Author Adam Bolander

Hi all!

Please help me welcome Author Adam Bolander to my blog today!

Author Bio: Adam Bolander is a young self-published author in Northwest Arkansas.  He is going to college to become a high school English and Creative Writing teacher.  His favorite genre to read and write is fantasy.

Author Interview Questions

What is your name? Do you use a pen name (if so, why?)?

My name is Adam Bolander.  I don’t use a pen name, though it would be a cool thing to try sometime.

Tell me a bit about yourself:

Well, I’m 20 years old, turning 21 in June.  I’m currently taking classes at the local community college.  I’d like to be a high school English and Creative Writing teacher someday.

What type of genre do you write?

For now everything I’ve written has been some form of fantasy.  My first two books were animal fantasy, along the same lines as Erin Hunter’s “Warrior” books, but my new series is urban fantasy.  I’ve been wanting to delve into other genres lately as well.  The concept of creating a world from the ground up for my story to take place in sounds especially intriguing.

What genre to you personally read?

My favourite genre to read has got to be fantasy.  Some of my favourite authors are Brandon Sanderson, M.A. McAllister, R.A. Salvatore, and David Clement-Davies.  And if you put a Ted Dekker book in my hand, don’t expect to hear from me for a couple days…

Tell me about your latest?

My latest novel, “The Slayer and the Sphinx” is a young adult urban fantasy novel.  It takes place in our world, where mythical creatures exist, living right beside us in disguise.  There is a secret organization known as the Slayers who are on a crusade to cleanse the world of any and all Mythic life.  When Porter Collins, a sixteen year old Slayer, is ordered to hunt down and kill Sarah Heisen, a young sphinx, there is an accident that leaves him wounded and without his memory.  The two of them, now lost in the wilderness, must rely on each other if they wish to survive long enough to reach civilization.

What sparked your passion for books and the art of a good story?

Well, writing books has always been something I’ve been interested in.  I remember the first time I attempted to write a book was when I was eight years old.  Back then I wasn’t allowed to read Harry Potter, but the TV commercials just looked SO AWESOME.  So what’s a boy to do?  I wrote my own version, which, thank God, has been lost forever in some black hole in cyberspace.  Though there were several more attempts after that, I never really began taking writing seriously until my junior year of high school.  I was sitting in an agriculture class, and, rather than listen to my teacher spend an hour and a half describing the lesser known details of the Brangus Bull, decided to pull out my handy dandy Alphasmart and write a story.  I don’t know what was different that time, but something just clicked, and I’ve been writing stories ever since.

Is there a particular book that changed or affected your life in a big way?

The books that have affected my writing the most would probably be Erin Hunter’s “Warriors” series.  I don’t read them anymore, but they were a big inspiration for the first two books I self-published, “Legends of the Saloli.”

Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp?

I’m not too big on putting messages into my books.  I’m just there to tell the story.  What I’ve learned is that if a message needs to be in it, it will be put there without my needing to think about it.  If I try to force a message into the story, I will usually end up beating you over the head with it.  Better to let the story develop its own message than come up with one beforehand.

What challenges have you faced in your writing career?

To be completely honest, I am one of the most scatterbrained people you’ll ever meet, and this is made all the worse by the fact that I can pull cool story ideas out of thin air at almost any given time.  Just ask my friends, and they’ll tell you that they’ve almost come to the point of tying me down and forcing me to concentrate on a single story so that I can get it finished.  If left to my own devices, I’d probably never get more than a few pages into any book before losing interest in favour of a new idea.

What has been your best moment as a writer?

My best moment as a writer has to have been in the second “Legends of the Saloli” book, when I killed off a certain character that I had grown very fond of.  There aren’t many times when I’m overcome by emotion from my own writing, but when I wrote that part, I just had to take my fingers off the keyboard, sit back, and think about what I’d done for a few minutes.  It was one of those rare times when I could look at my story, not as the author, but as the reader, and mourn with them the passing of a beloved character.  Those are the moments in writing a story that I live for.

Who is your author idol?

I’d have to say Ted Dekker.  While Erin Hunter’s books have had the biggest impact on me as a writer, Dekker’s books have had the biggest impact on me as a person.  His main trilogy, The Circle (Black, Red, and White) touched me like no other story ever had or ever has since.  And, from my standpoint as a writer, I also have to admire the way he created an entire universe with his books.  The events in The Circle cause the events in the Paradise trilogy, which then cause the events in House and Skin.  The Lost Books lead up to some surprises in other books, like Immanuel’s Veins, and then he wraps it all up with a shiny bow in Green.  It takes a man of great vision to do something like that.

Do you see yourself in any of your characters?

I always try to put a little bit of myself into all of my main characters, otherwise I won’t be able to identify with them.  At the very least, I try to put something in them that I admire.  Porter Collins, in “The Slayer and the Sphinx,” for example, is profoundly innocent, a trait that I honestly wish I could match.  Sarah Heisen, from the same story, is the intellectual thinker, always learning and analysing the situation.  Blaze of Icefire, from “Legends of the Saloli” displays bravery and loyalty.

Do you feel like your dream has come true or is there much more to do?

My dream is to write as many stories as I can.  I just don’t understand people who only want to write one book.  My head is so full of ideas that I just can’t wait to put to paper that I hope to spend the rest of my life doing so.

What does your workspace look like?

My workspace is wherever I want it to be.  If I feel inspiration strike, I’ll just pull out my Alphasmart and start working.  When I’m at home, my bedroom is my workspace, sitting at my trusty laptop computer, trying to find a little bit of elbow room between all the books that are stacked up in every available spot.  If I have one weakness, it’s that I can’t resist buying books!

Have you ever had a day when you just wanted to quit?

There are times when I’m feeling down, and I start to wonder whether my writing will ever be able to match the talent that people are already familiar with.  When those moments come, I usually just close the document and do something else for a while.  I know that if I take a few hours, maybe a few days off, my imagination will begin to kick in overtime, and soon I’ll forget to worry about whether my writing is good enough or not- I’ve just got to write!

What do you do when you’re not writing?

I go to school and work a part time job, and when I’m not doing that I’m probably on Facebook.  I also love YouTube.  The internet is my friend!

What are the most important attributes to remaining sane as a writer?

My advice is to not compare your writing to others.  That’s a huge way to demotivate yourself.  You are not [insert famous successful author here], you are [insert your name here], and you will write like [insert your name here] is meant to write!  I’d also encourage them to invest in an Alphasmart.  For those who don’t know, it is, basically, a portable keyboard with a screen.  It can hold a TON of text on it, and the battery life can last for months on end.  It’s the perfect tool for the writer who is constantly away from home- especially since it doesn’t have the internet to distract you.  You can find them really cheap used- I bought mine for $30 on Ebay!

Did you have a moment when you realized you were meant to be a writer?

Before I was a writer, I was an avid reader.  I could finish off most books in about a week.  Even during that time, I was always filled with ideas for stories that I thought would be fun to read.  At that point in time, though, all I did was think “Man, I wish somebody would write that for me!”  Honestly, nobody was very surprised when I started writing books.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Don’t expect your first draft to be Heavenly Perfection.  I’ve met so many budding writers who just gave up after I told them their story needed more work.  More often than not, the story has potential- most people just aren’t willing to put forth the work it requires to help their story reach that potential. I know that all the fun comes from writing the story, but you must never forget that editing is just as big a part of the process.

After this book, what is next?

You never can tell with me.  I’ve got lots of ideas that I’d love to turn into books, but by the time I actually get the chance to write them, I’ll most likely have thought of something else entirely.  However, “The Slayer and the Sphinx” is only the first book in a trilogy, and I think I might take it even further after that.

Your blog?

I have a review blog called The Force of Fiction.  I use it to review books, movies, and video games.  I don’t really put much up on there about my own writing, nor do I update it as much as I would like, but it’s fun when I get the chance.

Where can your book be found?

All of my books can be found on Amazon.com in print and on Kindle.  They are also available on Smashwords.com in whatever other ebook file you might want.

Please help me thank Adam for joining us today! Check him out!

Keep Writing!

Jodie Pierce