Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Michael, and I’ve spent my life pursuing knowledge and adventure in other worlds.
Growing up in rural Northern California, I spent my childhood looking for bugs and lizards and snakes. Discovering fantasy and science fiction gave me portals to other worlds, and I’ve never looked back.
Now I live in Oregon with my beautiful fiancée and our lovable rascal of a dog. In addition to writing, my hobbies include fitness, folk metal music, cooking, and game nights with friends.
How many books have I written? Four, and two of them are published (The Altar of My Fate and The Spiral of My Destiny).
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest published book is The Spiral of My Destiny, book 2 of the Rosteval Saga. At the end of book 1, The Altar of My Fate, I said: “What am I going to do with these characters now?”
I set out to answer that question by asking myself what could go wrong for them. There was quite a lot to work with.
Without giving any spoilers, I will say that one of the ideas I had early on was that it would be interesting to find a different take on a fantasy dark lord kind of figure.
What if I had a supernatural being with an unconventional reason for wanting to take over the world?
The other thing I tried to engage with was the maturation of my two central characters and their relationship. What does it mean to take responsibility and learn how to trust someone at the same time?
All of that said, it is for the reader to judge the quality of my answers to these questions. I will close by saying that I certainly had a great deal of fun writing the book!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
For one thing, I *cannot* write unless I have completed my daily workout and had breakfast. I run three days a week, and on days that I don’t run, I have to take a walk before my mind is at all fit for writing.
The other thing is the music. Despite being a folk metal music fanatic, I listen to progressive house and drum and bass while I write. It keeps me cognitively engaged without distracting me too much.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a tremendous fan of Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher, and R. Scott Bakker (The Prince of Nothing series is one of the finest things in print).
Recently I added two more amazing authors to my list of holy canon: Jeff Long, author of “The Descent,” and Scott Hawkins, author of “The Library at Mount Char.” I really can’t believe my luck: I read those last two books back-to-back, and they’re both absolutely god-tier.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on book 3 of the Rosteval Saga. I expect to be able to release it no later than May of 2022.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I will say that I’m a firm believer in promotional sites like this one.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Embrace writing as a routine, something that you do whether you feel like it or not.
I always use exercise as an analogy: I work out six days a week, rain or shine, whether I “want to” or not.
You’ll go through periods when you doubt yourself, periods when you don’t feel creative or inspired, periods where you don’t want to write.
If you keep at it, if you keep persevering, if you keep writing no matter what… then I think you will find that the magic always comes back.
The other big thing is to study the craft of writing. Check out Write. Publish. Repeat. by Sean M. Platt and Johnny Truant, not to mention Fiction Unboxed by the same authors.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In the writing context, the best advice I have ever heard is to write a series of story beats—bullet points, basically—and then improvise as you write the scenes. My experience is that it really does make for faster and better writing.
What are you reading now?
Malice, by John Gwynne
What’s next for you as a writer?
My plan is to complete book 3 of the Rosteval Saga, commission the cover art, and publish it—probably no later than May 2022.
After that, I have a number of series planned to various degrees. I believe the next one I’ll be working on is my space opera fantasy mythos.
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?
Okay, 3 or 4 books? I’d choose a survival book, one of those books that teaches time travelers how to rebuild civilization from scratch. As for the other two-three titles, I’d say The Descent by Jeff Long, The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker, and Twelve Against the Gods: The Story of Adventure by William Bolitho.
Author Websites and Profiles
Michael Schultheiss Website
Michael Schultheiss Amazon Profile
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