Ask the Author: David Wiley
Answered Questions (6)
David Wiley
I love telling stories, and so half of the motivation to write comes from just wanting to see how the stories unfold during the writing process. The other half comes from hearing from people who have read, and enjoyed, the stories that I wrote. They drive me to continue to want to tell stories, which appear in my head at a rapid rate sometimes.
David Wiley
The Questing Beast, of all things. There are so many characters and events and items that I have yet to explore in my own writing, but it was a lot of fun using the Questing Beast. I chose it as the piece of Arthurian Lore for my After Avalon story because it doesn't appear in many modern takes on the King Arthur Legends. I loved trying to convey that beast and to come up with a viable reason as to how it was around in Viking-Age Iceland and why only certain people could see it.
David Wiley
Good lighting, no distractions. My fantasy writing playlist going on Spotify. A rainy or snowy day so there is no temptation to be outdoors. Bonus points if the internet isn't working so that there aren't any other distractions, but that would eliminate the Spotify playlist!
I find time to write in the small moments that arise between work and hobbies and family, which isn't always easy and doesn't really lend itself toward finding an ideal environment. So really, the playlist is all I really need. :)
I find time to write in the small moments that arise between work and hobbies and family, which isn't always easy and doesn't really lend itself toward finding an ideal environment. So really, the playlist is all I really need. :)
David Wiley
A Merchant in Oria started as a picture prompt that springboarded into a collaborative project in 2012. Three other authors and myself formed what we deemed the "Fab Four" and we worked on projects together that we called the "Fab Four Fables". One of us would start a story based on the image prompt, then the next person would continue, then the third, and the fourth would bring that story to a close. A Merchant in Oria was the Fable that I started, and much of that early scene remains in tact still. As is common when authors continue a story, it went in directions that I hadn't expected and I enjoyed what they did with the beginning. Yet I always felt compelled to return and finish the story I had started with that prompt.
David Wiley
There are two that I would recommend above all others, at least from those available now:
1. A Merchant in Oria, because it is my first solo work out there. It is a fun fantasy novella, and not only does it provide a quick taste for my writing it also gives the first chapter of my forthcoming book.
2. After Avalon, because that anthology is fantastic and my short story in there is perhaps the best one I have written so far. It is able to effectively combine two of my literary loves - Viking culture and Arthurian Lore - into a great story.
1. A Merchant in Oria, because it is my first solo work out there. It is a fun fantasy novella, and not only does it provide a quick taste for my writing it also gives the first chapter of my forthcoming book.
2. After Avalon, because that anthology is fantastic and my short story in there is perhaps the best one I have written so far. It is able to effectively combine two of my literary loves - Viking culture and Arthurian Lore - into a great story.
David Wiley
I'll talk about two of them: A Merchant in Oria, my novella that just released, and Monster Huntress, my first full novel coming in 2018.
A Merchant in Oria started as a picture prompt that springboarded into a collaborative project in 2012. Three other authors and myself formed what we deemed the "Fab Four" and we worked on projects together that we called the "Fab Four Fables". One of us would start a story based on the image prompt, then the next person would continue, then the third, and the fourth would bring that story to a close. A Merchant in Oria was the Fable that I started, and much of that early scene remains in tact still. As is common when authors continue a story, it went in directions that I hadn't expected and I enjoyed what they did with the beginning. Yet I always felt compelled to return and finish the story I had started with that prompt.
Monster Huntress had a similar beginning because it came in 2012 while posting writing on my blog. The protagonist appeared in a serial short story, Ogre Hunt, and then a longer serialized sequel with Doppelganger Danger. Those stories featured her as an adult, and one day I had the idea to write her origin story, so to speak. Which placed her as a 13-year-old girl who dreams of hunting monsters like her father, and finally that dream begins to come true and she is swept on adventures and hunts monsters and uncovers a greater threat than anyone realized.
A Merchant in Oria started as a picture prompt that springboarded into a collaborative project in 2012. Three other authors and myself formed what we deemed the "Fab Four" and we worked on projects together that we called the "Fab Four Fables". One of us would start a story based on the image prompt, then the next person would continue, then the third, and the fourth would bring that story to a close. A Merchant in Oria was the Fable that I started, and much of that early scene remains in tact still. As is common when authors continue a story, it went in directions that I hadn't expected and I enjoyed what they did with the beginning. Yet I always felt compelled to return and finish the story I had started with that prompt.
Monster Huntress had a similar beginning because it came in 2012 while posting writing on my blog. The protagonist appeared in a serial short story, Ogre Hunt, and then a longer serialized sequel with Doppelganger Danger. Those stories featured her as an adult, and one day I had the idea to write her origin story, so to speak. Which placed her as a 13-year-old girl who dreams of hunting monsters like her father, and finally that dream begins to come true and she is swept on adventures and hunts monsters and uncovers a greater threat than anyone realized.
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