Swift Six Author Interview – Isaiah Burt #Fantasy
Name: Isaiah Burt
Please introduce yourself (250 words or so):
My name is Isaiah Burt. I’ve been doing writing for about twenty years, having started when I was eight years old, and I primarily work in the dark fantasy genre. However, I’ve also branched out to other fantasy projects, as well as science fiction and the occasional non-fiction essay. When I’m not writing, I can often be found formulating custom paint colors at my dayjob. I also love playing Dungeons & Dragons, and I have multiple Warhammer armies, too.
Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short)
My novella Legacy of Flames is a high fantasy piece with sword and sorcery flavorings set in the world of Sundara created by my friend Neal Litherland. It tells the tale of Gnav, a lizardfolk barbarian touched by the spirits of fire, as he takes on a mercenary job to hunt down a dragon, and let’s just say that he gets a lot more than he bargained for…
When did you start your writing adventure? What was the inspiration for it?
The beginning of my writing journey had to be shortly after I discovered Bionicle when I was about six years old. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Bionicle is a franchise of action figures that was made by Lego from 2001-2011, then rebooted for a short second run around 2015 or so. The term “Bionicle” is short for Biological Chronicle and tells the tales of bio-mechanical beings with elemental powers. It set my mind ablaze the way nothing else did. Legos were already a fact of life in my household growing up, but Bionicles were my particular obsession, and I loved learning everything there was to know about the world and the lore. When I wasn’t playing with the figures and building my own, I could often be found drawing comics about them. My first attempt at a novel was at the age of eight after seeing the Bionicle: Mask of Light movie, grabbing a composition notebook, and recording every detail I could. Since then, writing has been my biggest passion in life.
What writing plans do you have for the future?
The most concrete plan I have for my writing is to continue to expand the stories and world of my Diabolical Ascension mythos, which I’ve been working on since I was about fourteen years old. Other than that, my goal is to write as much as I can as often as I can at the highest quality I can, and of course publish at least some of that.
What do you like to read?
I mostly read grimdark and dark fantasy. Elric of Melniboné is my all-time favorite fantasy character and the foundation of my own work. I also absolutely love the Warhammer stories that Black Library puts out; the Night Lords Omnibus by Aaron Dembski-Bowden is most excellent. However, my reading has included more high fantasy now that my wife has put Mercedes Lackey on my radar. Other than that, I do favor the Redwall series, and I like to pick up texts on philosophy and religion, too.
What piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you’d started your writing adventure?
Economy, or Chekhov’s Gun. Every event has to meaningfully move the story forward. That would have kept me away from a lot of the aimless meandering that permeates my earlier work.
Author bio and book synopsis
Bio- Isaiah Burt is a dark fantasy author who has been telling stories since he was old enough to hold a crayon and likes to think that moving up to a pen has helped him. He considers Elric of Melniboné, the Death Gate Cycle, and Planescape to be his biggest influences, with Bionicle being a significant honorable mention. Along with writing, he also is an avid player of both Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer, and he has a rather large Magic: The Gathering collection. He lives with his wife in their cave of wonders in Washington, USA.
Book synopsis-
A pariah brought out of hiding. A power as old as the world itself.
Gnav lives alone, and he likes it that way. He hunts; he eats; he sleeps. But when, when a messenger from the nearby city of Ironfire comes looking for him, the Cinderscale is offered a hunt that he simply cannot refuse:
A dragon hunt.
And the dragon is no ordinary dragon. It draws its sorcery from a primordial fire spirit threatening to raze Ironfire itself in an inferno the likes of which Sundara has never seen before.
Will Gnav defeat the dragon, or will his whole world turn to ashes around him? Buy your copy of Legacy of Flames today and find out!
Links/Social media
Social Media Links
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/IsaiahBurtAuthor
Personal Blog- https://talesofvalorandwoe.wixsite.com/zeragabaalkhal
Links To Purchase My Books,
Legacy of Flames Purchase Link- https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/421383/Legacy-of-Flames Darkness & Glory- https://www.lulu.com/shop/isaiah-burt-and-victoria-blotta/darkness-glory/ebook/product-zg4n44.html?q=Darkness%20%26%20Glory&page=1&pageSize=4&fbclid=IwAR2IBOX6KZ7RhKY16VWoDkTHZtdv0gg4UcWCpG8Svs8h5MnQnVWhj79BUuM
