Creative Writing Career

Michael J. Sullivan joins Justin to talk writing epic fantasy, world building, and his adventures in both indie and traditional publishing.

After finding a manual typewriter in the basement of a friend's house, Michael J. Sullivan inserted a blank piece of paper and typed: It was a dark and stormy night. He was just ten years old and mimicking the only writer he knew at the time...Snoopy. That spark ignited a flame and Michael's desire to fill blank pages would become a life-long obsession. As an adult, Michael spent more than ten years developing his craft by studying authors such as Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck. During that time, he wrote thirteen novels without finding any traction in publishing. Since insanity is repeating the same act but expecting a different result, he did the only sane thing he could think of and quit, vowing never to write creatively again.

Never turned out to be too long for Michael and after a decade he returned to the keyboard in his forties...but with one condition: he wouldn't seek publication. Instead, he wrote a series of books that had been building in his head during his hiatus. His first reading love was fantasy, and his hope was to help foster a love of reading in his then thirteen-year-old daughter, who struggled due to severe dyslexia. After reading the third book of this series, his wife insisted the novels needed to "get out there." When Michael refused to jump back onto the query-go-round, she took over the publication tasks and has run "the business side" of his writing ever since.

Michael is one of the few authors who has successfully published through all three routes: small press, self, and big five.

David Varela joins us to discuss his career with video games such as Zombie Run, and how he made it.

Lucas Flint shares why he loves to write superheroes, where his character powers come from, and a freebie deal if you get it quick! Enjoy :)

Bobby Stein of Arena Net (Guild Wars 2) joins us to talk writing for MMO video games, breaking in, and more.

FROM BOBBY:

I've been writing about video games since 2001 and for them since 2005. Interactive storytelling through gameplay and ambient voice-over is my passion. I currently manage the narrative team under the Studio Narrative Director.

From 2007 to 2012, we focused on writing and editing voiced dialog for dynamic events and ambient scenes. Since the launch of Guild Wars 2 in August of 2012, we've shifted our efforts to evolving the narrative of the live game by working with multidisciplinary, project-based groups on the Living World story and Raids. I spend much of my time writing and/or reviewing narrative treatments and VO scripts with my team, giving feedback and creative direction on plot, characters, dialog, presentation, implementation, and gameplay cohesion where needed. I have also done light implementation of ambient narrative elements (scripting interactive props, scenes, etc.)

Author Ken Lozito shares his views on craft, marketing, and the magic behind his First Colony series.

Ken Lozito:

Ken Lozito is the author of multiple series in fantasy and science fiction. Ken has always loved fantasy and science fiction in all forms, including books, movies (Even the cheesy 80s B movies), and games.

Ken graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in English and Anthropology. Being a computer hobbyist led to him working in the field of IT Security for almost 20 years. He resides in the Philadelphia area with his wife and two boys. Enjoys hiking, reading, playing with the dog, and binge-watching shows on Netflix, but enjoys writing stories most of all.

On today's episode, we spoke with Samuel Peralta, Chris Pourteau, David Bruns, and Sean Quigley about the Tails of Dystopia anthology.

Evan Currie joins Justin to discuss science fiction, self publishing, and his journey as an author.

Evan is a Canadian author who has been writing both original and fan fiction works for more than a decade, and finally decided to make the jump to self-publishing with his techno-thriller "Thermals."

Since then Evan has turned out novels in the Silver Wings series, the Odyssey One series, and the first book in an alternate history series set during the height of the Roman Era. From ancient Rome to the far flung future, Evan enjoys exploring the possibilities inherent when you change technology or culture.