Sunday, July 1, 2012

Interview With Wayne Thomas Batson


 Today, I'm happy to announce an interview with Wayne Thomas Batson, the bestselling author of the Door Within Trilogy, Isle of Swords, Isle of Fire, The Berinfell Prophecies, The Sword in The Stars, and The Errant King. It's great to have you here today, Mr. Batson! Or Sir Batson! ;)

How long have you been writing? Since the 6th grade, but professionally since 2005.

Did you ever think you wanted to be a published author before you became one? Sure did. I even wrote in my high school yearbook dedication that my future plans were to be an author. BUT, I don't know if I ever really believed it could happen.

Can you tell us where you got the inspiration for some of your books?God. Seriously, He is the creator, and He's made us in His image. I thoroughly believe that my best ideas come from Him. I'll take credit for the lame ones! lol  God made me a curious fellow, and I'm always thinking about what would happen "IF"? And that often gets a story rolling in my mind.

What is your favorite part about the writing process? Two favorites: 1) I love the creative rush, that moment where all kinds of cool story ideas or scene ideas come flooding into my mind, and it's all I can do to get them down before I forget. 2) I absolutely LOVE reading my stories to readers. I get into it with strange accents and drama. Too much fun to see the expressions on kids' faces.

 Is the publishing process different then you first imagined? Wow. Yes. I could write a book on how different. And honestly, traditional publishing is broken. I am amazed at how poorly authors are compensated for their work. All that is changing now though with the advent of eBooks forcing publishers to adapt or disappear.

Can you tell us how long it took for your first book to be published? Thirteen years from idea to book. But a lot of living life happened during those years.

Why are you inspired to write the genre you write? Fantasy inspired my love of reading. It is the most creative of all fiction genres because the author gets to make up everything.

How does your belief in God help you in writing new novels, and how does it affect your writing? See above. God is the reason I am alive. By Him all things were created and all things are held together--including me. So, as I write, I am very mindful and purposeful to make sure the quality of my work will glorify God.

You've co-authored two books, and are working on a third with Christopher Hopper. How does it compare to writing on your own?It's quite a bit different. I love Sir Christopher, one of my best friends in the world. But the process is difficult. Just getting schedules to match up so we can talk, revise, outline...really makes for obstacles. We use iChat quite a bit and Scrivener, and those help quite a bit.

Of all the books you've written, which is  your personal favorite? Who is your favorite character? Ah, that is a tough one. I'd have to say The Errant King is my favorite right now, but that changes with each book that I write. Some of my favorite characters are: Captain Valithor, Mallik, Falon, Anne Ross, Jacques St. Pierre, Migmar, Sprye, and Alastair Coldhollow.

Is there anything you know about writing now, that you wished you knew when working on your first book? See above about the business aspects of being an author.

How do you deal with criticism about you books? (I love them! No criticism here :D) Better now than I used to. It's hard when someone blasts your book because you've poured so much time and energy into it. These days, I tend to take all reviews with a grain of salt. The best reviews are the ones that tell me one of my books has led someone closer to God in some way.

Lately, some of your books have been moving into the older teen/adult age range. Was this a conscious decision, or did you simply have a story adult audiences would enjoy more? And will you be writing more YA? Funny that you noticed that. I'm not sure if it was a conscious decision. But in some ways, I think I've just come to appreciate the freedom in writing for older audiences, the ability to explore deeper issues and not have to candy coat certain things. And yes, I will write for younger audiences again. I have tons of things coming soon, including Focus on the Family's Imagination Station books. 2 of those!

Can you tell us anything about upcoming projects?
1) Berinfell Prophecies #3: The Tide of Unmaking will be out in a couple of months.
2) GHOST: written for older teens and adults, a supernatural thriller
3) Dark Sea book #3 (not yet titled) due out in November
4) a whole assortment of short stories coming out on eBook format. Can't wait to let all my readers see these!

Most of the readers of this blog are young writers. What advice can you give us? Seriously? Read. But read like a scientist. Analyze everything. Did you like that last chapter? Why? What makes you want to know what will happen next? Why do you like that character? Did you smile at a certain bit of description? Why? What can you learn from each and every author?


Is there anything else you'd like to say? :)
There is one thing, and those who've read my Door Within books will know this already. But I remember how turbulent my teen years were. Emotions and experiences are so intense. But please, please remember, even when everything stinks; other kids are mean; parents don't make sense; life seems like it's just going into the toilet....remember, you are Never Alone.

Thanks so much for having me on!

 And we thank Mr. Batson for giving us some great answers! I hope his career continues. If you haven't heard of him, or his books, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? Go check him out! Blog: http://www.enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/
 God bless!
 Bethany 
~~~~~
 (I borrowed this photo from Mr. Batson.)







Comment below with your thoughts!

15 comments:

writingsofrosie said...

Awesome interview, Bethany and Mr. Batson!! As a young aspiring writer I appreciate your advice, Mr. Batson. God bless!

By the way, Bethany, did you see the interview I had a couple weeks ago? :-)

~Winterbane~ said...

Great interview! I am an adult reader and fan of Sir Batson and his work as is my wife and our 4 kids. Even though I have never met Sir Batson, I can tell he is man after Gods own heart. This knowing comes from how he writes and how he has the underlying tone of God in what he writes. It would be cool to sit down with him some day, have a coffee, and chat. Never Alone!

Bethany Baldwin said...

Rosie, I had a great time coming up with the questions, and Mr. Batson gave some great answers!

I didn't see your interview, but I will definitely check it out!

Bethany Baldwin said...

Winterbane, I agree with you wholeheartedly! I would love to interview him again one day, but where we could see each others faces :P

Precentor said...

Great interview, and questions.

Unknown said...

Awesome! Wonderful interview! As an aspiring author I really look up to Sir Batson! I absolutley LOVE all of his books! I would love to meet him someday, and God willing, I will.

Bethany Baldwin said...

Thanks Precentor! Sir Batson was really helpful in answering!

I agree with you Elizabeth! I really want to meet him personally, and have him sign some of my books. :)

Unknown said...

Definatley! I have every single book he has written, so that might take a little while lol!

The Olson Ranch said...

AWESOME!!! That was really cool to get to read that. :) Thanks for posting!

Unknown said...

Great job, Beth! I enjoyed reading his answers!

Bethany Baldwin said...

I have ALMOST all of his books, Elizabeth. All but The Errant King.

No problem, The Olson Ranch, it was tons of fun!

Thanks Cortie ;)

Unknown said...

You will have to get it then! The Errant King is totally awesome! It is one of the best books he has ever written!

Bethany Baldwin said...

I'm going to get it as soon as I can! The Sword in the Stars is awesome so far, except he killed a character I liked... lol

Sarah Olson said...

I really want to read Isle of Swords because my friend loved it, but my library doesn't have it! I was reading The Door Within and loved the beginning because of its intrigue, but I was sadly not that wild about it. But I hope to read more by this author!

Bethany Baldwin said...

Hey Sarah! The Door Within isn't his best book, but the rest of the series really really improves. I love the second book! And Isle of Swords is awesome, I hope you find it!