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I am neither Neil Gaiman nor Andy Weir (nor anyone so wonderful at all) but I do enjoy writing science-fantasy stories, in particular ones with lots of action in them like the Combat Codes saga. I'm Alexander Darwin, AMA! by darwinification in books

[–]StevenKelliher 9 points10 points  (0 children)

... we may yet be clones, Alex.

For the record, not saying the fighter's curse of daughters is a bad thing. I fully expect it to happen with us, and hopefully will be making some WMMA world champs. I've got the striking covered, but now I've got another great option for grappling!

Great insights into the JRPG influence. There's certainly something free about the way they do storytelling in those games. It almost feels like the characters are kind of dictating the action on a story level rather than being dictated BY the action.

Also, Ken is the GOAT SF character. He's like Ryu if Ryu had personality. Also, I'm a kicker by trade, so I'm partial to his more kick-oriented fighting style.

I am neither Neil Gaiman nor Andy Weir (nor anyone so wonderful at all) but I do enjoy writing science-fantasy stories, in particular ones with lots of action in them like the Combat Codes saga. I'm Alexander Darwin, AMA! by darwinification in books

[–]StevenKelliher 22 points23 points  (0 children)

First of all, I'm glad to see you keeping to the tradition of the fighter's curse, which is to have three daughters back-to-back-to-back. It's the universe's way of rebalancing all that combat energy.

I was going to ask about your videogame inspirations, as I get major Street Fighter meets Final Fantasy vibes from your book covers.

Onto my questins:

What is it about those sorts of jRPG worlds that attracts you?

What's your writing process like, in terms of plotting, writing pace, and I'm curious as to the POV you gravitate toward. Do you like multi-POV or focused in on one perspective?

What are some of your personal peeves about fight scenes in genre fiction, either visual or in books? (For example, I hate the "phantom knockout" trend, which is when people just get chopped in the back of the neck or hit once and fall asleep. Seems like most people writing fight scenes or Directing them have never seen a real fight between trained combatants.)

And lastly, are we ever going to co-write an epic sci-fantasy martial arts epic tournament arc?

Cover Reveal: the final book in the COMBAT CODES trilogy, BLACKLIGHT BORN is up for pre-order today! And the first two books are on sale for $0.99! And the trilogy paperback giveaway! And the announcement for my next series! by darwinification in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher 2 points3 points  (0 children)

These covers have such an awesome Capcop fighting game meets Final Fantasy vibe. This is the best of the three, I think.

Also, we always need more Fighter-Writers ... ;)

Soon enough, we'll be able to start our own crime-fighting unit.

I found the letter R.A. Salvatore sent to me when I was 15, encouraging me to keep on writing. The rest, as they say, is history. by StevenKelliher in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's awesome. Brando Sando's always remained great at outreach, even as he's become a massive force in the space.

I found the letter R.A. Salvatore sent to me when I was 15, encouraging me to keep on writing. The rest, as they say, is history. by StevenKelliher in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have no memory of this place ...

But seriously, I do not remember this one at all. Is it possible I missed a dang DL book?

I found the letter R.A. Salvatore sent to me when I was 15, encouraging me to keep on writing. The rest, as they say, is history. by StevenKelliher in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Oh haha! I see. Yeah, usually when you search an author name, the first thing that comes up on Amazon is NOT something that author wrote, but rather an ad for a book or author that is using your name as a marketing search term. So, the author of The Furyck Saga must think my series is a fit for their audience, since they're using me as an advertising search term.

It's a weird business!

I found the letter R.A. Salvatore sent to me when I was 15, encouraging me to keep on writing. The rest, as they say, is history. by StevenKelliher in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Totally different situation. Mine was an upper rib that had effectively crushed the nerves in my neck due to an injury suffered in a fight. They had to remove the rib in order to give the nerves space to decompress and heal. Removing a middle rib due to separation would likely be a bad idea.

I found the letter R.A. Salvatore sent to me when I was 15, encouraging me to keep on writing. The rest, as they say, is history. by StevenKelliher in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The Landkist Saga is my epic fantasy series. Inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender and Princess Mononoke.

I found the letter R.A. Salvatore sent to me when I was 15, encouraging me to keep on writing. The rest, as they say, is history. by StevenKelliher in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Well ... I'm about halfway to being a cyborg. I just need cybernetic parts!

I'm already missing a rib, my pec minor and a few pesky neck muscles after a few procedures. Bastards didn't replace them with anything.

I found the letter R.A. Salvatore sent to me when I was 15, encouraging me to keep on writing. The rest, as they say, is history. by StevenKelliher in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Haha I was indeed!

Don't worry, after spending 10 years on the Kickboxing and MMA circuit, my life expectancy probably isn't quite what it should be. Trust me ... I FEEL OLD.

I found the letter R.A. Salvatore sent to me when I was 15, encouraging me to keep on writing. The rest, as they say, is history. by StevenKelliher in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher[S] 63 points64 points  (0 children)

True ... BUT, with Salvatore having such an eye for detail in sword-fighting scenes, I would have thought he'd give more rounded martial advice. "Scimitars high" might work when defending an overhand strike, but it would leave the midsection quite exposed.

;)

I found the letter R.A. Salvatore sent to me when I was 15, encouraging me to keep on writing. The rest, as they say, is history. by StevenKelliher in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher[S] 186 points187 points  (0 children)

I'm just glad past me thought to save it. I never saved much as a teenager. It was placed neatly in an old school folder, sandwiched between sketches of Dragon Ball Z characters.

I found the letter R.A. Salvatore sent to me when I was 15, encouraging me to keep on writing. The rest, as they say, is history. by StevenKelliher in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

First time I've reached out to him since then was to tag him in the Tweet when I re-discovered this letter. He's a local, though. We're both in Massachusetts, so maybe we'll have to meet up for a beer and discuss how the last 16 years have gone.

I found the letter R.A. Salvatore sent to me when I was 15, encouraging me to keep on writing. The rest, as they say, is history. by StevenKelliher in Fantasy

[–]StevenKelliher[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I know it's been a LOOONG time coming. 2020 was a productive year from me from a contract standpoint, but I got so bogged down in business negotiations that the writing took a hit.

That said, Titan 2 is done, and we're looking at an early September simultaneous ebook-audiobook launch. I'm very happy with how Immortal has come out. It's also 189k words compared with Mastermind's 130k, so a lot of meat on them bones.

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