Sage Alexander and the Hall of Nightmares
1. What really
inspired you to write your book, to force you from taking an idea or experience
and conveying it into a book? The Sage Alexander
series came from a request from my oldest grandson, Sage Alexander Copling, to
write him a book as a Christmas present. The small book I wrote him (he made
the request right before Thanksgiving, giving me five weeks to complete the
task), is certainly nothing like the book now, but the foundation and general
concept are there. Once I knew I wanted to expand the original book into
something bigger, it was a short distance between there and the full fantasy
universe I created. I don't think I've ever had more fun than writing this
series. I'm a long way from finishing, but each book is plotted out and ready
to explode from my head. It’s going to be great!
2.
What
is it about and whom do you believe is your targeted reader? The story is about a boy desperate to save his father.
Sage knows he is special, or at least he knows that Leah, his Guardian, has
always told him so. He is angelic-human, one of only two-hundred in existence, and
the only one, he believes, with multiple angelic gifts. A few years ago, he
abandoned his special training to become a legendary savior, just to keep his
sanity. But in chapter one, Leah starts pressing him harder to begin again.
When his gift of Clarity (the ability to see the demonic influences of the
Seven Deadly Sins upon a human body) begins to manifest, and his dad begins to
turn into something horrible, it motivates Sage to do whatever is necessary to
save him. It is a story of great adventure, has lots of action, and is targeted
for readers – both boy and girl – between the ages of 11-17, although many
adults have read it and really enjoyed it. Sage is obviously the main
character, but a close second is Elsbeth Brown, a girl with two angelic gifts,
who will play a prominent role in each of the seven books. Elsbeth is a smart,
independent, strong girl who is every bit the fighter and leader that Sage is.
They make quite the team, one I think readers will grow to
love.
3.
What
do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book?
What should remain with them long after putting it down? I hope the everlasting thought will be how all of us, regardless of
how terrified we might be of facing a horrible task, can find the inner
strength necessary to meet the challenge. Sage keeps the goal of saving his
father at the forefront of his mind throughout the book, and is forced to
overcome challenge after challenge to accomplish it. While he began the journey
on his own, he grew to rely on the friends he made along the way, and with
their strength and faith in each other, accomplished a task the adults in the
book never believed he could complete. What I hope remains with the readers is
that faith, trusting yourself, facing your fears, relying on others, and keeping
your eye on the prize can lead to great things in your life. Never give up.
Never, never, never give up chasing your dreams or doing what you must to
complete critical tasks. There is a tremendous quote by President Theodore
Roosevelt called the Man in the Arena. A portion of that quote reads: “It is not the critic who counts; not the
man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds
could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in
the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood . . . and who at
the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place
shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor
defeat.”
4.
What
advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers? This one is simple: write. Just put words down on paper.
Don't worry about grammar, run-on sentences, useless words, passive voice and
all the other stuff that MUST be cleaned up later. No, the best thing you can
do is simply write, write, write. After you have your story down on paper (or
computer file), let it sit for a bit, a couple of weeks or so, to gain some
distance from it. Then go back and start your cleanup. There's a saying I heard
once: A book isn't written, it's rewritten. So doing the cleanup is the key to
success. That done, after you think it's ready to show to a few people for some
advice or feedback, make sure your skin is thick enough to handle what you're
being told. Do realize one thing, though: there has never been a book written
that somebody somewhere wouldn't have done a little differently. So while you
should value honest feedback, remember that it is your story to tell. Tell it.
Write!
5.
What
trends in the book world do you see and where do you think the book publishing
industry is heading? I have been an avid reader for
almost fifty years. I think the most obvious trend is the move away from print
books to electronic versions of books. While I am still old-school in a way,
and love the feel of a printed book in my hands, I must admit to the
convenience of using an electronic device. When it’s dark, no problem, I’ve got
a lighted screen – no lamp needed. When my eyesight begins to fail, no problem,
I can increase the font size. When I want to travel light and keep my hands
free, no problem, the book is on my phone. The natural drawback to e-books,
though, is that anyone can publish. The stark reality is that not everyone who
publishes an e-book has properly readied that book to be published. It often
takes years to develop the craft of writing, and many who publish just haven’t
developed that craft. The agent and editor process of the traditional
publishing process effectively serves as a filter for weeding out poor
products. My view of that process, however, is that it is so
restrictive they miss a LOT of talented writers. Overall, I see technology
continuing to grow, more and more e-books available for purchase, and consumers
with record numbers of choices. I fully believe that good books, if discovered,
will do well.
I also see writers desiring to keep more of the ancillary rights
associated with their book. Publishers want all rights: movie, gaming, e-books,
etc. My publisher, Brown Books Publishing Group, allows authors to keep all
rights, which affords the author to pursue other avenues should their books do
well in the marketplace. I think you will see authors in the future desire to
keep a bigger stake in the books they create. With the world of technology
changing the way people watch TV and movies, along with the demand for original
programming from the online streaming channels, successful novels could
potentially become a huge bargaining chip for authors, assuming they haven’t
signed away all of the ancillary rights to their books.
6.
What
great challenges did you have in writing your book? The
greatest challenge for me was merging ancient biblical teachings with myths and
legends from all over the world. In the world I created, nearly all of the
myths and legends in societies around the world stem from the fallen angels –
the Watchers – as described in the Old Testament. The passages in Genesis that
mention the Sons of God and the Daughters of Man and the offspring they
created, serves as the origin for everything in my series: the evil races of
Dark beasts, the angelic-humans that battle them, Greek mythology, vampires,
werewolves, trolls and giants, and on and on. In this series, everything
surrounds the Great Flood – what happened before the flood, and the aftermath.
For me, the biggest challenge was to keep it generic enough to not offend
anyone’s religious beliefs, but interesting enough to capture the imagination
of those reading it and get them to think, “Huh, that’s a cool take on where
ancient Greeks came up with their gods and Olympians.” Of course, another challenge
was to tell the story from the point-of-view of a 14 year-old boy, and keep the
story moving along at a pace that keeps people turning pages.
7.
If
people can only buy one book this month, why should it be yours? It’s different. Hall
of Nightmares doesn’t follow the typical fantasy storyboard. I have created
different worlds, but both are spiritual realms. Much of the book takes place
within our own world, present and past, with historical people and places you
are familiar with. But classic fantasy elements are there: sword fighting,
magical powers (angelic gifts), monsters and creatures, and a boy engaged in a
life-and-death journey that requires him to grow up fast. This first book
serves as the foundation for a series that is truly unique in the
marketplace.
Steve Copling has
over thirty-five years’ experience in law enforcement and corporate security.
He currently serves as a captain at the Plano, Texas police department. He
lives in a small North Texas town with his wife of nearly forty years, has
three wonderful sons and five beautiful grandchildren. He is the author of two
crime novels, and Sage Alexander and the Hall of Nightmares is his first
foray into young adult fantasy and serves as the foundation for a seven-book
series based on the seven deadly sins. It was born out of an endearing request
from his grandson Sage, who asked Copling to write him a book for Christmas.
His ultimate goal with this series is to simply write stories that Sage and his
brother Nikhil will love reading. See this for more info: http://sagealexander.net/.
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Brian Feinblum’s views,
opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his
employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him
at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and
raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs
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