Anderson Atlas<\/strong>:<\/strong> The worlds in front of kids are exceedingly mystical. My step son loved the mythology of the Lego Bionical world, knew what the races were\u2014the archetypes. I want to speak to those kids, too\u2014but offer up some profound advice cloaked among the tentacled creatures and the adrenaline of running for your life. It creates the unusual space, which battles the known elements for attention and (speaking from personal experience) creates a lasting impression.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n T:<\/strong> What inspired you to start you on your writing journey?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> I really wanted to take a paraplegic character and get them across the strangest, most dangerous landscape and get them home again. It was an exercise in creativity as well as a method of showing my evolving character\u2019s growth and strength.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n T:<\/strong> What made you want to write about a paraplegic character?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> Simply because it was a challenge. I also have a client that is married to a paraplegic and he helped me learn so much about how to get Allan around without his chair. He\u2019s also the most enthusiastic guy, the most positive and one of the funniest people I know. So I wanted to explore the thought process that many go through when they\u2019re seeking strength and purpose in life when such afflictions take over. I also really hope that this story finds itself in the hands of a young person, paraplegic or disabled, because he\u2019s a great hero and there\u2019s not many like him in the popular culture.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n T:<\/strong> What made you decide to create a distant world with such distinct creatures?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> I really just wanted to stretch my imagination to the limit. It was as fun for me as a writer as it is for the reader.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n T:<\/strong> This isn\u2019t the first time you\u2019ve worked with the world of Lan Darr.\u00a0 Would you say that it\u2019s your favorite fantasy world to play in?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> Yes, because it has been brought out of the primitive space it held by communication with Earth. So in a sense, there is much Lan Darr can learn from Earth, as Earth can learn from Lan Darr.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n T:<\/strong> With the aforementioned in mind, do you think Lan Darr is a place we\u2019ll continue to visit?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> Oh, yes. In Book 2: Return to Lan Darr, Allan Westerfield becomes obsessed with returning there. The problem is, he can\u2019t find the flower that allowed him to travel across the galaxy so effortlessly. His race to go back becomes his fixation and he gets really lost along the way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n T:<\/strong> If a reader wanted to pick up Immortal Shadow, would they have to read the previous two books to understand what was going on?<\/p>\n AA: <\/strong>No. Immortal Shadow is a prequel. It tells the story of the ultimate evil on planet Lan Darr and how he came to be his freaky self.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n T:<\/strong> Jibbawk is an interesting character, not just because of the way he looks, but because of his rise.\u00a0 What made you decide to write a story from the villain\u2019s point of view?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> In book 1, Allan is so scared of Jibbawk, because he\u2019s freaky and intense and, well, made of black, pinching beetles. I really wanted to share the story about how he came to be such a dark thing. He wasn\u2019t always a swarm of insects. He became that way. But I also wanted to tell the story of how Lan Darrians learned English, had electricity and familiar things. So it was very natural to dive into the rise of Lan Darr, which meant telling the rise of Jibbawk.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n T:<\/strong> Are there any plans to explore some of the bigger characters from the other planets you\u2019ve worked on as well?\u00a0 Jibbawk has gotten the star treatment, but are you going to give a focus to any of your other shadic habitants?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> In book 4, I explore the female heroine\u2019s storyline in the next prequel of the series. This will shed the light on how Asantia constructs her epic airship, escapes from her slave master and ultimately how she becomes the hardened woman Allan meets in Book 1- Strange Lands.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n T:<\/strong> Do you have any other distant planets to explore, or is Lan Darr the focus for now?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> Book 2 goes further out. There\u2019s Katonay- a very strange place full of Victorian like elites and an oppressed minority. It is the hub of Hubu related trade. There\u2019s also Plethiomia. That planet had electrical storms that feed these enormous beasts and a surface entirely made up of crystals, gems and diamonds! It gets really fun!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n T:<\/strong> You have a handful of other projects that you work on as well, across a few different genres.\u00a0 Would you like to talk about any of them?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> I\u2019ve written an Apocalyptic adult sci-fi called Fools\u2019 Apocalypse. This was really a personal exploration into political extremism with disastrous consequences. In many ways, my Lan Darr is that society that is at a crossroads in technology, the same as in Fools\u2019 Apocalypse. Dare to go the wrong way in both worlds? Then the mantle will crack and the fire that consumes all will be most complete. Find the right way, and things might just have a happy ending.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n T:<\/strong> The Heroes of Distant Planets books have more of a sci-fi feel to them than traditional fantasy.\u00a0 Any interest in seeing what you could do with a more medieval-type setting?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>AA:<\/strong> The blend of Sci-Fi and fantasy has always been my favorite and there is a blurring of those lines in my series. I\u2019ve kept this setting in book 1 Earth modern to steampunk, book 2 is Earth modern to primitive to Victorian and book 3 is Bronze age kicked into Steam Punk. It really spans the gamut, but no real medieval. NOW I should mention my next book series, Ammonite King. That is epic as well. Its setting is Far Future, Modern and Medieval. So that one is a much bigger story with enormous battles and swords and dragons and other strange creatures. Sign up for my readers group and learn all about it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n T:<\/strong> Do you offer any opportunities for people to beta-read?\u00a0 If someone wanted to be on your street team, for instance, how would they go about trying to do that?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> Yes, I\u2019m always looking for beta readers. Simply email me contact@synesthesiabooks.com<\/a> and let me know you\u2019d like to sign up for the beta readers group and I\u2019ll send you the hot-off-the-press beta copy of my next book.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n T:<\/strong> Your second and third books in the Heroes of Distant Planets series came out fairly close together (though this might just be the publication dates on Amazon messing with perception).\u00a0 Is it safe to say you\u2019ve got another book on the not-so-distant horizon?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> The first book was retitled by the marketing director with Synesthesia Books. The name was Surviving the Improbable Quest. You can see how that flew\u2014or didn\u2019t fly\u2014and it ended up a pile of rubble in the jungle of other much-better-titled books. J<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n T:<\/strong> Immortal Shadow introduces a new human protagonist in Ricky Boldary.\u00a0 Do you think Ricky is the new face of the human hero in your books, are might we see Allan Westerfield again?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> In book 4 Old Ricky and Allan come face to face. There\u2019s also an origin story to Asantia- the bad ass girl that saves Allan in Book 1. So, yes, Ricky will have a continuing role and so will Allan.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n T:<\/strong> Tell us we don\u2019t have to wait long for this new material!<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> Well, I do have a dayjob, but I\u2019m writing it now. So in the fall, book 4 will be ready for pre-review.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n T:<\/strong> Are there any authors that you particularly enjoy, emulate or find insight from?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> Well, Brandon Sanderson\u2019s Way of Kings is world building at the finest and really inspired me. I also read Patrick Rothfus\u2019s Name of the Wind. But I\u2019m a huge fan of Dune, Neil Stephenson\u2019s Snow Crash, and Margaret Attwood and Douglas Adams.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n T:<\/strong> You offer books for free to those who join your reader groups, don\u2019t you? Care to tell our readers where they can go to sign up for your work?<\/p>\n AA:<\/strong> Absolutely. My goal is to find readers, introduce them to the series and to my art and hopefully make a community that follows me through my carreer. So if anyone signs up for my readers group, they\u2019ll get the Book 1: Strange Lands, FREE. All I ask is that they post a review on Amazon, Goodreads or wherever and that they share it with a friend.<\/p>\n If anyone is interested sign up for my readers group at http:\/\/andersonatlas.com\/newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n T:<\/strong> Thank you so much for joining us.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a real pleasure, and we wish you luck on your future writing endeavors.\u00a0 Can\u2019t wait to read more from your catalog!<\/p>\n AA: <\/strong>Thank you very much! I really appreciate your newsletter and your time. If anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to contact me. contact@synesthesiabooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thank you once again to Anderson Atlas for sparing some time to chat with us today. \u00a0We wish him the best on the rest of his books!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Dantians.jpg\")
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