Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Truthfully, I always struggle to write these, lol. Alright, well, I’m an English major but a math minor. I’m a substitute teacher born and raised in Alaska. I’m a graphic designer, and I’ve done all the cover designs and internal illustrations for my books.
I’ve written only the one book, with book 2 almost done and book three in the first draft stage. However, I’ve published about 120+, which are various notebooks, journals, and kids activity books on KDP, and I’m working to create a small business with them.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book would be book 2 of my Firebrand series, titles Crimson Shores. This is inspired by a lot of things from Lord of the Rings to the old movie Captain’s Courageous and the BBC series Musketeers.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m a night owl, so if I’m not thinking about it, I’ll stay up working until 2:00 am sometimes. I also listen to music, and I’ll either listen to one of those hour long videos of epic music, or I’ll have a bunch of kpop playing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis are big, as are Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan. I also really like Timothy Zahn.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on a few more low content books for Amazon KDP, namely puzzle books for kids.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter has been my best, as has Instagram, and I’ve seen some good traffic from Facebook.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
First, get on social media, and do it quickly. Build your author platform before your book is out, because if you try to build it after it’s out, it’s a lot harder to get momentum. Granted, is going to be hard anyway, but it helps to have the platform built first.
Secondly, as good as you think your book is going to be as soon as you finish the first draft… it’s really not. It takes a while to develop, but that’s alright. After you finish your first draft, go through and read it yourself, because then you’ll find the holes that need a little more filler. After that, rewrite the whole thing, and I mean literally put the document on one side of the screen, bring up a blank document on the other side, and then retype every word. You shouldn’t just copy/paste, as that defeats the purpose. By rewriting every word, you then decide if it has to be there, or if a better word will work, or if you need other words. You also see where your work is lacking.
Thirdly, trust your gut. If you think the story is good, then keep working at it. If you think something isn’t working, though, then it probably isn’t and needs to be changed. There’s a difference between the story being good and the story being conveyed properly, so even though your idea may be amazing, there might be a more amazing way to get that idea across.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When creating heroes, to every two virtues you give them, also give them one vice. In the same way, for every villain, give them two vices to every virtue. Perfect characters feel unrelatable, and flaws in characters make them more relatable to readers. If the villain has a virtue to them, then the reader cares about what happens to them.
As an example, Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanoff from Marvel Comics, started as a villain, and one of her defining traits is she’s constantly trying to make up for that in her life as a hero. She is extremely loyal to anyone she considers a friend or ally, she’s extremely intelligent, and she’s a really good fighter. However, she is not averse to killing (she kills pretty easily, actually) and she is really good at lying and keeping secrets. Her vices have reasons behind them, and help flesh out her character. Without her vices, a lot of her character is lost.
What are you reading now?
The Bible. I’ve been powering through the Old Testament (Leviticus and Numbers are tedious) and am getting into the action books.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish book 2 and then get on to book 3. I’ve got 6 books planned for my Firebrand series, so I’ve got a bit to do before it’s done.
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?
How to Build a Boat
The Bible
A blank notebook
A blank sketchbook
Author Websites and Profiles
Stefan Coleman Website
Stefan Coleman Amazon Profile
Stefan Coleman’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account