Author Interview: Jake Buller of "Teenage Writer"

Greetings from planet novel, writerly homedogs! Today we have a very special guest with us: Jake, the fedora-and-trench-coat-wearing blogger of Teenage Writer and author of numerous novels, including The War Horn, his first published work. We have worked hard through tight schedules and busy months to get this interview to ya'll (oh NO!...now you know I'm southern...), so let's give Jake a big WELCOME!!!

WELCOME!!!

Hi, Jake, and welcome to The Writer’s Block! We’re very honored to have a real live published author on the blog. Tell us a little about yourself...

Well, that’s a complicated answer.  To quote the excellent children’s movie Megamind, “I had a fairly standard childhood,” which is to say that it wasn’t fairly standard at all.  I’ve lived in a number of different cities in the Midwest, but I’ve always been rooted in Kansas.  (I am of the opinion that it is the best state in the Union.  Their motto is “through difficulty to the stars” in Latin.)

My “home” when I’m in the States is a farmhouse that turned a hundred years old last year and was built by my great-great-grandfather Tobias.  I’m rather proud of that fact, which is one of the reasons I use the pen name J. Tobias Buller when I’m writing.

I do, however, live in West Africa – I just got back from a visit to the States on the 25^th of September.  The next two years of my life will be spent here in Africa.

How did you get started on writing? What was your first ‘role model’, if any?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember.  I still have little “books” I stapled together when I was seven about astronomy and dinosaurs and such, and notebooks full of drawings and half-finished stories.

I think the first writer that really got me going on writing was probably Christopher Paolini, although in the long run Tolkien has been hugely influential on me.  My mom was definitely the one who kept me going, though.  Without her, I wouldn’t be a writer—or a reader, for that matter.  She’s the one who taught me how to read.

So, I’ve been to your blog and I’ve noticed you have quite a lot of writing projects going on! What’s it like to be writing so many books at once?

While I definitely have a lot going on, I try to only write one book at a time.  I have a lot of books in various stages of brainstorming and outlining and revising, but only one novel where I’m actually writing the rough draft.  (My current project is Tornado C, which is a rather odd working title that came out of nowhere.  I hope to finish the rough draft before the end of October.)

It’s hectic, more hectic than I want it to be.  Sometimes the mood comes on me and I have to scribble down thoughts to use later, and things get cluttered.  Eventually you just have to choose your battles and focus on one project.

You seem mostly wrapped up in your upcoming book Tornado C right now. Can you give us a little sneak peek?

It was hard to choose a scene, but here’s a quick glimpse at my villain.

--

        Commander Dakor, however, was briskly moving on to other subjects.  “How bad were the losses?”

        “My source said that it was nearing half, sir.  As a result, Sub-General Percidon called a retreat.  They lost much of the northwestern banks of the Vandar.”
        The commander cursed.  “The devil!  I ought to have him whipped before his men—and I would wager his men wouldn't mind it either, after putting them through a purgatory like that one.  But Percidon has one blasted foot in politics and wouldn't be rooted out for anything.”
        “He's Lady Yionna's beau after all, sir.”  Chathaz shook his head.  And as the daughter of the Baron of Grand Corva, she wielded considerable influence with her father.  Enough to get her fancy a giant promotion with zero effort.
        “Hang her.”  Commander Dakor stood up abruptly and paced in front of the couch. “She doesn't know a splinter about war—doubt she's ever had her dainty toe in real dirt, either.  But the women are the neck that moves the head, they say.” He turned back to Chathaz.  “What about prisoners?”
        “There's seven of them, sir, with more at the front.  There's a sizable amount, despite our losses.”
        The commander grunted.  “Good.  What did you order?”
        “Interrogation.”
        “Hm.”  The short, barely-audible noise was enough to make Chathaz's gut twist a little, and the neutral expression on the commander's face confirmed it: the commander disapproved.  True to form, the commander wasn't happy with the decision—Chathaz ought to have known.  At least he had delayed torture for an hour.  And he supposed an hour's delay was all he could ask for the poor souls.
        Commander Dakor turned his back to the brazier.  “Have our interrogation officers change methods.  Start with threats.  Move on to more persuasive methods if necessary.  Branding and needle torture are authorized.”
        Chathaz bit his lip and forced himself to say, “Yes, sir.  Understood.”  But not approved.  Then again, he didn't have to approve his commander's decisions in order to carry out his orders, did he?  He had done what his conscience dictated and delayed torture.  That was all he could really do.
        “Send a message tonight,” Commander Dakor continued.  “Sub-General Percidon is to be transferred to the Twenty-Second Brigade.  Fenderkort is to temporarily assume leadership of the Sixteenth, who are to rest for the next three days before being reinforced with more men from the draft.”
        Chathaz nodded appreciatively.  “Very good, sir.”
        A bit of a smile hovered at Dakor's lips.  “It is, isn't it?  The Twenty-Second is a more prestigious command for the prestigious Percidon...but currently in the reserves.  At least that bremmed gentleman will be able to play soldier without hurting the war, for a while.”
        Abruptly, the commander gave a wave of his hand.  “You are dismissed, Captain.  Any further news must be relayed to me immediately.  And remember—those orders must be sent tonight, as soon as possible.  Don't stop to chatter with some airheaded militiaman.”

What inspires you to keep writing, even when you’re stuck?

There are a lot of different things that keep me going, but I think the biggest thing is the theme of my novel.  Because the novel is coming from my heart, I can’t not write it.  It’s part of me, part of what I believe about how the world works.  So when the prose isn’t flowing and I’m frustrated, I flip back through my novel and find new energy to keep on writing.

What is your favorite aspect of writing a novel (i.e. outlining, brainstorming, characters, etc.)?

Well, brainstorming is definitely the easiest, but I think that finishing a novel is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world.  Of course, you always have to revise it later, but for a little bit you feel relieved and elated that it’s finally done.  I think that’s a universal feeling that every writer strives for.

Okay, silly question time! What’s your favorite fictional character ever, and why?

What an awful question!  How am I supposed to choose?

If I really have to, though, I’d probably choose the Doctor from the British TV show Doctor Who.  He’s such a complicated and wonderful character, unlike any other characters in any show I’ve seen or book I’ve read.

Last of all, Jake...how do you overcome writer’s block?

By writing.  You’ll write awful prose for a while and the words won’t flow, but really, writing is the only way to get over writer’s block.  Even if you have to break all the rules of writing just to get words on paper, at least your novel will be written!  There’s room for revision later.

And you’ll find that after a little bit, writer’s block won’t pinch you so much—and later on, when you look back over what you wrote, it won’t be as bad as you remembered.


* * * * *

We can't thank Jake enough for helping us out with Writer's Block. But we can still try! THANKS JAKE!!!!

Author Talk with Mel N. Choly

Hi! A.C. here, and we at The Writer’s Block are so excited about our first Author Talk! Today, we have Mel N. Choly hanging out with us. She is the co-author of The Orion trilogy, to be published soon, and is working on numerous personal projects.


1. Mel, can you tell us why you started writing? What motivated you? Why do you love it?

What began my sad existence as a writer? I write so everyone can have the joy of reading how I think. My motivation is to give people a world where they can lose themselves in a totally unreal existence. And I love it because I’m an artist. It’s just what I do. I’m a very specific artist, also.  


2. What are you currently working on?

As you said, I am working on The Orion. Also a dreadful book which drains my creativity like a leech, The Tower Series: Isles of Ruin. Then of course my beloved book, Chasing Shadows: Fear Strong, which is perhaps to become a series of its own. And against popular belief, The Tower Series is not a... ahem.... ‘rip off’ of Lord of The Rings. Do not listen to the deceitful demi-demons that plague the author world with their lies and smelly breath. 


3. What do you struggle with as a writer?

Unruly characters. Many of my most loved have pasts that make me—the author—shudder straight out of my pants. Because of this, they tend to be a bit... rebellious. On example: I was writing a perfectly fine book one day when one unperfectly fine character said something he wasn’t supposed to and the strings of fate and destiny were torn cruelly from their original perch and left to hang in empty air. One might say, “why not just delete what the character said?” but to be frank, what he said was quite genius and a witty come back to be envied. So it was worth bloody sweat and the long days it took me to slowly retie those strings and recreate my book in a totally new sort of way. 


4. Some watch movies, read books, or look through magazines. What are your main forms of motivation and inspiration?

First of all, magazines are nothing but pictures of vomit-worthy gossip about the latest nutty soul that decided to lick a barbie doll to it’s untimely death (that’s a long story about a woman. I’m not going to point any fingers but I’ll give you a hint... MILEY CIRUS.). 
In conclusion, I prefer to to read other books that are like my own.


5. Can you tell us what it was like to co-author a book? Was it difficult? Were there any slappy fights between you and your co-author?

Anastasia, my dear friend, has a one track mind. Once she has an idea, she has to have it in the book. I suppose it doesn’t matter much to me, but when it comes to humiliating one of my dear little characters, it may come to momentary blows. Then we make up over a cup of tea and some chocolate. After that, we play some polo, read a bit of poetry, procrastinate a little more, then we might go back to writing a month later.


6. You mentioned you were working on The Tower Series. Can you tell us more about your upcoming series?

The Tower Series is an extremely complicated book, but I will try to communicate some understanding. 
In an island named Saquraphine, there are seven ancient rings forged long ago for the protection of the land. When a dark, magical fog invades the land, poisoning the soil and sea, the rings come in handy once again to lock up this powerful creature in a tower, so long as the bearers of the rings keep the rings on.
thousands of years later, the story begins with a twelve year old boy names Jec, living with his adopter and teacher, Thymas, in a little library. One fateful night, Jec believes he’s found one of the ancient rings that Thymas has told him so much about. But if no one is wearing it, and the strange, mystical history of Saquraphine is true... The magical fog’s tower  must be weakening, and the creature inside has had years to plan a perfect escape. So it is poised, ready to strike, but it has to wait for the perfect moment, when its prison has weakened enough for it to emerge. No one knows when that moment may be, so Jec is forced into a crazy adventure with eight unlikely friends, two unearthly stalkers, and one very powerful villain.

I hope this makes sense.


7. Finally, Mel, we come to the biggest question of all. Why are you so melancholy?

Some people believe that, when given a name, that person is destined to live out it’s meaning. Mel means ‘Dark Beauty’ and while I sustain belief on the beauty part, I believe the dark part is quite true. I suppose living with such a terrible childhood may have helped a little, but I don’t know the exact reason. Or maybe I do, but I won’t tell you.

The Whimsically Dramatic and Totally Pink Angelina Zoe

Hello, fellow enthusiastic writers! I, the obsessed Angelina, am honored that you would read about me. Me! Out of all the authors, and you chose to read about me. Thank you.

So anyways, more about me. Well, what’s there to tell? I LOVE writing! But who doesn’t? Other than my older brother who absolutely abhors it! Can you imagine that? I can’t. It absolutely horrifies me! It’s like living without peanut butter on your pancakes! Oh! The pain! The agony!

Enough about pancakes, though. I’m getting hungry. Well, when I’m not writing, I’m either experimenting with brownies (I’ve recently made marshmallow brownies! [delicious!]), trying to convince A.C. that Marvel is cooler than DC (don’t even get me started, Anastasia!), writing about elves, dreaming about her elf characters (especially the ones who look like Legolas), writing about elves with Mel Cholly and A.C., trying to draw the characters from my books (with little success), working hard on not twisting my ankle while trying to do a pirouette on pointe, playing the piano (my absolute favorite pieces are the ones from the movie Tangled[especially Kingdom Dance]), watching awesome animated movies (like Wreck-It-Ralph, or Tangled), or trying to keep my black Labrador Retriever from barking so I can write, or sleep, in peace. I also like to have “quoting wars” with my little brother, and absolutely enjoy watching any Marvel movie (IF IT’S APPROPRIATE!).

But I'm not just a fantasy elf lover kind of writer, I like writing about other things, too. Recently I've been experimenting with war books and historical fiction. But it's very hard to write about sad things like war because I'm such a happy person. And it's equally challenging to write about historical fiction. I think it's because I have to stay in boundaries of what happened, and I can't write my own... history. But still, I try...

But alas, everyone I meet says I am one strange bunny. But that is for you to decide, dear reader. Of course, I think I’m an odd bunny too. For instance...

Whenever I see a jagged, white flash of lighting across the black sky, I immediately get a sensation, a rush of feelings that collide with each other to make one word. Inspiration. That might not sound weird to some people, but to the type of people I live with, it’s absolutely insane! Yes, that is the dramatic part of me shining through. I believe I should’ve been an actress. But instead I’m stuck writing. Not that it’s a bad thing.

Also, another note about me. Whatever I touch becomes pink! Well, mostly. I even paint my dog’s toenails pink! And my ipod is pink. My laptop isn’t, but I’m thinking about painting it. Don’t know if that’ll work, though. Even my Bible is pink! And most of the verses underlined in my Bible is with a pink highlighter (almost every verse in my Bible is highlighted). My whole room is pink! Pink! The word is so happy. Like the word Yellow! That's a fun word to say over and over.

And that just a fraction of what I am. Angelina Zoe. The pink. The dramatic. And the whimsical elf lover.

Farewell, my fellow readers! Until next time!

Angelina Zoe

Watzzit Tooyah: The Strange Man Behind the Curtain

Hello readers.  It is I, your beloved host, Watzzit Tooyah.  I welcome you to this, the post of my life.

I was born in a simpler time, when mice were mice, men were men, and the fluffy stuff under the bed did not introduce itself to me.  Since then, all of that has changed, making my life more complicated than it needs to be.  Now, besides remembering the names of my schoolmates and coworkers, keeping my grades up, and remembering to feed myself, I must remember the name and feeding habits of the thing under my bed and figure out whether that man standing over yonder is indeed a man and not a mouse (or vice versa).

But I, dear reader, digress.

I currently live somewhere (where I live exactly is still under investigation, but at least it isn't nowhere), where I typically can be found writing, playing Kingdom Hearts, or hoarding gummy bears from my various family members.  It is a hard life we writers live, reader.

One day, I was sitting on a couch, blissfully writing my little heart out, when suddenly, it hit me.  My mind froze, my hand cramped, and sudden randomness invaded my mind.  In a blind stupor, I quickly dialed 911 right before the randomness struck me unconscious.  When I awoke, I was in a hospital with an ominous looking doctor standing before me.

"Sir," this masked man articulated, like a bad actor from a soap opera, "you have Writer's Block."

Since that day I have devoted what's left of my random-infected mind to finding a cure to WB.  Oh, look, reader, a monarch butterfly.  And there is a cloud.

For the sake of writers everywhere, and for mine own sake, we must crush this terrible disease affecting millions of writers galaxy wide.  Until we finally find a cure, I will continue to be unable to focus on my book for more than a moment before sinking into the fog of randomness.

Help me, dear reader.  Please.

Oh look, out that window.  It's a small mammal.

That is all.

-Watzzit Tooyah.

Melancholy Mel N. Cholly

People ask me what I do, and I reply simply: “I’m an author. I write books, I hide in closets, I cry about non existent people, I astonish psychiatrists, and I’m completely obsessed with a world that doesn’t exist. Frankly, I’m proud.” Then they slowly walk away with a slightly disturbed look on their face.

People also ask me why I read Amish romance novels. I have no answer to this. Nothing, in this dreadful world of ours, is quite as humiliating as being caught even near the dreaded books. I read them only because I see them as a reminder of how not to write a fantasy book. Or a fiction book. 

But I am getting ahead of myself.

Let me begin somewhere near the beginning. I would tell you my entire life story, moldy ice cream cone and all, but I believe you would simply die by the sheer boredom of it all. You would simply lie down on whatever floor may be under you at this moment—wood, tile, asphalt, concrete—and die. So in short, I am an author of fantasy books. I would say that is all, I could say you have no business knowing. You’re probably wondering what I’ll decide. Perhaps you’ll never know. 

I like long walks in the park as rain soaks through my underwear and makes a terribly dreadful walk home. I like wrapping myself up in a big fur coat to go out in the summer. I also love chocolate, Miss Cross would be pleased to know, but I believe the consumption of the amount of chocolate she inhales is rather detrimental to her health. Poor young women like herself don’t need that much chocolate, and I believe it is messing up her poor brain. Has anyone, anyone at all, wondered why Willie Wonka was so strange? I, dear reader, will tell you. His over consumption of chocolate at a young age. With this piece of knowledge, I bid you to step slowly away from your grandmothers chocolate bowl and start munching on a carrot stick.

Now, if you want a list of my books, just to be vain, I am currently writing several books: The Tower Series: Isles of Ruin, Chasing Shadows: Fear Strong, and Ty Skyy’s Guide to Life. If it pleases you to know, I have finished none of them. I have started all, but finished none. I fully plan on, one day (as soon as I can pull my torn heart together) finishing these books.

Now let me tell you about my Moldy Ice Cream Cone. 

No, I don’t think I will. Yes, I know, I am quite evil. I have to admit, I do enjoy a good villain. The legend of my dear cone lives on. So does it’s memory in my heart. 

...Excuse me, I get emotional. May it rest in peace. I must leave you now.

Until, of course, I die,

Mel N. Cholly

The Mysterious and Chocolatey A.C.

Okay, so A.C. is really just a lame nickname for Anastasia Cross...mainly so I can yell "WHO TURNED OFF THE A.C.?!" and laugh to myself a little bit. But it sounds mysterious and cool for a teen writer like me.

I write mainly fantasy-fiction, which of course sounds lame when it's put like that but is really a pretty cool genre to write about, mainly because you can get as crazy as you want and come up with bizzare names and get away with it. I've experimented around with pirate books and sci-fi as well...I'm a pretty diverse writer, but of course I write for teens.

Now I shall wander off into a reminiscing reminisce on my past life as a writer...

When I was small I carried pencils around and my little brother even stuck a pencil in his face and still has a pencil lead tattoo there (I know, epic writer scar, right?). So I think that makes me a pretty serious writer on my brother's behalf.

Now let me tell you about chocolate. Chocolate comes in many forms and flavors. There's dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, and brownies, mainly. (Yes, brownies gets a whole flavor to itself. Don't ask why or I'll go off on another reminiscing reminisce.) Chocolate is proven by the FDA (Furry Department of Awesome) to ward off potentially harmful writer emotions, such as WB and to an extent hand cramps. So stock up on brownies and let's get writing!

My preferred writing utensils are 1) a computer and 2) my computer's built in thesaurus. And sometimes a cute little notebook with a black-ink pen. NOT A BLUE-INK. Those are just rip-offs.

Welcome to The Writer's Block! We are now banded together against WB. A day may come when the courage of writers fail, when we forsake our pens and break all of the metal ringy things on our notebooks, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered computer screens, when the age of authors comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Teen Writers!

A.C.

P.S. Those who caught that Aragorn quotage, peace out, fellow LOTR fans.