Writing The Whispers of the Fallen

Many people have been asking me about the writing process and the inspiration behind The Whispers of the Fallen. During this past weekend, me and my Whispers Entourage attended Palmcon in sunny West Palm Beach, FL. At the event, I was bombarded with the same question, "what inspired you to write this story?". I figured this might be a bit of a long post, but I am sure it will answer most of the questions behind the creative process.

I was seventeen when the desire to write a novel began to burn inside of me. Ever since I was a child, I was always creating stories. I would lock myself in my room and I would create characters, storyboards and novels. Storytelling was an art that interested me from an early age. It wasn't until high school that I discovered my absolute favorite authors. Reading their work was almost a nostalgic experience for me. It was at that age that I first sketched Isaac Khan, the main character on The Whispers of the Fallen. You will see that I said 'sketched', that is because before I was ever an author, I was an illustrator.

I find it amusing when I look back and I see that all the other characters went through drastic changes, but Isaac has remained the same ever since I first created him. During that time, I designed a cover for my project. I called it 'The End of Days'. I was on cloud nine when I came up with that name. Looking back now, I think it sounds extremely cliche, nevertheless this was the title that inspired me to keep on writing. The only difference was that I wanted it to be a comic book. I started creating my first pages only to realize that writing a novel would reach a broader and more diverse audience.

My first idea was to have Isaac fight against gods of various religions throughout the world. Even though the idea seemed innovative, it did not resonate well with me after some time. For months, I was not able to pen down a single word. Until one day, I clearly remember driving down interstate 95 in South Florida and thinking, 'what if Lucifer had a diary? What if a boy found it?' I vividly recall driving home as fast as I could so I could begin writing.

As I continued to write the book, I decided to alternate the title to the Diary of Lucifer. For the fans of the novel, you know that the Diary of Lucifer is an integral part of the mythology I created for my world, but as the story and the characters developed, I realized the Diary was just one facet of the saga. It was in 2009 that I decided to call my novel The Whispers of the Fallen.

Despite all the hard work, I consider myself to be very lucky for having friends that supported this series from its very beginning. I call them my "first readers". They were the ones who read The Whispers of the Fallen in its early stages, giving me their input on some of the events throughout the novel.

In 2011, The Whispers of the Fallen was completed. I spent that whole year editing, correcting and tying all the loose ends I could find. My editor and me spent hours discussing the many possibilities to enhance a scene, to slow it down, or to cut it from the novel completely. It was an arduous process - but so worth it. It was during this time that I started to see that The Whispers of the Fallen was not a "one man dream", but it could be a collaboration of the talents of many.

It was in 2012 when I started doing heavy promotion for The Whispers of the Fallen, building up to its official release date (November 30th, 2012), which consequently is also Isaac's birthday. I recall opening the official facebook page for the novel and having hundreds of readers ask me what the novel was about, how they could get it, etc. That was such an amazing feeling (still is!). After much planning and hard work, The Whispers of the Fallen was released in both paperback and digital version.

When I look back today, I see that this is simply the beginning of the journey. I am currently writing the second novel entitled 'Rebellion' and I am also still touring around the country, promoting The Whispers of the Fallen. There is still a long way to go, but I am proud to say that when I reminisce on all these past experiences, I can see that all the hard work is paying off.