{"id":7365,"date":"2018-09-11T06:45:27","date_gmt":"2018-09-11T10:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tellest.com\/?p=7365"},"modified":"2018-09-21T08:40:52","modified_gmt":"2018-09-21T12:40:52","slug":"interview-b-c-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/interview-b-c-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with B.C. Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Intro: Hello everyone, and welcome to our interview with B.C. Johnson, the author of Dytin\u2019s Stones: Windrider<\/em>, a fantasy story that begins a series that you should really consider diving into.\u00a0 Read on to see what makes Johnson tick, and also to see how he\u2019s brought his stories to life.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Tellest<\/strong>: I\u2019m sure you\u2019re busy writing or out there saving lives as a paramedic, so we really appreciate that you\u2019re able to give us some time.\u00a0 One of the first things that I usually ask storytellers is how they started off writing.\u00a0 You\u2019ve been going at it since the third grade.\u00a0 What set you off and made you put pen to page?<\/p>\n

B.C. Johnson<\/strong>: Thank-you for having me. Is this where I start off with \u201cIt all came to me in a dream\u2026\u201d or \u201cI had something inside me that JUST had to get out!\u201d? Nothing as theatric as that I\u2019m afraid. Just your routine case of an over-active imagination and the inability to sit still in class. I had a wonderful, safe childhood that allowed for hours of adventures when my parents would yell \u201cGo play outside!\u201d and teachers who loved to foster creative expression. My third-grade teacher especially started my love for writing when she gave us papers with prompts as the first sentence, and I just devoured every one of them.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: Well, I appreciate that, because that\u2019s how I got my start, too, really.\u00a0 Are there any prompts that you can recall from back then that stuck with you?\u00a0 If not, are there any stories that you remember writing?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: Some that jump to mind were pretty goofy prompts, but they really got the juices flowing. Stuff like \u201cYou just discovered your mother is a robot\u201d or \u201cWhen I was walking to school, I saw an alien land in the football field\u201d. Things like that. I know there were all kinds of prompts from all sorts of genres, but those are the ones I remember the best because I specifically asked for extra paper cause the stories just went off the rails.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: Do you recommend writing prompts as a good way to get people started on writing?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: Absolutely, I suggest any tool or trick to get the ball rolling. That hardest thing to do is start, but once that hurdle is crossed, it always gets a lot easier.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: When you were in high school, you were writing longer stories.\u00a0 Is there any chance that we\u2019ll see any of those stories in some form?\u00a0 Have any of the events in those tales been reintroduced or integrated into either of your two currently published tales?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: You\u2019ll actually walk through that same world in the Dytin\u2019s Stones series. The whole adventure has gone through some massive rewrites but the geography and major events in the stories have remained the same. The rest of my short stories were the equivalent to what fan fiction is today, and trust me, they\u2019re so bad that no one would want them to see the light of day.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: Again, a nice reminder of my own journey!<\/p>\n

Now, you\u2019ve also released Children of Dawn<\/em>, which is a Sci-Fi story.\u00a0 Was that based on existing short stories too, or was that pretty off-the-cuff?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: That was actually based off of a dare\/assignment in college. I had a Government professor who was ALL ABOUT the Constitution being the single greatest document in the history of mankind. Done a few books on it, etc. Well, in true academic fashion, we were challenged to debate it and he didn\u2019t take too kindly to some of my points. Needless to say, we didn\u2019t see eye-to-eye on a lot of the government\u2019s role in society. So, as a final taunt, he assigned me to make a utopia using my views, and I wrote some 15 pages on the matter and turned it in. A lot of people liked the paper, and said I should write a story or something using that government. So\u2026 Children of Dawn was born.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: So, we know that Dytin\u2019s Stones has follow-ups in the works.\u00a0 Are there any plans to revisit Children of Dawn and expand on that as well?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: Not currently, no.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: You have a really attractive map in the front of Windrider<\/em>.\u00a0 Has that always looked that way in your head, or has that gone through a few different iterations over the years as well?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: It\u2019s been that way for a long, long time. The VERY talented Karol from Parnasium (his website is in the front section of the book) took my horrible doodle and made that magnificent map from it. The map covers the first five books\u2019 adventures.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: A \u201chorrible\u201d doodle that has a vision going for it isn\u2019t all that horrible!\u00a0 The idea that you knew what you were looking for in your head is a lot farther than a lot of people get.\u00a0 You also provided a few looks at some doodles of your characters as well.\u00a0 Were these more recent, or were these how you thought of your characters from those high school days?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: Those are more recent. Some light sketches while having some downtime in my army days.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: Your background and your occupation have both served as great resources for you and your writing.\u00a0 You\u2019ve served in the military, and you\u2019re currently a paramedic.\u00a0 Not a lot of people are able to tap into things like this in order to better get into the minds of characters who are involved in wars and heavy action, and things of that nature.\u00a0 How do you think this sets you and your writing aside?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: I hope that it gives me a unique perspective into a world and events that others just don\u2019t see. We hear a lot about war on the news, especially since 9\/11, but I can tell you from first-hand experience that most of the reports are just way off base. Events get exaggerated, others downplayed. The most terrifying experience of your life gets reduced to \u201csoldiers exchanged gunfire with\u2026\u201d and that\u2019s it. It\u2019s just not the whole story, not the bigger picture. Even things as simple as a report on a fatal car accident is so different than being there. These things leave an affect on you, cling to your consciousness, and I don\u2019t think a lot of entertainment really delves into that side of things with their characters. My stories aren\u2019t just about a power fantasy, they\u2019re about the psychological effects of war and death and still getting out there. That\u2019s the mark of a true hero.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: Is there a particular scene within any of your books that brought you back to one of those really tense moments in your life?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: Not without getting into spoiler territory. I can say that a lot of what Samuel, the main character, feels after some of the battles and events is exactly what was going through my mind after my first few encounters.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: Have you had the opportunity to share this story with anyone else who has shared a lot of your experiences?\u00a0 What do they have to say about moments like that?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: A few fellow veterans are among my \u201cbeta reader\u201d list. Their input has been invaluable to the quality and accuracy of those scenes.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: Dytin\u2019s Stones: Windrider<\/em> has some more American influences in a genre that predominantly feels like medieval Europe.\u00a0 What can you tell us about that?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: I love my country, I served it for fourteen years and still try my best to protect the community I live in today. I respect the great standard bearers of the genre that came before me like Tolkien and Martin, but it frustrates me to see such a rich and diverse landscape like America go unused in a fantastical setting. We have so many cultures, beautiful set pieces, and rich history to pull inspiration from. Not only do I try to relate a lot of the themes back to what I and my fellow veterans have experienced since 9\/11 into the books, but the people and places in the world of Teva have many American influences as well. My dwarves speak with a southern drawl instead of a Scottish accent. The honorable Chipowi people are heavily influenced by the indigenous tribes of the southwest. Even the farming community the main character grows up in is reminiscent of the Shenandoah Valley. I want the readers to love this country as I do, to see its magnificence and diversity, and experience a sampling of the cultures we have. If reading is about expanding one\u2019s horizons, then why use the same old tropes and accents?<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: Those who have read Windrider know that you\u2019ve got a sequel on the way.\u00a0 How far along are you on Dragonfire, and when do you think people will be able to anticipate that releasing?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: So, the current versions of the books were all originally one story. I kept writing and writing and realized that we were getting into \u201cWar and Peace\u201d territory of length and that just wasn\u2019t going to be easily tackled, even if I was some master storyteller. I worked for about a year on slicing up the pie, so the first three to five books are all about finished. There won\u2019t be years between these books, more like months.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: That\u2019s fantastic news.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the right way to do it, too.\u00a0 Readers want to dive right in after they read the earlier stories.\u00a0 I think around three months is when our attention spans happen to taper off.<\/p>\n

Is there anything beyond Dytin\u2019s Stones?\u00a0 Would you still be playing in the world of Teva, or would you explore some other sandbox?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: I\u2019m not sure yet to be honest. I have thought about playing with different genres in the same world but there\u2019s nothing being planned currently. I usually decide on a theme or message I want to get across first, and find a genre that suits that best. I\u2019m not tied down to just one category or world. Half the fun of writing is creating.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: Speaking of which, is there anything else that you do to create?\u00a0 Any other hobbies that you like to lean on?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: You can see from my doodles that I\u2019m no artist. I used to write a little music, but nothing substantial. Most of my free time, when not writing, is spent reading, spending time with my wife watching movies or tv, and playing video games. Anything I can escape into.<\/p>\n

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T<\/strong>: What do you think you\u2019d be doing if you weren\u2019t writing?<\/p>\n

BCJ<\/strong>: Probably still telling stories, just less enjoyable ones. My wife has already given me the look a number of times of \u201cYou\u2019ve told me this one already\u201d or she\u2019ll roll her eyes at social gatherings like \u201cthere he goes, telling THAT one again.\u201d I think everyone has stories to tell, that\u2019s the joy of meeting people, I just figured out a way to put mine down on paper.<\/p>\n

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*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

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I want to thank B.C. Johnson for his time with this interview, and for his service.\u00a0 We’re wishing him the best in the future, and know that the Dytin’s Stones series is going to pick up a lot of steam as it rolls toward the sequel.\u00a0 We’ll let you know when that releases.\u00a0 In the meantime, make sure you pick up Windrider<\/em> on Amazon<\/a> today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Intro: Hello everyone, and welcome to our interview with B.C. Johnson, the author of Dytin\u2019s Stones: Windrider, a fantasy story that begins a series that you should really consider diving into.\u00a0 Read on to see what makes Johnson tick, and also to see how he\u2019s brought his stories to life.   Tellest: I\u2019m sure you\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[463,145,350,462],"tags":[1800,1809,303,379,1810],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/BC-Johnson-Featured.png","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1UVey-1UN","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7365"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7365"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7375,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7365\/revisions\/7375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}