Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in Southern Ontario, and I’ve been writing since the age of 16. I started out with epic fantasy but quickly transitioned to science-fiction. Modern settings tend to work better for me. I don’t have the patience to describe long cross-country journeys.
I’ve written eight novels and scrapped five of them. The others became the first three books in the Justice Keepers Saga. The story has been in my head since I was seventeen years old. One day, I was wandering the hallways of my high school when I turned to my friend and said, “What if the aliens are already walking among us but we can’t tell because they look just like us.”
So I conceived of this story with a big, epic struggle happening in the background of normal, everyday life.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The most recent book I’ve published is Symbiosis, the first book in the Justice Keepers Saga. I’m hoping Friction (book 2) will be out soon. Symbiosis was inspired by several things. The characters and settings in the Keepers Saga have been rolling around in my head for over fifteen years, but the story as I originally envisioned it was quite different from what it is now. I wanted a truly unique magic system. I was partly inspired by Mass Effect and the biotic abilities displayed there.
I’ve wanted to write about a diverse cast of characters from the very beginning. When I first started writing, I had a partner who eventually abandoned the craft, and I remember him noting “Why are there so many white people in fantasy books?” So I went out of my way to create a cast of characters from all walks of life. Most of the heroes of this story are people of colour, roughly half are women and some are LGBT.
As for the main story…That’s evolved many times over the years. The current version is about two years old. I’m a discovery writer; so the story evolves as I write it. I do have an outline, however, guideposts and milestones the story will hit as the series unfolds.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Ideas usually come to me when I’m listening to music, and the mood of the music tends to influence whether it’s an action, mystery or romance plot-point. Most of my ideas happen when I’m either in my car or working out. After that, I try to write them down quickly. I usually write a story around a climax, which usually pops into my head when I’m listening to music. I’ll imagine Anna running through an office building or Jack fighting bad guys on a subway train, and then I’ll fill in the rest of the story by asking all the logical questions. How did he get there? What was her purpose for going into the office building? That sort of thing. You can usually fill out 100 000 words by having having 10% of it be climax and the other 90% be lead up that is built on asking all the logical questions. Plus there are scenes I put in just for fun or because I think they make for a great character moment.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’d say my biggest influences are probably Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson for a variety of reasons. Both authors tend to do large, epic stories with lots of characters. Sanderson, I find is largely responsible for the way I think about characters and their special abilities. J. Michael Stracynski influenced me quite a bit when he wrote the TV series Babylon 5. What I love about that series is the way it slowly unfolds over the course of four years. The lead up is very important. With the Justice Keepers, there are plot threads I set in motion in book one that won’t pay off until book nine or ten.
What are you working on now?
Relativity: Justice Keepers, book 4.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Oh god, don’t ask me! I couldn’t sell water to fish. It’s been a year, and I’m still figuring out the whole marketing thing, primarily because it runs so contrary to my way of thinking. In my mind, you do something good, and it doesn’t matter if you personally gain from it. I created these books to make people happy and to get them thinking about complex topics. You know, I kind of have a Field of Dreams approach. “If you build it, they will come.” That, of course, is five kinds of stupid because it never works that way. But it’s who I am, I guess. I write amazing books. I just can’t sell them to anyone.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new authors is to avoid taking advice from other authors. Writing is a very personal activity. There are a million ways to get it right and a billion ways to get it wrong, but it’s up to you to find that the method that works for you. Not everyone is a discovery writer. Jordan and Sanderson both keep extensive notes on their fictional worlds. For me, it’s all in my head. I know other authors that function that way. You have to find an approach that works for you. Writing stories is not the kind of thing you can reduce to an algorithm; there’s no simple series of steps to get it done. You just have to do a lot of trial and error.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Always leave them wanting more.” You never want to tie up all the loose ends in a story. Leave a few things open-ended to keep people guessing.
What are you reading now?
Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson.
What’s next for you as a writer?
A long life spent toiling away in obscurity only to have my work receive recognition five years after my death? Lol. I’m kidding. I’m a bit of a dead-pan snarker. Honestly, the only thing I know for sure is that I intend to finish the Justice Keepers Saga
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?
Mistborn: the Final Empire
The Hobbit
Warbreaker
La Nausee
Author Websites and Profiles
R.S. Penney Website
R.S. Penney Amazon Profile
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