Today, I have James Quinlan Meservy with me on the blog to answer some questions about himself, his writing, and his inspirations! For those who don’t know, Meservy is the author of the Rai Saga, the first of which is the book The United. I reviewed that on the blog recently, so you can find that here. Let’s see what he has to say.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Mornin!
I am James Quinlan Meservy, Fantasy Author Extraordinaire, Creator of Creatures, Embellisher of Events, and Firebrand “Stories That Kindle Imagination.”
I am originally from Logan, Ut, USA. Shortly after I graduated from High School I lived two years in the Far East region of the Russian Federation, serving a mission for my church. My time in Russia and my knowledge of the Russian language greatly influence my writings, especially when I am creating names for characters, events, locations, etc. For instance, Rai is Paradise in Russian
What kind of fantasy do you write, and what got you into it?
I write epic fantasy and YA fantasy with my Rai Saga, children’s fantasy with my Sykar Series, and urban fantasy with my self-published short story, Jackalopes: The Real Story.
I have always enjoyed the fantasy genre, and when the original idea for The United came to me as a young child, it happened to story about a talking wolf who gained immortality by devouring souls. Now, that was a long time ago, and the story has adapted into its current novelized form, but once I started writing the story, I fell in love with the genre.
As for the Sykar Series, I wrote that so I could share one of my published stories with my children. And it is a favorite of theirs.
What genres do you read, and do you write the same ones?
I will read any author once. If I like what I read, I may read another title, or I may not. But most of my reads tend to be Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Classic Literature (yes, in my world Charles Dickens and Mark Twain both constitute their own genres) Fantasy, and since I have two or three science fiction WIPs in mind, I am starting to read more sci-fi.
What are some of the things you like to do to relax?
To relax? Well, if you ask my wife and kids, I don’t relax. I am always reading, writing, exercising, eating (brownies and Cherry Pepsi will eventually be the death of me), or spending time with my family. So, for relaxation, I guess I mostly play silly match 3 games on my phone and watch movies.
Can you tell us about your current work-in-progress?
Which one? At present I have 4 WIPs. Perfectly Evil, the Realm of the Light Book 3, Shades of Mortality, the Realm of the Light Book 4, UNTITLED, the Realm of the Light Book 5, and a science fiction project I am co-authoring with a friend.
Let’s start with Perfectly Evil. That is a great story, beginning with Vulktyramous waking up in the Coliseum in Rome after losing the Second Great Denizen War to his brother, Arctyrus Hunter. I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but Perfectly Evil is really about how Vulktyramous went from a pawn in everyone else’s game to becoming a force to be reckoned with on his own.
Shades of Mortality is probably the most anticipated WIP on my docket, for it is the immediate sequel to The United, and chronicles the life of HeatherAnn Parkinson. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but I will say this book shows HeatherAnn coming to terms with herself, accepting herself for who she is, and trying to find her place in the world.
If you’ve published (self-published or traditionally published), can you tell us a little about the experience?
I am hybrid published. The Realm of the Light Series is published by Cosby Media Productions, and I have a number of self published short stories.
About the experience? Editing manuscripts is always fun for me, because I get to see ideas become novels, and then enjoy learning how to improve my stories and preparing them for publication, and I am constantly learning how to write better.
What were your inspirations for writing?
In 5th grade, I was given a Halloween themed creative writing assignment. I thought about what I wanted to write about, then I had a dream about a wolf who obtained immortality through stealing souls. And to be honest, my dreams have been my inspiration for stories ever since.
Who got you into writing when you first started?
That would be my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Card. Then as I grew up, I went through a prolonged I will write, I will never write again stage that lasted about 20 years, before I finally gave in to the dreams and ideas and thoughts that would not leave me alone. So as a kid, it was my teacher, as an adult, it was inspirations and myself.
Was there anyone who came alongside you at any point when you were struggling in your writing journey and made a real difference? If so, who and why?
When I first self-published The United, it was poorly edited, had a bad cover, and not all that great. And I knew it. But, I received a message from Cris Pasqueralle, asking if I was interested in doing a review swap. I agreed. Since then, he has been my mentor and good friend.
When I landed a publisher with Tate Publishing, Cris helped me promote my book. Then when Tate went out of business, he referred to Cosby Media Productions. Cris has always been ready with words of encouragement, advice, and support whenever I needed it.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors and writers just starting on the writing journey?
Read. Read everything, and anything. Do not just read your genre, by everything I mean everything. Read some how to write books, read some fantasy, read some scifi, read some classic literature, some thrillers, anything you can get your hands on. And as you read, pay attention to how the author writes. Learn from their successes and failings, and adapt writing methods and styles you like to your own work.
Second to that is write. Ideas are great, but I cannot read the ideas in your mind on my Kindle.
What is one thing you wish someone had told you before you started writing?
To read. I was not a reader as a child. I did not really enjoy reading until I read A Christmas Carol in a high school class as a senior. So the first thing I did when I decided to take my story and turn it into a novel was write it out. It was horrible and dragging, and boring, and predictable, and I had no idea how to write a fantasy novel. So I read a lot of fantasy, some how to write books, some classics, and some books of different genres just so I could see how different authors write narrative prose.
What’s your favorite book, and who’s your favorite literary character? Why?
My favorite author is Charles Dickens, and my favorite book is A Christmas Carol. As I mentioned above, it was the title, and he was the author, that really got me into reading. Now that I think about it, I think that part of the reason for my love of A Christmas Carol is because it was the first book I ever read that inspired me to change to become a better person.
As far as favorite literary character, I have more than just 1.
Eponine from Les Miserables. I love her so much. She is one of my greatest literary crushes, and I love her story. No matter how bad her life became after her father lost his inn, she never lost hope, and she did not allow her experiences to harden her heart.
The Bishop from Les Miserables. Words cannot express how much his example of Christ-like love means to me. The way he gave away everything he owned to those who were in greater need is nothing short of inspiring.
Renee, aka Captain Espan Rose aka Captain Varda from the Sovereign of the Seas series by KR Martin. I love Renee. She is my third literary crush. I love her determination, her devotion to both her cause and her family, and her drive to never give up.
