Interview With Author Omari Richards
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a debut novelist with one published book out and currently enjoying all the highs and lows affiliated with it. I run from deliriously excited to anxiously pacing constantly. Granted, this been my mindset since I’ve started writing, but the release of my debut novel that I have been working on for the past fifteen years has multiplied everything by ten.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Kimoni Legacy: Initiation.
It is an epic fantasy novel inspired by West African history, folklore, mythology, and legends. There were several points of inspiration but the biggest two being that as a kid despite being an avid reader I noticed that most stories were centered around European characters and experiences, and while the adventure and fantasy books I grew up on were almost always fun and exciting, a part of me always wondered why there was not as many books with African or Black characters outside of an urban setting.
The second inspiration was my own home. I grew around oral storytellers, my grandmother, my father, and my mother were all big storytellers in their homeland of Dominica (the commonwealth, not republic). I grew up hearing stories about Anansi the Spider, witches called the Sukuyeh, monsters that came from eggs on Easter Sunday, shape-shifters that lived across the bridge, witch doctors and obeah men who could cast curses, and so on. These stories sparked my imagination but I never found those characters in the books in my bookstores or libraries, so I wanted to create it.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure how unusual it is, but one of my favorite things to do, both when I’m feeling inspired and when I have writer’s block is to put on my favorite martial arts or action film, watch with a notepad and pen (or even my phone) and just try to describe the movement and action that I’m seeing in words. It’s a fun exercise since it puts my mind in creative mode even when I’m feeling stuck, it challenges me to describe really bombastic movement, and it’s just fun watching the likes of Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, and Keanau Reeve just do their thing for hours on end.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
On the classic side: Robert Louis Stevenson, H.G. Wells, Sir Walter Scott, James Baldwin, Octavia Butler, Alice Walker, Alex Haley, Charles R. Saunders, and Chiuna Achebe
On the contemporary side: George R.R. Martin, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Christopher Paolini (I was reading “Eldest” when the idea for my book first came to me), Neil Gaiman, Milton J. Davis, N.K. Jemisin, Yaa Gyasi, Evan Winters, and Trevor Noah’s book: “Born a Crime”.
What are you working on now?
The second book of the Kimoni Legacy, already have writer’s block!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook and Instagram have been great for me so far. I know everyone is saying Tik-Tok now, but I’ve never been great with videos and I hate the sound of my voice. Plus I know Facebook, I’ve been on it since high school so I’m more familiar with how to make it do what I want it to do. Instagram is still pretty new to me, but so far it’s been great.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing and keep pushing. Believe in your story, be genuine with what you are trying to convey and the audience will find you without a problem. Chase down your own passions and views, not trends or tropes.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This comes from my college creative writing professor, Michael Downs. He told me during a one-on-one with one my early drafts: “Your characters are acting like characters, not people.”
It took me a while to understand what he meant, but after another semester in his class I understood. He was saying that my characters were acting like pieces on a chess board or shallow devices. They had no internal life or reason for being. They had no passion, hopes, fears, or dreams for the future. They were just….there to deliver exposition and then leave. Like an NPC in a video game who doesn’t move or say anything else after you deliver the quest item to them.
That really stuck with me.
What are you reading now?
Three books right now, and since I like to take my time reading it will be a while until I finish them.
Tidewater by Libbe Hawker
Sweep of Stars by Maurice Broaddus
The Monsters We Defy by L. Penelope
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish book 2 and the rest of the series. Write this historical fiction novel set in the Reconstruction period that’s been gnawing in my brain for a while. Try to write an action-thriller, then another historical fiction book about the pirate, Black Caesar (or one of the pirates that had that moniker), have one of my books be a clue on Jeopardy! And maybe one day have an entire category on Jeopardy about my books.
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?
If I’m going to be there for a while probably the longer books in my collection.
A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
101 Skills You Need to Survive in the Woods by Kevin Estela
Author Websites and Profiles
Omari Richards’s Social Media Links