Book: Manifest Empire: The High Mage Of Hell
Q1. Hello Sir, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Hi. I’m an Australian, and have an interest in comics, books, science, and pop culture.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘Manifest Empire: The High Mage Of Hell’ book?
The biggest challenge for me was collating around thirty years’ worth of characters, sketches, and story ideas into a cohesive narrative. Luckily, I’d created my own reference encyclopaedia over the years, and so I already had the story skeleton.
Another key challenge was finding the time to write a book as long as mine while working full time.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
A read a lot, and like a variety of books, both fiction and non-fiction. I’d have to say some of the authors that influenced me the most would be: Matthew Reilly, Stephen King, JRR Tolkien, Harry Turtledove, Alan Grant, and John Ostrander.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
Tasmania is a beautiful place to visit. I’d recommend to anyone to go there. It’s also special to me, as that’s where I had my honeymoon.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
Haha, for me there is. I need to be in the right frame of mind to write, so I usually prep myself by listening to music and thinking about the story in general. Then I reread the last scene I wrote, to connect to the story. Finally, I check the ‘story skeleton’ reference document I create before beginning any story, in order to remind me what scene I’m up to. Then I get to it.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘Manifest Empire: The High Mage Of Hell’ book?
It took about twenty years to start, two years to write, and eighteen months to edit.
Q7. On what all platforms readers can find ‘Manifest Empire: The High Mage Of Hell’ book to buy?
There’s an Amazon eBook available, and a really nice paperback version can be ordered from most large retailers that sell books.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘Manifest Empire: The High Mage Of Hell’?
It started with the ‘High Mage of Hell’ part of the title, as that was what I titled the story idea in my notes, and named after the main antagonist. Then I thought of the series name ‘Manifest Empire’, as I wanted something catchy that reflected the superhumans in the story, i.e. Manifests.
Finally, the symbol on the cover represents Dread Sedgewick, one of the characters in the book, and I asked the artist to make it look as if it had been scratched into a wall.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
I’m a pretty odd guy, and I think my writing reflects that. Sometimes life is strange and a bit random, so I’ve tried to include that element in the story. It also highlights my quirky sense of humour, which I hope readers find as amusing as I do.
What kept it fresh for me was the fact that it’s got a lot of characters and a little bit of everything, and I enjoyed the variety of scenes I got to write.
Q10. Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?
Readers may notice I used the date format ‘BZ’ used to represent the year that the story takes place in. This is significant, but won’t really become apparent until the final book of the trilogy. That being said, the story does take place during a specific calendar year in the past, and there are historical references that make the time period apparent.
Also, there’s an appendix in the back of the book to help readers with all the characters.
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Manifest Empire: The High Mage Of Hell
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