Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
about myself…
I graduated from the University of South Carolina with BA in Interdisciplinary Studies. This means I’m a well-rounded individual and have no marketable skills to apply to the workplace. Considering I took ten years to get a four-year degree, I have an eclectic work history and a large slice of life experiences to draw on.
I started playing Dungeons & Dragons my first year of community college in 1991. Being broke I could only afford a used copy of a 2nd edition player’s handbook and a single set of dice, but that didn’t stop me. I played once every couple of weeks for a few months, but then my DM wasn’t around anymore. I was in love with the game and so I put on the DM hat and did my best. I rounded up a bunch of weirdos and misfits from college that were loners, stoners, goths, and just plane wallflowers.
We formed a daily gaming group and all came out of our shells and the game was the method we all learned how to make friends.
My first book, The Dark Gift, book 1 of the Penta Ka Wa Series, started as an oral story I shared with the group. Each telling got longer and longer and eventually, I had to write it down so I wouldn’t forget important details.
Life moves us along at a strange pace sometimes and I found myself with a long novella that inspired a dozen other short stories and linked tales. When I attended a gaming convention and got to talk to published authors, I was given a good piece of advice that gave me the motivation to actually finish the story. It sat for two years while I went through a rough time, break-ups, the illness, and death of my father, and other things.
My new wife discovered I had this treasure just sitting around, and after a year of encouragement I finally self-published. And I kept writing and kept publishing.
I’m three books in when she realized how long and slow the process is to get a book out and into the market. I like to think I inspired her a bit too. She took adventures we had actually played together and used them as the inspiration to write up a novel too. With a lot of collaborative effort, a little bit of screaming, and hair-pulling, we actually put out a book together.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Our latest book, The Blood of Orcs by April Nia Raine and Trevor Jones is inspired and drawn from actual gameplay. This may fall into LitRPG or RPGlit, but don’t let that fool you. This isn’t a case of characters being self-aware or ‘level-up metagame stories. This is a full-fledged addition to the epic fantasy world of Kinthur. And it’s the start of a new trilogy, which makes it the third running series we are undertaking to date.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
This is always an interesting question. So April needs near silence to write in. Nothing can interrupt her thoughts as she pounds the words into her keyboard with something that sounds like the very violence her character is going through. Short breaks might be necessary to tend to our needy fur babies (we have a corgi and a pomsky that have a set schedule that doesn’t care about books or deadlines).
My writing habits often involve a good pair of headphones and music to inspire the mood I’m writing in. If I’m writing an epic combat scene, a little heavy metal goes a long way. A touching moment of drama or heavy emotion might need some classical music. The scenes of sweeping landscape or world-building might call for a good instrumental. I’m always thinking of what the music score for these books would be, should they make it to the screen one day.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
So, so many…
I was an eclectic and voracious reader as a child and teen. I’ve read most of the greats: Isaac Asimov, Harry Harrison, Author C. Clarke, Neil Gaimon, Terry Pratchett, Spider Robinson, Terry Brooks, Ben Bova, Timothy Zahn, R.A. Salvatore, Stephen King, Ed Greenwood, George R.R. Martin, J.R.R. Tolkien, T.H. White, Laurel K. Hamilton, Barbara Hambly, P.N. Elrod, Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and so many others, I couldn’t keep up. I once had a library of over 1,500 books that I enjoyed and often re-read.
What are you working on now?
I am in the middle of the rough draft for Lord of the Undead, book 3 of the Penta Series. My wife and I are also collaborating on Deities, Dragons & Demigods, book 2 of the Knights of Airygon Series. After that comes book 2 in the Adventurer Series and book 3 of the Knights.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Unfortunately, the promotion landscape for books keeps changing. From retailers with traditional brick-and-mortar stores, to online retailers, there are just so many locations to promote. I’m hoping Awesome Gang will be a way to get my work in front of more readers and reviewers.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you love. Keep working to improve your craft. Don’t stop reading. Learn everything about the business you can. Inspiration can come from anywhere and strike at any time, but a good, regular, writing habit will get you through those lean moments and let you take advantage of the Muse when she shows up.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When I was still struggling, with over 26 bits and pieces that would become whole books or stories, I asked for advice from a group of writers at a convention. They were taken aback by the epic undertaking I was claiming, and rightly so, I was obviously a madman. The advice I got is something heard a thousand times from a thousand writers, be they fiction, fact or screenplay.
“Finish Something. Anything. Just finish what you started.”
Sounds simple enough. I sat down with all my writing and picked my favorite and decided I would write nothing else until that story was finished. A year later The Dark Gift was complete. It was two more years before I got an editor and attempted to get an agent. A Year after that I self-published and set to Finish Something Else.
Best Advice Ever.
What are you reading now?
I just finished a new book, by a new author. The Dark Apprentice by Val Neil. I highly recommend it for a multitude of reasons.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Since I’m self-published, I have to juggle improving my writing craft, writing itself, and getting better at marketing and promoting. It’s a million moving parts and a full-time job all by itself, but success will be all the sweeter when it arrives.
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’m a pragmatist when it comes to these types of questions. I’d want some sort of survival guide, esp one that’s for the type of island I’m on, and hopefully having the flora and fauna that are safe for me to interact with included inside. A book on the stars, so that I can narrow down my location, longitude & latitude, so I can predict the weather, likelihood of rescue based on travel patterns. A book on chemistry, and a book on fish, so I can make use of that as well. If I need pleasure reading…I’ll just imagine new stories.
Author Websites and Profiles
Trevor Jones Website
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