StanleyWheeler

 

Interview with Kevin Buckner

Author of

The Cudomerie Series

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

I have two works in progress. One is the second book in my series, The Cudomerie. Its title is The Descent of Rogen and it picks up where the first book, The Advent of Zon, leaves off. The series is about a group of necromancers trying to gather their legendary relics while their enemies try to stop them. All the while, a rogue demon prince causes chaos every chance he gets.

The second work in progress is called The Tenth Floor. It’s a near-future dystopian sci-fi about people living in underground totalitarian communities after a nuclear holocaust made life above ground impossible.

(Note that I have inserted additional questions or comments in italics, as I sometimes do. Kevin can reply to them in the comments if he is so inclined.)

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?

The series is based on a D&D game I ran about fifteen years ago. The second work is based on a dream I had.

As long as the dream one doesn't include sparkling vampires, I support that. Did you include in the book the same character from the game?

Do you write in more than one genre?

Yes

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

The characters in my books tend to be more morally ambiguous than you would find in a lot of popular literature. While it is clear who the protagonists and antagonists are, the characters themselves do some questionable things in order to achieve their goals. One of my beta readers said she likes that about the characters because it makes them more realistic. Just like in real life, most of my characters are neither all bad nor all good, but are complex people with unique motivations.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

I tend to slip a lot of my personal philosophies and beliefs into dialogue, character actions, and character interactions. I have arrived at these philosophies and beliefs because of my personal history. I also occasionally draw upon my history to influence scenes in my books. For example, there’s a scene in The Advent of Zon where the reader sees the main protagonist’s youth. A bully is asked what his problem with the main character is, to which the bully responds by asking whether they want the list in alphabetic or chronologic order. When asked how you would list things chronologically, the bully begins with the fact that the main character was born and that his mother didn’t drown him as an infant. That exchange was a slightly altered conversation from my past.

 

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

I graduated high school with a diploma of merit in English and Science. I got A’s in my creative writing class and I passed the AP English Language examination. I also got good grades in the English and writing classes I took in college. This is all to say that I have a personal history of educators telling me that I write well. I think this is important for readers to know because there’s always the fear when deciding whether to give an unknown, self-published author a chance that it won’t be any good. Those who have read my book know how well-written it is. I can assure potential readers that it is every bit as well-written as a lot of traditionally-published books, and more well-written than some traditionally-published books I have read.

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

I don’t know if it’s underrated, but I know that Contest by Matthew Reilly is one that most people I know have never heard of. It is a fantastic action/thriller sci-fi book. A coworker had me borrow it on Friday and told me he would get it back from me on Tuesday. I told him that I’d return it when I finished reading it, to which he replied that he was aware and that he would get it back from me on Tuesday, because that would be the next time we worked together. I was dubious, but I did return the book to him on Tuesday. It’s one of the few books that I had a hard time putting down because I absolutely had to know what happened next.

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

The Advent of Zon, mostly because it’s the only book I have published.

I think this may be my favorite answer to this question.

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

The job I had at a large reference laboratory near my home. I was working in a department that had a lot of down-time. After I had finished all my work-related tasks, I spent time writing the first draft. The job was also a 7 on/7 off schedule, so I spent a lot of time during my week off writing, as well.

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

First, I’d like people to ask where they can buy my book more frequently, and second, I’d like those same people to ask when the second book is coming out.

So when is the second book going to be available? I see the first one, but not the second on Amazon.

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

One of the things I always say is “If you never work on a project, you’ll never complete it.” I like this because it is absolutely true, but also because it keeps me going on things. Even if I can’t devote a lot of time to a project, it helps because it means to me that even incremental progress is progress and will ultimately help me achieve my goal of completing the project.

 So are you working that second book? I've heard a peculiar rumor which says that books in a series sell better when several books in the series are available.

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Thanks to Kevin for participating in the interview.

And speaking of books in a series, a reader of book 4 in my Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series, Promise of Carnage and Flame, let me know today that he has read the book twice already--he doesn't post reviews and he only reads hard copies; he has no Amazon or goodreads accounts. He particularly liked Iago's adventure. That did surprise me because although I really like Iago's adventure, I expected this particular reader wold be enthralled with two of the other adventure threads as more exciting from his point of view. I should've realized that everyone likes Iago.

I lent a paperback of book 1, Threading the Rude Eye, to another friend who completed it and demanded the next two books in the series because she is a fast reader. So she's has books 2 and 3 now.

In other news, I submitted another short story this week. I've also put up six episodes of a Vella story. I haven't "published" them yet, as I don't know when the Vella stuff is going to go live. Everything I see simply says "within the next few months." I think the payment scale will not be great, but it might be great for readers who like episodic tales. I figure that I can get more exposure to readers if I have at least story there, and I do like writing episodic tales.