I was wondering what inspired you to write your own things, and what were some of the first steps you took?
That’s an enormous question. Listen to Writing Excuses, I’ll talk about that later. What started me? I was kind of a lost boy in school in middle school. I didn’t do bad, I got Bs and Cs. I didn’t have passion about anything, I was just kind of wandering. And then, I discovered fantasy novels. And it’s dumb to say, but fantasy novels changed my life. I don’t know why. Now, as a 37-year-old, I can look back and say “Well, obviously, it was THIS” But I don’t know what it was. I discovered specifically Dragonsbane , the works of Anne McCaffrey, and the works of Melanie Rawn. Which were right after one another in the card catalog, and they all three had Michael Whelan covers. And I don’t know why, but those three things grabbed me, and then I realized this is what I wanted to do. I realized this is a job people do, and it’s awesome. So I told my Mom, and she said “Well, you better get better grades, then.” That’s what my Mom does, she’s an accountant. And I got straight As in 9th grade. I did. Because I’m like, I now know why I’m doing this, and I have to be literate if I’m going to be an author. So it’s hokey to say “Fantasy novels saved my life”. They didn’t save my life, but they sure changed my life.
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