Ask the Author: R.J. Benson
Answered Questions (8)
R.J. Benson
Hi! The third book will be out on November 22! Its called Defiant Warrior and available for preorder on amazon. So happy you’re enjoying the series! Yay! 😍😍
Update: the full installment of the novel has been delayed. So Im hoping to publish it late spring 2023. BUT I just released the 1st chapter on Kindle Vella, with 3 more already scheduled. Please check it out! Once all the chapters are relreased thru KV, I plan to publish the full novel. https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/s...
Update: the full installment of the novel has been delayed. So Im hoping to publish it late spring 2023. BUT I just released the 1st chapter on Kindle Vella, with 3 more already scheduled. Please check it out! Once all the chapters are relreased thru KV, I plan to publish the full novel. https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/s...
R.J. Benson
Bringing the voices in your head to life. Then other people get to love them too! Oops. I meant, characters...lol 😜
R.J. Benson
Ive been busy the last couple years so havent had the chance to read in a long time outside of how-to art/writing books. So this summer im playing catchup on Sarah Maas's Throne of Glass series. Love heroines in fantasy. Hard to find a good bad ass heroine thats not super anniying.
But my list also includes a new author Allegra Pescatore's Where Shadows Lie. Then on to my curiosity about all the hype: Red, White and Royal Blue. Its not often an LGBT book makes the best seller list and gets so much publicity. Im down! Then next on my list is Coffee-to-Go by Grayson Bell and Winter Rising by Richard Amos. One is a lgbt romance and the second is a action adventure. Excited to finally rest with a good book this summer after I graduate in May.
But my list also includes a new author Allegra Pescatore's Where Shadows Lie. Then on to my curiosity about all the hype: Red, White and Royal Blue. Its not often an LGBT book makes the best seller list and gets so much publicity. Im down! Then next on my list is Coffee-to-Go by Grayson Bell and Winter Rising by Richard Amos. One is a lgbt romance and the second is a action adventure. Excited to finally rest with a good book this summer after I graduate in May.
R.J. Benson
I don't have any one thing that inspires me. I watch a lot tv, movies and read a lot. I'm a creative so I tend to see things with an artistic eye. I'll see an event or someone do something, tell me something and wonder how I can use that in my stories. But when I am inspired, I immediately write it down as fast as I can so I wont forget.
R.J. Benson
Don't give up and just keep writing.
Even if it's been "done before", it's never been told by you.
It's your story, write it how you want (but don't forget to have a sensitivity reader look it over when its complete.)
Always get a professional edited and book cover that matches your genre.
Research, research, research; Don't ask someone else how to write your story.
There are TONs of resources nowadays at our disposal, squeeze them dry!!
READ your genre, READ books about writing--READ.
I could go on... but most important is again. Never give up. Someone out there needs your story.
Even if it's been "done before", it's never been told by you.
It's your story, write it how you want (but don't forget to have a sensitivity reader look it over when its complete.)
Always get a professional edited and book cover that matches your genre.
Research, research, research; Don't ask someone else how to write your story.
There are TONs of resources nowadays at our disposal, squeeze them dry!!
READ your genre, READ books about writing--READ.
I could go on... but most important is again. Never give up. Someone out there needs your story.
R.J. Benson
I dealt with writers block for many years trying to get Fallen Virtue written. I spent forever writing the first few chapters, getting nowhere. It wasn't until I finally decided to create an outline that I was able to finish the whole book within a couple months. I used that same method with my second. Its the process that works for me. Writer's Block always shows up when I don't have an outline. How I envy "pantser" writers...
R.J. Benson
Fallen Virtue's inspiration is a myriad and its hard to pinpoint what exactly inspired the tale. I grew up in the Christian faith, though I don't practice anymore, so I'm well-versed in the lore around angels and demons. After watching shows like Supernatural, reading books like JR Ward's BDB and the HP world created by JK Rowling, I have always had a fascination with how the supernatural world could exist around us without our knowledge. This story is my version of what that might look like, mixed with what the origin of our religious roots could be. And then, I've always wanted to write unconventional characters from the norm. Having a main character who is open about who he is and his sexuality, no matter his preference for men or women, is something I've wanted to see more of in the books I read. They say if you want to read it, you should write it. And I do.
R.J. Benson
I'm working on the next title for the series, Of Beasts and Buzzards, the second book called Pride Asunder. It's just the beginning editing stages. I'm also starting the third and working on the first installment for a new series I'm calling, The Deviant Ones. So, there's lots more to come. My writing career is just beginning so keep an eye out for more books!
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