Q1. Hello Sir, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Well, first of all, I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to express some ideas about myself and my book. I really appreciate your willingness to read my book and review it for others to see.
I am a thirty-two-year-old man, married to my wife for almost six years now, and we have three small boys. We live in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in east-central Minnesota, in the United States of America. I am a practicing physical therapist, graduating with my doctor of physical therapy degree in 2013. I enjoy helping people to improve their quality of life, restore their physical function, and decrease their pain. In my spare time, when there is some, is usually spent reading or writing, playing with my kids, spending time with my wife, and having family adventures from time to time. I also enjoy cooking any number of various cuisines from around the world since I really enjoy learning about different cultures.
If anyone has any more questions about me, feel free to ask. I can be contacted on my Facebook page, The Winged Lion: Marion’s Match by Patrick D. Carlson, my Instagram @patrickdcarlson, my profile on Goodreads, Bookbub, or my email at patrickdcarlson20@gmail.com.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘The Winged Lion: Marion’s Match’ book?
The most difficulty certainly came from the editing process. I know the finished product arrived after at least 11 revisions after having gone through the whole story over and over. I certainly became a better writer as I learned how to refine my craft through this difficult editing phase. My wife and dad were probably my greatest editors-in-chief, aside from myself. My publisher helped me move forward to present a much better version than what I initially had, so I am grateful for them as well. Aside from that, the greatest challenge was, at times, finding the time and the will to keep writing despite living a fairly busy and active life with my career and family.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
Interestingly, most of what I read are articles related to geo-political events, military technology, and military/world history, so I don’t really have much exposure to other books or authors that influence my writing. Two books that do come to mind, based on my general knowledge, would be Starship Troopers and The Hunger Games, based on some of philosophical overtones and dystopian themes.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
I live in the north-central state of Minnesota in the United States of America. I’d say my favorite city to visit in Minnesota is the northern port town of Duluth. I have many fond memories there from my childhood, and now that I have a family of my own, I am trying to bring that experience to my own children now.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you dive in and start writing a book?
Not really. I think ideas over in my head, and I might jot things down on some paper notebooks that I have laying around (I get tired of using anything with a screen sometimes), then I start writing. I find that if I have some central ideas in my head, then I can research topics, names I like for characters, places I want the story to take place in, and other things, as the plot moves forward. In other words, after putting down some thoughts, I tend to fill in the story around it and go with it.
It is very easy to get bogged down with research and preparation, and those can really impede the actual writing of the story, so I have found that if you just start writing, you can get embellish the details along the way. I don’t know what the professionals do, but that’s what I have come to understand based on my experience.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘The Winged Lion: Marion’s Match’ book?
I would say if I were to add up the bits and pieces over the last four and a half years of writing, it would probably be a solid 18 months to put the storyline together, then about 24 months of editing and revising. That was the best I could do given my other dedications in life.
Q7. On what platforms readers can find ‘The Winged Lion: Marion’s Match’ book to buy?
Amazon, Google Books, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and many other places you can find online, in either paperback or in e-book format.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘The Winged Lion: Marion’s Match’?
If I may, I’ll start with the title. The title “The Winged Lion: Marion’s Match” took a few months to come up with, and I did end up changing the “Marion’s Match” part later in the writing process. The idea of the “Winged Lion” is symbolic of someone who stands out as being elevated in his or her ways of conduct and the unique way in which he or she understands the world. In the case, Peter Barclay, the leading teenage protagonist in the storyline, is the “Winged Lion”. Embedded within Chapter 10 is a sub-story that provides greater context for the title’s name.
The “Marion’s Match” part of the title comes with a two-fold meaning. General Marion, leader of the Federated Anti-Colonial Front (FAF), has a duel-to-the-death at Central Stadium in Chicago, so his match with a deadly harvester is explicitly stated there, and the implied match is his adversarial relationship with Premier Kerioth, the tyrannical ruler of the world government, The United People’s Commonwealth.
My wife came up with the cover along some of some of my guidance. My publisher then used her template almost exactly as she created it.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
I try to tie in concepts that can relate to our current times, so readers can think, “Hey, even though this book takes place in the future, it sure sounds like what’s going on right now,” to some extent at least. I try to incorporate nuggets of my personal interests within the storyline, such as historical dates, names of persons or significant places, etc., as well as military technologies, and religious concepts, among other things.
Q10. Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?
The overarching theme is a futuristic take on a world government, basically a totalitarian, socialist government. I am an American, so naturally most of my story takes place there and incorporates principles from which this world government had to dismantle to enforce its will on the world. The rebellion, which is a worldwide network, is attempting to restore liberty to the world’s population. Their guiding principles are those from the American Revolution in their effort to achieve independence from colonial Great Britain, which I am sure you are also deeply aware of, being in India, and having had your own historical struggles for independence from The British Crown. Though the principles of the rebels aim to restore liberty using principles found in the American Revolution of 1776, it is meant to be able to be applied to anyone who seeks liberty in the world. Therefore, I want readers to be aware that the ideas are what is most important, not so much the place in which they originate.
The other big theme is related to the introduction of the spiritual realm. In this futuristic world, all religions are illegal, so thus, worldwide atheism and it’s natural counterpart, materialism, are the most prevalent viewpoint. Through the character, Peter Barclay, I attempt to begin to bring up big topics related to this spiritual world, i.e. angles and demons, the soul, the afterlife, etc.
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