usher and then a movie theater manager. It’s working in a movie theater where I discovered my love of storytelling. I used to see so many movies over and over, and started thinking of ways to improve them or come up with my own. I first wrote screenplays just out of college. The internet was just in its infancy, so the first way I learned how to write was through a correspondence school in Hollywood. I used to read a lot of books on how to write screenplays too. Soon enough the internet was booming with companies that would offer to read what you had and critique it while, other companies that would post you work helping you find a producer who was interested.
Needing money to support my screenwriting venture, and to pay other bills and expenses in life, I started working for a government agency with an “I” in its three-letter acronym. I worked there twenty-two years, not in a row, before finally leaving after having driven cross-country with my wife, of a little over a year, to move just outside Las Vegas, Nevada. The reason I left was to be a stay at home dad to my newborn daughter. With encouragement of my wife, I decided to write my first of, hopefully, many books, Sorcery & Sin in the Second World.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “Sorcery & Sin in the Second World”?
A2. Finding the time to write and wishing I could type faster. I never struggled with the story itself. It was more just finding the time to put the story to paper. My newborn daughter’s sleeping habits turned into a blessing in disguise because even though I would be up late, it’s when I found the time to write.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
A3. There’s so many, but I would say Edgar Rice Burroughs is a big influence because I like his style of being fast paced and having a creative mind where he could write about a person in the jungle or on Mars. I also like modern day writers like George R. R. Martin, who pushes the envelope with the normal sword and sorcery fantasy stories.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
A4. The city of Las Vegas, Nevada. I actually love it so much I moved just outside the city four years ago. I think it’s special to me because of the many sunny days and warmth, which I love because it energizes me. I think I find it special also because it seems like a creative idea with how the desert acted like a blank canvas and then an exciting city was painted on it.
Q5. What inspired you to write the book ‘Sorcery & Sin in the Second
World’?
A5. I think having read a lot of fantasy books and watch a lot of sword and sandal movies over the years it encouraged me to come up with my own story.
Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘Sorcery & Sin in the Second World’?
A6. If you condense the actual writing time, it took a little over two months, but life happens (mostly good stuff😊), so it became more like 10 months.
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?
A7. It’s available on Amazon.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘Sorcery & Sin in the Second World’?
A8. I wanted the cover to show how two normal, everyday people get thrown into this wild fantasy world, so I had the main female character, Rena, wear some sexy warrior outfit with a castle in the background, while the main male character, Pal, wears business casual attire while standing in an office. Thankfully, I found an artist online who was able to capture my vision.
Since this was my first book and no one knew what kinds of books I was going to write, I wanted the title to let everyone know that I wrote a sword and sorcery fantasy set in a different world than the one you’re familiar with as well as having some sexy scenes. I almost called it Sorcery and Sex in the Second World, but thought the word Sin had a deeper meaning. Also, Sorcery and Sex in the Second World reminded me too much of the title, Sex and the City, which I didn’t think quite fit.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
A9. I think making the characters just regular people you would know in everyday life keeps it fresh. One main character, Rena, is a gamer and into the fantasy genre so she’s totally into this new world, while the other main character Pal is the practical one in the relationship as opposed to the dreamer, so he feels lost and wants to get back home. Also adding humor by having real world reactions, like how would you act if you met a magical gnome, army of corpses, or a sorcerer.
Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
A10. Write first, then edit later. If you try making the sentences read perfectly, and look for every spelling and grammatical error at the same time, then you’ll never finish. It’s important to get the idea down first then go back and fix it up.
Buy Sorcery & Sin in the Second World on Amazon
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