About SL Harby:
A child of the 80’s, SL Harby grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons and classic video games. An only child, he was bitten early by the reading bug, cutting his teeth on the masters of modern fantasy. His days were spent inside the worlds created by Howard and Lieber, Moorcock and Tolkien.
A perpetual Jersey boy, SL Harby lives in northwestern New Jersey with his wife and muse, Jessica and their bad ass rescue dog, Tallulah.
Shadows of a Dream is his first novel, representing four years work and a lifetime of dreaming.
What inspires you to write?
I am a life long D&D player (along with a host of other RPG's). A lot of my early inspiration came from the game and things connected to it ie movies, books etc. I continue to be inspired by these things, but music also plays a large part. When I am writing, I build a soundtrack to the work on the fly. This is what I play while I continue to write, as it allows me to get into and stay in the 'zone' or emotion of a scene more easily.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
I grew up reading pulp authors such as Howard and Leiber; they retain a prominent place on my bookshelf to this day. Growing up in the 80's, I read novels by Glen Cook, Joel Rosenberg, Lynn Abbey, Robert Aspirin and Steven Brust. I have each of these to thank for the writing bug that bit me and won't let go.
Tell us about your writing process.
I have been a pantser since day one, I like to see how a story idea evolves as it is told and often find that in the moment, a better flow of a scene emerges. For the sequel to Shadows of a Dream, I have been trying to outline more to keep it more concise and focused with some success. I wrote Shadows of a Dream on MS Word as one long document; I am using Scrivener for Shadows of the Heart specifically because of its ability to hold research and inspirational material and it's robust outline capabilities. Only time will tell
In addition to my 'soundtrack', I make liberal use of inspirational material such as drawings, photos, You Tube videos and quotes to help me craft the story and its characters.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don't know that I talk to my characters besides through writing dialogue. What I often do, however, is speak dialogue out loud to make sure it sounds reasonable off of the page … and if I particularly like a line.
What advice would you give other writers?
Write. The only way to hone your craft is to put word to paper. It is so easy to become discouraged by the day to day grind of life. It can cause you to skip a day or week, leading to you becoming discouraged by the fact that you have not written in a while. Write in the moment, there is nothing that can be done about yesterday and tomorrow is beyond your fingertips. Write today.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
To be honest, the query process was the most difficult for me. As an artist, I feel especially protective of my work and the soul crushing nature of the traditional publishing route was leading me to not write and generally feel bad about myself and my work.
I chose self publishing because it allowed me to have control over my work and not have to depend on someone else or defend my story within a few moment window before having it put in the 'nope' pile.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think independent publishing is on the rise. There are so many good books out there by indie writers. It may just take some time as we learn the lessons the traditional publishing folks learned long ago.
What genres do you write?: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
SL Harby Home Page Link
Link To SL Harby Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
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