Talking With Authors: Charles Reed.

Getting to know us:

Author Interviews #3

Chronicles Of Darkness.

To my dearest friends and followers,

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing indie author and friend of mine, Charles Reed. Today I am excited to share that interview with you!

To start, I met Charlie back in 2016 over social media. I believe we met in one of the many writing groups I joined on Facebook. At any rate, I was writing a darker fantasy novel and he was too. We enjoyed sharing our work with each other and what our books were about. 

Since then, he has gotten his first book published though I have yet to read it because I'm a terrible friend (sorry Charlie!!), but we message every so often and I usually end up asking for writing tips, his thoughts on potential book covers I create, and what it was like publishing his book. Now I'd like to share some of that with you! Thank you for reading and thank you Charles for taking the time to answer these questions for me!

Tell me a bit yourself? 

Hello, my name is Charles Reed. I am a single father to my 7 year old daughter. I am 25 years old.
I spend a lot of my time exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, most of my free time is spent with my daughter where we 

will often go exploring the local woods, playing games, hiking etc.

In my own spare time I like to get a little more adventurous and will go off trail, taking up climbing, and swimming.
Outside of that I also have interests in forms of art besides literature. I enjoy painting, drawing, cosplay, occasionally taking up gaming, reading, watching shows and anything else I can try
(Not that my schedule allows for much of this haha).

Tell me about your published book or books?

My first book I: Chronicles Of Darkness book 1 is a dark fantasy novel following the life of a young god shortly after he is born. It is primarily a first person book, being retold by the god as he reflects on his life. The book focuses mainly on his travels at a young age as he combats enemies and deals with growing up in a society where he is largely alone.

The book shows a more humanistic nature to gods and follows the nameless protagonist as he develops both mentally and physically.

It is set in many different places, an ancient city, a mystic castle, a primeval forest and a futuristic city. I will have a sequel upcoming however you can look forward to a side project coming first! A Horror/Suspense novel will be coming from me next!

What made you decide you were going to be a writer? When did you start writing? Why do you write?

I started writing I in high school, so it was a very lengthy process. I was given quite a lot of encouragement from my English teachers

as they kept giving me high marks on my work.

I feel like what gave me the drive to write was simply that I had a story to tell.
I largely write for myself as all authors should, I am my own driving force when it comes to writing, it makes for a much simpler writing process.

What do you think makes a good story?

I feel like anything can be considered a good story, it's how it is told that carries the most weight in my opinion and how people connect with it.

Some people will connect with a story and some will not, it's a vastly individualistic experience, and there's no one right answer for what will make a person feel connected to the story in a way that they enjoy it, in reference to the previous question this is largely why a person should write for themselves, in contrast to the approval of others.

Do you believe in the worlds you create?

I think that every author is the pseudo-god of the world they write.

So you should absolutely feel guilty for killing off any characters you kill. (Kidding)

If we take this from an advanced scientific perspective we can compare multiverse and string theory for baselines. According to these 2 theories, its possible that the stories you write are a connection to an alternate reality. For a simpler answer though, I absolutely believe that if nothing else, the stories we write exist in the hearts and minds of both the readers and the writers. 

What is a favorite book you've read and is there an author you feel influenced your own writing style?

I have quite a few favorite books, but only to pick one I would say...City of Bones, an excellent book that started me out on a journey that split into multiple series. I love it, those are also considered dark fantasy, but are on the lighter side in my opinion.
Love Cassandra Clare, the author of the previously mentioned book and following series. She was a great influence that happened to give me the right push into writing.

What is the weirdest/most interesting thing you've had to research for your books?

Mmmm to be fair, I've only ever had to do some minor fact checking when it comes to my writing.

So the most interesting thing I've researched is Gargantuous. Not a real word (oops)

Tell me, how did you decide on a publisher for your book? Who did you go through and how was it using their services?

Aha, sore subject! So originally I submitted to agents, which I recommend regardless of my continuous rejection, as it is a very good practice and prepares you for doing it all over again later. I ended up self publishing through Amazon for the reach, and achieved a modicum of success in the process.

Do you have a creative space? What does it look like?

I usually do my first draft on my phone, so my create space is primarily in my room, I connected my desk to my bed (Which I'm typing this on). And that's where the majority of my magic happens, I find it good to relax when I'm writing. The majority of my editing is done on my computer so that I can utilize more resources while I'm going through drafts.

What advice do you have for other indie authors?

Persevere! Never give up and keep trying over and over again!

What are some of your pet peeves?

When people put up their bare feet on an object that's near other people, i.e. a movie theatre seat, airplanes, the dash of a car.

Are you a coffee drinker or a tea drinker?

Yes. 

I'm an espresso drinker chronically so I can wake up and stay up.

I'm a tea drinker when I want to relax.

Anything else you'd like to add?

Well I found this to be an enjoyable interview, I want to thank Vanessa for the opportunity. I will also be available for free on Ebook for the next 7 days!

You can also follow me on Twitter for my more humorous side and the occasional book sneak peaks/ info about what I'm working on.

Thank you and happy reading everyone!

Thank you so much for your time Charlie!!

Yours truly,

Me