Where did you spend most of your childhood?
Eastern Wisconsin
Which is your favorite childhood memory?
I’m 65 years old. That was a long time ago.
How did your diverse interests, including graphic design, woodturning, and gardening, influence your writing and approach to fantasy literature?
Opening my imagination and letting the creativity flow. Seeing where the moment takes me without any pre-conceived notions. Most of my free design projects start with a blank page, a chunk of wood, or a plot of dirt. Then the ideas slowly form as the piece of work creates itself. It magically transforms in front of my eyes. Most of what I write is for my own enjoyment, telling stories. The magic is in the telling. This is why I refer to myself as a Fantasy Storytelling Wizard.
Can you share some insights into your journey from being a college professor to a fantasy author in retirement?
Teaching at a college level meant dealing with a roomful of individuals and trying to develop teaching methods that would keep everyone focused and interested enough to learn.
How did your background in education shape your writing style?
I used that same approach when I sat down to write. I wanted to be able to reach readers who may not have ever read fantasy and capture their interests as well as providing new material to other fantasy book fans.
As an avid reader of fantasy, which authors and specific works have had the most significant impact on your own writing?
I have read much of what JRR Tolkien wrote. I think I read The Lord of the Rings five times and The Hobbit was my first introduction too fantasy way back in middle school (I think). I have read many of the Dragonlance Chronicles book series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I am also a fan of the Forgotten Realm series and the numerous authors that have contributed to it.
How do your experiences in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and your love for nature translate into the settings and landscapes you create in your fantasy novels?
We live in the national forest so I use what I see in my hikes and the landscape around me as I imagine some of the landscape for the Land of Paron.
Retirement often brings a change in routine. How has this shift in lifestyle affected your writing process and productivity as an author?
I was spending much of my free time reading when I wasn’t out in the shop, the garden, or the woods. Last year I fell on the ice and injured my back which curtailed most of my other activities and my wife suggested I try writing a book. That was when I sat down and allowed my mind to begin telling the story of Valkomert the White of the Shadow Mountains which led to the beginning of the Land of Paron series.
Your bio mentions your incredible family. How have they influenced or supported your writing journey, and do they play a role in your creative process?
As I just wrote in the last answer, I had not considered writing until my wife gave me the nudge to try it. She has been my major support for this. She loves my books. The rest of my family are slowly being introduced to my writing.
Can you share a bit about your dog and the role pets or animals, in general, play in your life and possibly in your fantasy worlds?
Most of the “animals” in my books have been either working livestock or animals of the wild. Beasts and monsters that I have included and created have in a loose way been based upon some of the predators, human or animal, of the wild, chaotic world in which we live.
Given your background in graphic design, do you have a hands-on approach to creating visuals for your fantasy world, such as maps or character sketches?
I play around with Illustrator and Photoshop to develop my maps, visualizing the part of the land I am describing. I want the reader to picture where different instances occur as the story plays out.
How does visual storytelling complement your written narratives?
I actually design my landscape, towns, waterways, mountains and forests in my head as I write and then draw it out in the map afterwards. What I see is much more in depth than what I can put in the map and I hope my readers will use the map only as a quick guide and then let the rest flow from their own imaginations.
In what ways do you think your background as a professor has shaped the themes or messages present in your fantasy novel, "Valkomert the White of the Shadow Mountains"?
My own concept of life is a means by which I write. The concepts of good and evil. At the end of my stories, good will always win out even though it may a tough battle to get there. Gaventor’s Journey and my latest book, Beyond the Shadow Lands, follow the same concepts. I also believe in keeping the story as full of unexpected action as possible.
As a retiree, how do you balance your time between writing, outdoor activities like hiking, and other hobbies?
Half of this past year has been mainly focused on writing due to the accident last winter. Since my back is getting better, I will be able to divide my time more evenly between all my favorite activities. Each day will decide what I do. I am not one to make concrete plans for my day. It will be what it is.
Fantasy often explores complex themes and ideas. How do you approach incorporating deeper meanings or allegories into your novel, "Gaventor's Journey"?
There is good in the world in the world just as there is evil, mostly all based upon behaviors. The choice to follow the path of one over the other is personal. Love and hatred follow that same track. Another of the themes I try to follow is diversity. As an example, many stories told by others have a deep division between elves and dwarves. In my stories they, for the most part, work together. This way of thinking is incorporated in all of my stories. I do not believe that there should be a division between races.
How do you handle writer's block or moments of creative doubt?
Since I don’t sit down and outline my stories or try to follow a specific pattern of pre-meditated ideas I seldom have dealt with writer’s block. Some days I write a few pages, some days are a chapter or more. I am just telling a story and writing it down as I envision it. I never know what is going to happen until I get there. I am just an unseen companion to my characters, documenting what they come across when we reach it. A vicious beast may attack as we round a bend or climb a hill. It gets its name as I type it out on the keyboard, just as my characters are named.
Are there specific techniques or practices that help you overcome these challenges?
I close my laptop and go outside, take a nap, or go have lunch. When I open the laptop again, I form a picture of where my characters are and we take off again.
What advice do you have for aspiring fantasy authors, especially those who may be considering writing as a second career or in retirement?
Just open your imagination. Don’t think too hard. Let the story unfold, following what you know and what you would want to read.
What has your AllAuthor experience been like so far?
As in this interview it has been a great opportunity to share my work and to see what other authors are doing.
What are some highlights?
I’ve only been on here for the past few months and haven’t seen much yet. I’ve appreciated your book cover mockups and tweets though I don’t follow X much due to the strong decrease in traffic.
