INTERVIEW | The Embarrassed Zebra

I interviewed Wayne Thomas Batson! (Author of The Door Within Trilogy, as well as The Berinfell Prophecies.) Here are his replies!

1. What was the first story you EVER wrote? And did it involve dragons, wyverns,
or any fantastical creatures of any kind? The first story I can remember was a Halloween short story for a contest back in the 6th grade. It didn’t have any dragons in it or wyverns, but there were freaky monsters and ghosts. I remember a scene where the main character triggered a trapdoor in one of the haunted house’s bedrooms and went sliding down a chute into a basement full of ghouls. Wish I could find the story. It would be a good laugh. Indeed, it sound fascinating. 🙂

2. As a Christian author, how does God being in your life influence your
writing? God has changed my whole worldview. And God is the creative Genius who fuels my stories. Honestly, I can just be riding down the road and POOF, a fully formed story idea zaps into my mind. Often, I scribble ideas on the back of my church bulletin because something in the sermon or in a praise song triggers a story idea. But then, as I work through the novel, I give a lot of thought to making the characters real, that they are challenged and struggle with things that Christians struggle with–and actually things that all humanity struggles with. I want my readers to be prompted to ask the BIG QUESTIONS of life. And I know that Jesus is the ONLY answer to those questions. Absolutely. The ever-present Sunday school answer (“Jesus!”) is usually the best.

3. It says on the back of your book that you teach Reading and English to
middle-schoolers. A. That is pretty much the bomb. B. Has having students
affected the way you write? Brilliant question. Seriously, my students have inspired my writing to the point where, if I hadn’t been a teacher, I don’t know that I ever would have been an author. I field test all my novels on my students to see if they like it. We have deep literary discussions that ROCK reading class like never before. To quote another author, “Kids are much more intelligent and perceptive than most adults give them credit for being.” And because of that, my students are a HUGE help.
I can’t help but agree: We young do tend to be quite wise…

4. Do you have any particular writing habbit? i.e. Drinking coffee, listening to
classical music, bursting into spontaneous bouts of Yoga? Diet soda for me. Protein Bars. I listen to progressive metal music, the more symphonic and cinematic, the better. It serves two purposes: 1) it’s loud enough that it blots out distractions and 2) it’s epic, which of course, inspires epic stories.
Yep. Whenever I think “Wayne Thomas Batson” my mind always gone straight to “metal music.”

5. What five adjectives best describe you? Mercurial, creative, introspective, fun-loving, and searching.

6. Has anybody ever told you that your Shelfari profile picture makes you look a
bit like an evil mustachioed Count?

Uhm…yeah, I’ve had people say similar things. I admit, it’s kind of a sinister look for me. I was just messing around with my Mac’s photobooth program, and I kinda liked the look. lol
I think I need to get me a Mac.

7. What is your favorite author/book/book series and why? Lord of the Rings. I could write a novel as to why it’s my favorite. In short, it’s an epic adventure that takes you into wondrous land full of interesting people. But there’s also something about the culture in the book that I LONG for, a simpleness of life, getting together with friends for a merry time, all things green and growing…ah, I often wonder if Heaven will be like that. I think the odds are pretty good. 🙂

8. What person has most inspired you in your writing? That’s really hard to say. I had a poetry teacher at a local college. She really helped me to understand the importance of language–even at the word level. Make your words count. Never settle for weak words–that kind of thing.

9. What is your best advice to the young writer/bloggers of this generation? Write. Seriously. If you want to write for a career, then read tons and write tons. Learn from other writers. What do they do to craft a cool story? Pay attention in school. All that grammar stuff…turns out, it really does matter.

10. What is your favorite Bible verse and why? I really don’t have “A” favorite verse. I have tons. But one of the ones I find myself reciting is Romans 8:38-39: ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It reminds me that God’s hold on us cannot be broken by satan, by the troubles of this world, not even by ourselves when we are our own worst enemy–God will not ever let us go. Amen.
Amen.

Mr. Batson, thank you for doing this interview with me. And to all of you who enjoyed the interview, check out Wayne’s blog at http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com

Here’s a first. 🙂 An interview. Yee-hooey. If you can remember, I posted a review of Mr. Eastman’s Howl Sage a while back. (Click on *THIS* to read the review.) He agreed to do an interview, and has provided some tasty graphics. Enjoy!

What first inspired you to write?

BDE: A single word came to me, HowlSage. I wasn’t exactly sure what it meant, but soon a story swirled in my mind. Howl was the wolf’s call and Sage was another word for magician, so the definition for HowlSage became magician of the moon. I believe that neither magic or a werewolf can be good, so the HowlSage would be my villain, and further, like C.S. Lewis, I recognized that demons are everywhere. To counter the HowlSage, I needed a demon hunter, and soon I had our hero, Taylor. The story is, of course, fiction, but I’ve pulled elements into it from a reality we often don’t recognize for its very real and true danger. I wasn’t trying to pose any theology in HowlSage. Like stories with dragons, magic, elves, or dwarves, this story is fiction. I hoped The Sages of Darkness series would cause young adults and adults alike to think, to make them reflect, to challenge how they live their life. Too often we make light of things that, if real, would truly be nothing short of demonic–say werewolves, vampires, and zombies. These are not heroes, and because of the elements that make up these fictional species, they can never be.

The first story you ever wrote- How long was it? What was it about?

BDE: Well… First published work was The Quest for Truth: Taken at 87k words. But my first story that I read for an audience, was in third grade. The book (or collection) was titled “The Case of The Missing Cargo? and other misteries” (Yes that’s how I spelled mysteries.) It was under 750 words, but I did do illustrations as well. As you can see I still have the book to this day.

Misteryous. 🙂
How does what you read influence what you write?

BDE: It makes my writing better. I am not a writer! At least not by nature, I went to school for Marketing. People will argue, “You’re published aren’t you? Then you’re a writer.” Fine then I am, but I’m more of an idea guy a storyteller if you will. The editorial stuff is not my strongest skill, the ideas seem to always be flowing but getting them into a readable format that’s the difficult part.

Storyteller, rather than writer. Well put.
What is your ideal place to write? With what at your desk? (i.e. Tea, Pop, chocolate, etc.)

BDE: My favorite question. I write lots of places, but generally my best work is at our computer desk, Harry Potter, The Village, How to Train Your Dragon, Lord of the Rings, etc soundtrack playing. A mug of Apple Cider or Russian Tea, some stove popped popcorn (kernels and oil) usually make for my most productive writing.

Potter music publishes books! I KNEW it!
How does your faith affect the way you view writing?

BDE: Writing is my outreach. It’s a way to impact kids, adults, non-Christian and Christian with inspirational stories that I hope lead them to seek out the Truth or start asking questions.

I’d say that a key effect of my faith is to stray away from the things that sometimes plague other books like cursing, graphic violence or other elements that are seemingly unnecessary. I’d also say that a Faith like element sometimes drives my characters in some way or not. It’s also easier to speak to a character’s conscience when you yourself have the Holy Spirit guiding your writing.

In five words (or less), describe your book in its entirety. (Hah!)

BDE: HowlSage: Taylor must hunt demons.

Taken: Find parents and seek Truth.

Nicely done.
What does the D in Brock D. Eastman stand for?

BDE: D stands for Douglas after my dad’s twin. My dad’s name is Dave, his brother Doug. Get this: I was named Brock after the St. Louis Baseball player Lou Brock.

Dave, Douglas, and St. Louis. Brilliant.
If you were to write a comedy novel about a mammal of your choice, what would it be titled?

B Douglas E: Pirate Penguin’s Lollapalooza or Pirate Penguin’s Popsicle Ship

I don’t even wanna’ guess where you’re getting your inspiration.
What person in your life has most affected the way you write?

BDE: My mom. She was always pointing out things to me like the moon, the color of the sky during sunset, cool looking trees, or animals. She certainly helped me to see the world around me and encouraged my imagination to grow and be free.

Mom’s tend to be that way. 🙂
What is your best advice to young writers(/bloggers) around the world?

BDE: Rely on God to open the doors. It has to be in His time, and it has to be His will. With those together you can’t lose.

(Also, here is the aforementioned tasty cover art.)