- an eccentric hopeless romantic with eclectic tastes.
Readers, let’s give a good, hearty welcome to this week’s guest!
Zack Pieper’s name translates to ‘god has remembered to send a protector of man.’ He is a certified commercial diver, a personal trainer, and author. He is reputed to be somewhere between mildly and wildly insane. Zack Pieper is a big city man, with a country boy heart. Here to write epic tails, and look good doing it.
Zack, thanks for agreeing to be here today. Most interviews start off with the boring stuff, but I know what readers REALLY want to know.
If you could have any pet (real/fantasy/no-allergies/no worries about feeding it) what would it be?
A giant wolf I could ride like a horse, that would live as long as me.
So fierce and helpful!
What do you write? And how did you get started?
I write epic fantasy. I got started when a beautiful red heart broke my heart in the late winter of 2018. I needed a healthy distraction, so I poured my suffering onto the page. Those pages became my debut novel.
I’m a huge fan of epic fantasy! Escapism is definitely my drug of choice.
What do you like to read?
Stuff that’s good. Mostly sci-fi and fantasy. Eragon, Dresden Files, Red Rising series, Ender’s Game, Legend of Drizzt.
Familiar novels to me — classics these days. Although, you do need to accept that just because something isn’t to your taste doesn’t mean it’s not “good”.
What’s one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that doesn’t work for you?
Don’t edit as you go or you won’t finish.
Umm… I did. I would write a chapter, do a basic edit, start the next chapter. It actually helps cause it reinforces what you wrote in your head, and gives you a chance to reconsider. Just don’t get caught in an edit loop.
I’ve heard that’s most important for a high level of perfectionism, those who have trouble moving on until everything is perfect that really need the “don’t edit” advice. Lightly editing and re-reading yesterday’s words are pretty common. But, of course, the advice is always given as an all-or-nothing, rather than the middle-ground most of us enjoy.
What’s one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that they can pry out of your cold, dead hands?
None.
I don’t really have one. I am a scion of chaos. I do my own thing and it works for me. Don’t really listen to other people’s advice much. Not on writing at least.
Of course! The number one rule of writing is “do what works for you.”
Shameless Self-Promotion time!
The Garden of Lies (The Garden Saga: Book 1)
Some lives are defined by a single choice.
Selected at a young age to be trained as a warrior for an Empire he detests, Dalj, a wolf shifter, must rally his pack against heavy odds in the Festival of the Hunt. As Dalj plans his path to victory, he must navigate an unsteady alliance with a rival pack led by Amnis Lupine, the eldest daughter of a noble house; while also seeking to expose the foul play of his lifelong enemy, Aryan Anathema. To win the hunt, Dalj must take down the Behemoth of the plains, the Mighty Kerrapane before either of the other packs, or else he will never be awarded entry into the legendary Trial of War. However…
Little does Dalj know, that while he hunts for glory, a rebellion plots in the shadows to overthrow the Shaman Empire; and they want Dalj’s help to do it. Approached for help by a mysterious girl named Angel, Dalj is asked to join The Forgotten, a rebellion of people immune to the mental manipulation of the shaman, who seek to expose the grand conspiracy the shaman have fed to the populace. They must find a way to awaken the brain washed masses, and overcome the shaman’s godlike powers, before they are eradicated.
Will Dalj join them? Or will he succumb to darkness and mindlessly serve evil?
The Garden of Hope (The Garden Saga: Book 2)
New Release: October 30th 2021
When tyranny is law rebellion becomes duty.
Dalj has seen through the veil of lies cast over his life. And the truth is haunting: a forgotten legacy, a people enslaved, and a false god. Now, Dalj takes up arms to fell an empire of lies, and save the woman who showed him the truth.
But as Dalj already knows, his gods might be fake. But his inner demons are quite real… Plagued by malefic visions, and evil nightmares. Dalj is the people’s best hope for the future, but will his hold together long enough to save anyone?
Or even himself?
Welcome to Garden!
RipJaw (The Garden Saga (free 12 page short story))
Running scared and defenseless in the dark forests of Garden, there are many things for a human to fear. Hunting parties of shifters, wolves, kaku, ripjaws…
Things humans were never meant to face.
If you like ruggedly handsome, witty, hopeless romantic authors. Check me out. You can find me at all the links below, but your best bet is Youtube where I am most active.
Check Zack Pieper out across the web!
Youtube | Minds | Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Nobles | Books2Read | Twitter | Facebook | TikTok
WRITING TIPS & WRITERLY MUSINGS 