Fantasy Author Bruce Skye Follows in Footsteps of Stephen King
Dorothy Thompson
January 28, 2009
"When I wrote Grayrider, I followed the advice of Stephen King. I did not write the book following any sort of outline. I have no more idea than my readers do when I write a novel what will happen in the midst of the story. It makes it more exciting for both the readers and myself."
Thank you for this interview, Bruce. Can you tell us briefly what your latest book, Grayrider, is all about?
Imagine a king named Gabriel who has been driven from his realm by an army which murdered his family just before the invasion began. All he has is a magical sword named Deathsong which he inherits from his father, the king of Rivalin. The weapon has been in his family for over a thousand years.
He fights to keep the invaders from entering the neighboring kingdom of Boadhagh. His father believed Deathsong must one day slay an evil sorceress named Morrigan who vanished a millennium ago. Now, she is only a forgotten legend.
He is known as Grayrider by the people of Boadhagh. Gabriel discovers Morrigan is quite real and growing in power. And, only Deathsong has any possibility of slaying her. But can it? If she gains enough mystical power, neither Grayrider nor Deathsong will be able to stop her.
Can you tell us what (or who) was the inspiration behind your book?
I had two inspirations for Grayrider. The idea of Grayrider had been in my mind since 1979. I was in the midst of writing a suspense novel when I began Grayrider. My second inspiration for the book was J.R.R.Tolkien´s Lord of the Rings. Tolkien speaks, I think, of hope in the midst of overwhelming odds. And I think we need that kind of message today—regardless of a book´s genre.
Is this your first published book and if so, can you tell us your experiences in finding a publisher for it?
Yes, this is my first published book. I had—for several years—attempted to sell the suspense novel I mentioned above to literary agents with no luck. I finally gave up on that and sent a copy of the Grayrider manuscript to a large literary agency in New York. They loved it. In fact, it wasn´t long afterward that my new agent told me I was one of her top 10 writers! It was because of that fact she referred me to Eloquent Books. They loved Grayrider as well. And the rest, as they say, is history.
How has Eloquent Books been to work with?
Eloquent Books has been wonderful to work with. Their people are great.
Do you have an agent?
Yes.
Can you tell us how long it took you to write your book and also how long it took from the time Eloquent Books sent the contract and the time it was released?
Since I do not use outlines in writing my books, it took me probably 6 to 8 months. There were problems which caused delays in the publication of Grayrider. It should have taken only 6 to 8 weeks, but ended up taking double that, unfortunately.
Do you have any words of inspiration for other writers who would like to be wearing your shoes?
What I would say to any aspiring writer is this: keep writing and believe in your dream. Quitting in frustration won´t make your dream come true. Only continuing to pound your keyboard and writing will you eventually succeed.
I understand that you are touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in February via a virtual book tour. Can you tell us all why you chose a virtual book tour to promote your book online?
More and more of commerce is done on the Web. It seemed a logical way to promote Grayrider.
What´s next for you?
I hope to have the next novel in this series published in 2009. And I believe it is better than Grayrider.
Thank you for this interview, Bruce. Can you tell us how we can find out more about you and your new book?
I have both a website and a blog. Both are available through my website at http://www.bruceskye.com.