Nikolas Lee's Blog: It's Okay--I'm an Author, page 4

Character Q & A: Oceanus Reaves

Let me first thank you, Oceanus, for agreeing to sit down with us and answer a few questions.

It’s all right. Just make it quick. I was in the middle of a book, after all.

 

Will do. Could you please give us your full name, age, and connection with the Illyrian gods?

My name’s Oceanus Reaves, I’m 12 years old, and I’m the Sea Guardian–a reincarnated god bound to serve and protect the Illyrians for all eternity.

 

The Sea Guardian, eh? So one could assume you have a mastery over the sea?

And other lesser bodies of water, yes. Though controlling the seas isn’t yet advised for my Class level. You see, attempting to summon and/or command something that’s just too powerful for your Class could lead to Consumption, where a god loses control of both their powers and their mind.

 

Sounds dangerous.

It is. Very. Once I heard Lady Nepia, the Sea Queen, went into a state of Consumption and swallowed a whole mini-continent with the ocean. Never saw it again.

 

Lady Nepia is one of the Illyrians, correct?

Of course! What kind of a question is that?

 

My apologies. Who’s your favorite Illyrian?

Eos and Ezra, the Unseperated Ones. They’re the goddesses of art and knowledge. I haven’t met them, but they’re my idols for sure.

 

They’re two gods in one, right? Like, two torsos sprouting out of one waistline?

Yeah. Do you have a problem with that?

 

Umm…no, haha…Okay, here are some rapid-fire questions:

Your favorite power?

Water whip.

 

Your favorite piece of clothing?

Blue hair ribbon.

 

Your favorite past time?

Reading. Do you not pay attention?

 

Your best trait?

It’s a toss-up between my amazing blue eyes and my ability to cope with any situation I find myself in.

 

Your worst trait?

I sort of, kind of have a temper.

 

But wouldn’t that affect your coping…

Next question.

 

Okay, last one: What do you know about the tragic events about the night of the Class Verification Exams?

I know you ask too many questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

IJB — ONLY 2.99!

No! Stop! Don’t do it! You have so much to live for! Please…don’t–

Oh, lawd…another one gone. And all because he didn’t have the 3.99 to purchase the ebook format of The Iron-Jawed Boy. If he’d waited just a bit longer, he would have found out that tomorrow IJB will only be 2.99 for a whole WEEK!! Yes, a WEEK!

Yes, that’s right; celebrate! Celebrate, for IJB shall be a dollar cheaper!

Also, I should note the IJB giveaway is ending today on Goodreads, so make sure you hop on over there and enter to win a paperback copy

Going Insane…

Mainly because it’s going on 72 hours and I still haven’t been able to get this forsaken song out of my head…

Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Pocahontas twirling in the wind feroshness. But it’s just getting ridiculousl. RIDICULOUS, I SAY!! I keep singing this part…

And this part…

And this freakn part…

And I just wanna be like:

“Dear Pocahontas song, I no longer want to hum you incessantly…

I’m contemplating watching the Hercules move in the hopes that one of those songs will replace this one. Though I doubt it’ll work, so expect to see me on the five o’clock news running through the streets completely naked, asking people if they can paint with all the colors of the wind, or if they truly understand that the rainstorm and the river are my brothers.

The manuscript for the second book has taken a dark turn, too; and yes, I am going to blame it on Pocahontas.

 

Writing Update #1

Currently serving:

Depressed, Dobby-dying-like feeling realness.

Dude. Break-ups are the worst. And break-ups that end peacefully are the second worst (besides cancer, other diseases, amputations, when Starbucks is out of chai, back acne, the Percy Jackson movies, a dead iPhone, people dying, starvation, and Amanda Bynes). So much FEELS!

Anyways, I’m trying to distract myself with writing, and I guess it’s coming along. Had to read through all my second-book notes again this morning to get back into the swing of things, however pitiful that swing was. To be honest, I’ve never been any good at just sitting down at a desk, pulling out my laptop, and writing non-stop. When my third grade teacher made us do that crap (which she labeled as Brainstorming Activities) I nearly died of a panic attack. Okay, not really. But I was a mess. Regardless, I’m gonna try and push through this rough draft and have it finished up by the end of this month or the middle of next month. I’ve never done one that fast, so wish me luck.

 

The Reviews Are In! Well…eight of em at least.

Currently Serving:

Valyrian Realness.

In other words: I’m feeling awesome, lol. The book’s been out for nearly a month now and while I’ve only garnered about eight reviews so far all of them have been super amazingly positive. Some have said it’s a cross between Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, that the action scenes are “amazing”, and the ending was “epic”, that it’s “compelling”, “original”, and “a great start to a new series”. I couldn’t be any happier with how it’s being received right now! Mostly because as a writer–an indie writer most especially–reviews are everything. Furserious.

They’re like…life.

But while I’m just waiting for that one star review to come my way (which will be the day I question whether or not life is worth living in a melodramatic sort of way) I’m going to remain feeling optimistic.

Now…where are my dragons?

Sunday Quote Day

“No one is only one thing, my dear.”

– Vinya, Illyrian goddess of the moon and nature, and Achaean Academy Relics teacher.

Stop on by to Goodreads.com and enter to win a paperback copy of The Iron-Jawed Boy

The Spark

So, I’ve taken a break from writing the rough draft of my second novel The Iron-Jawed Boy and the Hand of the Moon, to…write some more! *slams head to desk* It’s never-ending, really it is.

I thought I’d dedicate my first blog post to the first time I met Ionikus Reaves, the main character in my fantasy series The Sky Guardian Chronicles–a moment I refer to as “The Spark” (because it’s cool to give it a name, that’s why).

I started writing at around 7 years old in order to escape the utterly mundane reality I was living in…but mostly because bullies were the worst, and the only place bullies weren’t the worst was in my fantasy world–where they had a tendency to either be badly squished, shocked, thrown through walls, or sucked into hurricanes. What? I had to do it! Do you have any idea how nervous and miserable I was being bullied for just being me? It was only natural that I walked around constantly wanting to do this to someone’s face:

IN YOUR FACE!

Anyways, it was a cool October day back in 1999, and Mrs. Rodenberg’s was starting her daily reading session to the class. We’d just gotten back from a sweaty recess and this was what she did to calm us in the hopes that we’d be down for some edumacational material afterward (It never worked). Mrs. Rodenberg was reading the first Harry Potter book to us, though I don’t remember her ever reading any other books, and of course, instead of listening as I should have been, I was writing and drawing. Now, I’d been writing about me and my classmates for quite some time before Ion came to me; our stories were a mix of Power Rangers meets Sailor Moon. And yes, I know what you’re thinking…they were amazing stories, haha. All those times I’d been writing though, I was the central character, and suddenly, in the middle of class, I had the idea to start writing about someone who wasn’t me–someone who could’ve been my twin, yes, but someone who wasn’t me. It gave me power, that moment, realizing I didn’t have to be the main character, that this kid could do all of my inner thinking and actions without the consequences of if I was saying or doing it. I loved it, and from that Harry Potter reading session onward, Ion (whose name was initially Thunder; you can laugh) was my life.

Strangely enough, I learned so much from him growing up. He taught me how to take life a bit less seriously, how to appreciate the time you have with others–however short or long that time may be–and he taught me how to accept my difference for what it really was: a strength.

And I hope one day I’ll receive a letter or email or, preferably, a hologram from someone saying that he did the same for them.

Well, there’s my first post! Hope everyone enjoyed And don’t forget to order your copy of The Iron-Jawed Boy on Amazon (paperback or kindle version) and the Nook!