Guest Author, Sean Frazier
I met Sean on Twitter. He’s a good dad because he shows his daughters Wonder Woman, the greatest superhero ever.
When Sean Frazier was growing up, he never really paid attention to the written word. It wasn’t necessarily something he enjoyed at the time. Once he graduated college, however, the spark ignited and he decided to write something and try to get it published.
And it was…well, not-so-great. Truly, it wasn’t the highest caliber material ever produced. But the spark was still there, even if it was simply buried deep within.
Eventually, that overly-loquacious, meandering work of wordsmithing became his first book, The Call of Chaos. It took many, many years, but Sean finally rekindled that drive and found that he did, indeed enjoy writing.
When he’s not writing, Sean enjoys running, playing video games, and spending time with his family. He is a bona fide Halloween zealot, loves hot wings, is a grand master at telling terrible jokes and, oh, his cat can beat up your cat. (Jamie’s note: His cat has never met Snowflake.)
Interview
1, Tell us a little about yourself?
I love all things geek—video games, tabletop/RPG, computers, sci-fi, and fantasy to name just a few. I am an avid runner. I love to read, but I have a short attention span. I also very much enjoy telling stories. I can’t draw, and I don’t enjoy playing my guitar for an audience, so I entertain with words. I am also a total dork.
2. Tell us something about how you write? i.e. are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you have any weird or necessary writing habits or rituals?
I try to write little bits during the week, but most of my writing happens on Sunday mornings. I hide in the corner of a coffee shop and peck away at the keyboard for 3-4 hours. The rest of the week is when my muse gets to work.
My writing is organic. I usually have a beginning and end in mind, and then some ideas for what is going to happen in the middle. I don’t outline or plan or plot a course. The writing happens when the words decide it’s time. My characters often derail the story and blaze their own trails and each story evolves on its own. Sometimes, it is magical how the words seem to write themselves. Other times, it is maddening.
3. Could you tell us a bit about your most recent book?
The Call of Chaos is the first book of four in The Forgotten Years series. It follows a young man named Cor’il Silvermoon. Shortly after he is exiled from his home, he discovers that history has lied. The Realm quickly falls into turmoil as monsters and magic emerge—they are no longer confined to books and children’s stories. Cor’il is unwittingly pulled into the conflict to discover where they came from and what other mysteries wait to be discovered.
4. What gives you inspiration for your book?
I draw inspiration from a lot of rather untraditional sources. Many people get their inspiration from movies, TV, or books. They see an element they like and they expand upon it.
My inspirations come from music, pictures, or just nature in general. I get many of my ideas while I am running with my music turned up. The other day, I saw a picture of some very funky-looking trees and immediately had ideas about them.
Even words themselves give me inspiration. Many times, I have seen a quote and thought of an entire plotline revolved around it.
5. What was the hardest part of writing your book?
The self-promotion. This isn’t really about the writing, per se, but the advertising of myself. “Hey, you should read my book! It’s awesome!…but it might have a few mistakes in it, and it’s probably not going to be to everyone’s liking.”
There are a lot of options for entertainment. Without dropping serious cash (which I cannot afford to do), it can be difficult to get noticed. I’m never one to toot my own horn, but I can’t simply say “I wrote book. You should read it…or not, whatever.”
Am I doing it right? Could I be doing more? What other options are out there? I’m a writer, not a marketer. It sometimes can be overwhelming, but I am so in love with writing that I am happy if even just one person reads one of my books and enjoys it.
6. Do you have a day job in addition to being a writer? If so, what do you do during the day?
My day job is the complete opposite of my writing. I work in IT as a Systems Engineer. That’s a simple way of saying “I design the infrastructure to keep the backbone of the company running smoothly.”
7. Tell us a little about your plans for the future. Do you have any other books in the works?
In addition to the other three The Forgotten Years books (the second book is nearly complete and the third has been started), I have been slowly working on another fantasy book that parodies many geeky things. Writing humor is tough, however. If I write it too quickly, it ceases to be funny.
I also have a lot of short stories already written from years ago. I’ve been considering compiling them into an anthology at some point.
Where can we find you online?
Blog: https://seanrfrazier.com/blog/
Website: https://seanrfrazier.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeanRFrazierAuthor/
Twitter: @TheCleftonTwain
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01N056U2U
The Call of Chaos
Exiled from his homeland, Cor’il Silvermoon was left to roam without direction. Bestowed with unimaginable power by the awakening Threads, he struggles to understand his purpose.
But when he discovers that terrible forces are tearing the Realm asunder, Cor’il realizes that no one can withstand the storm alone. Forced to confront the mythical monsters that pillage the land, he faces a Realm that has become much deadlier, encountering new friends, dangerous enemies, and impossible challenges.
Can Cor’il and his friends discover the source of the chaos and stop it? Or will they be forced to watch as everything they know and love is utterly destroyed, ushering in a new age of danger and discord?
Excerpt
Cor’il was awakened by footsteps, grunts and snarls. For a moment, he lay perfectly still on his side, staring directly ahead. He could see immediately around him in the darkness but could not make out any detail save for a flickering flame in the trees ahead. It bobbed up and down slightly, heading towards him and soon became apparent that it was a torch being carried by a humanoid creature he had never seen before.
He watched the creature draw nearer when it abruptly stopped and, holding the torch above its head, looked around and sniffed the air.
The flickering light of the torch was not the brightest, but it was more than enough to allow
Cor’il to inspect the creature in more detail. It had rough-looking, greenish-brown skin, wore tattered clothing and had a sword on its hip. Matted, unkempt hair fell onto its shoulders and partially obscured its face. If it was a human, it was some strange kind of barbaric human Cor’il had never encountered, but it appeared much more civilized than any normal animal.
The creature looked behind it and motioned with its arm. Several smaller, repugnant creatures emerged from the darkness, huddled around the larger one, and inspected the area. They didn’t look as tough or as sturdy as the larger one—maybe a different breed or different creature altogether?
Cor’il wanted to flee—to sneak out and hide somewhere. His head began throb again. He felt cold and started to shiver uncontrollably, but he was also sweating. He reached over to grab his satchel and his sword but his hand was shaking and he snapped a twig accidentally. Immediately, the larger creature grunted and pointed in several directions while the smaller creatures all spread out, picking up rocks and sticks and licking their lips hungrily.
Cor’il knew that he was about to be discovered. Still shaking, he scurried out the back of his shelter, buckling on his sword belt and slowly making his way towards the edge of the forest. Due to the underbrush it was impossible to move as quietly as he would’ve liked but he resisted the urge to run. Mayhaps their hearing is not very good and I can escape. By the Abyss, what are they?
“I smell something I not smell in…long time,” a raspy voice grunted from behind. Cor’il could barely understand what it said. “Tasty flesh! Find it! Track it down! We eat well tonight!”
Cor’il’s head pounded now, and he was so cold he could barely breathe. He looked behind him. The creatures were moving out in every direction—quickly. They were hunting him! It was time to leave. But when he turned back around he came face to face with one of the smaller ones. It grinned and snarled at the same time, baring crooked, gnarled teeth. It swung at Cor’il with its rock and missed, but it was enough to make Cor’il back up and trip, falling onto his back. His vision blurred and started to go dark. He continued shivering and sweating profusely, with an intense warmth building up inside him. He remembered this feeling. This is how he’d felt back in Kuranthas when…when he had supposedly set the trees ablaze!
I guess this is how it ends.
Everything went dark.
What do you think of Sean? Share your comments below. And what do you think of Wonder Woman?