Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am currently living in central Florida working as a manager at a healthcare linen facility. In 2015 I moved from St. Augustine, Florida where I graduated from Flagler College magna cum laude in business administration. Besides writing, my main passion is working out. To date, I have published one book, but I have written a science fiction novel about a 1000 year old immortal from east Africa who is besieged by aliens and the World Order. I plan on publishing it next year.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Plexi: Adversity is my latest book. There is real magic in the world and I wanted to write about it. Years ago I had an idea for a short story about a mystically powered teenage girl who tangled with two evil boys from her school. I eventually expanded upon the idea and made it into a book and gave the girl some friends to help her fight. Also, I have Mage Terminus to thank for additional inspiration in the form of knowledge of other worlds. To hear him tell it though, he does all of the hard work.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do indeed. I like to make a game out of names in my writing. If you read Plexi: Adversity you may find something to the main evil wizard’s name T’navreskrad. I also play around a bit with other names but I will let my readers discover the twists for themselves. Outside of that, I do not think I do anything strange when I write. Except for having to listen to the persistent entity Mage Terminus spew his wisdom.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Michael P. Kube-McDowell has influenced the flavor of certain sections of my book. Mr. McDowell is in touch with his dark side, which has shown me it is okay to write about the dark side of my villains. Piers Anthony and his crazy humor have been a definite influence also. I am not of his caliber but I like to include humor in my stories from time to time. Octavia Butler is also a big presence for me because she is my inspiration as a black author.
What are you working on now?
Right now I am working out the plot for my next book Plexi: Deception. It will take place when Plexi is in college and should have lots of surprises. In the interim, I am mainly focused on reaching my audience for my first book.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Since I am new to the arena I cannot say what is working best for me yet. So far I am using social media as much as possible and I went through Smashwords to initially publish my book. Searching Youtube for advice, I happened upon Awesomegang as a resource and hope to see good results there. My main focus is on finding sites for my target audience of fantasy fans in general, with readers who like multi-racial teams in particular. I have also started the first steps to having a book signing at a local Barnes and Noble.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Being a new author myself the best words of wisdom I can give are that it takes a lot of work to put the word out about your book, so never give up. More importantly—make a game of it and have fun!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I am taking the best advice I have ever heard which is to self-publish. If I had done that in the beginning I would have had my fantastic book out there sooner!
What are you reading now?
Cobra Slave by Timothy Zahn; Worlds of Star Trek: Bajor and Trill by Andy Mangels, Michael Martin, and J. Noah Kym; and I am finishing Ibrahim Unites by James Lee Nathan III. I usually read two or three books at once.
What’s next for you as a writer?
My next move is to launch a science fiction series entitled Return of the First Gods about an immortal named Henry Michaels from east Africa. Henry is one thousand years old and is have a bit of trouble with aliens and the World Order. The story is set in the mid-twenty first century and is for an adult audience, targeted differently from my mainly young-adult audience in Plexi: Adversity.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would bring The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, because it is long. I would also bring a survival manual. And lastly, I would bring a book that tells how to get off a desert island.
Author Websites and Profiles
Kwame Opeyo Website
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Kwame Opeyo Author Profile on Smashwords
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