Interview with Daniel Arenson, author

Daniel is the author of two books, Firefly Island and Flaming Dove. You can find him here.  Thanks, Daniel, for participating!

Why books?  Why did you choose to write books?
I used to write user manuals for a living.  If you think reading user manuals is boring, try writing them… eight hours a day, day after day.  I quit that job after a year.  Writing novels is so much more fun.  I’ve always loved reading novels, and I love writing them.

Tell me about you – not the writer.  Who are you?
I’m Daniel.  I’m thirty years old and live in Canada.  In addition to writing, I enjoy painting.  I love British comedy, old Simpsons episodes, and loud rock music.  I love reading, especially fantasy novels.

Now, tell me about your alter-ego.  How did you get started on the path to writing?
When I was ten or eleven years old, I discovered fantasy novels at my library.  I began reading Dragonlance and the other TSR novels.  The Larry Elmore cover artwork was something new and exciting, and the stories were lots of fun.  When I was in high school, I began writing my own fantasy stories.  They were a horrible mess of typos, bad grammar, and misused words.  But they, too, were lots of fun.  When I was eighteen, I was good enough to sell my first short story.  In the next few years, I sold dozens of stories and poems to various publications.  When I was twenty-seven, Five Star Publishing released my first novel, the epic fantasy Firefly Island.  I just recently released my second novel, the dark fantasy Flaming Dove.

What is your favorite part of the creation process?
Immersing myself in the fantasy world and just writing.  Revising can be tedious and painful.  Promoting my books is hard work.  Sometimes plotting, planning, and researching can also be taxing.  But the writing itself — heaven.

When you start a new project, what steps do you take to get the creative juices flowing?
It doesn’t take much.  I just find some good music, sip some coffee, and get going.  When I write, I place myself in the characters’ heads — I imagine I’m them, seeing the world through their eyes.  It’s almost like acting.

Who are your biggest influences?  Why?
Fairytales and mythology.  European fairytales inspired my first novel, Firefly Island.  Biblical stories of Heaven and Hell inspired my new novel, Flaming Dove.

Who are your favorite creators/writers?  Why?
I grew up reading the TSR novels by Weis and Hickman and others.  Other favorite authors are Roger Zelazny, George R. R. Martin, and Professor Tolkien.

What do you hope to achieve with your writing?
I hope readers feel the emotions of the story — the anguish in the dark parts, the joy in the light parts, the tragedy, triumph, or excitement.  I hope they fully immerse themselves in the fantasy worlds, see these new places through the eyes of the characters.  When readers truly get into the story, when it moves and excites them, I’ve done my job.  You’re paying to read my books — I respect that and try my best to give you the story you deserve.

What do reading and writing books, Indie publishing, self-promotion and all those related things – what do they represent to you?  Why?
The marketing, the industry, the self-promotion… those are just the satellites that orbit around.  For me, it’s about the storytelling.

Tell me three random facts about you that people will get a kick out of learning.
I love the sea and ocean, but I don’t swim.
I have two houseplants — a cactus and a bamboo — because I kill all other plants.
I cannot write without coffee or tea.  Cannot!