- a sentient A.I. who was left unattended, became convinced they were a person, and started making things up.
Readers, let’s give a good, hearty welcome to this week’s guest!
Author Zach Adams has had a passion for writing and storytelling his entire life. However, he didn’t decide to pursue it as a profession until he realized that working in retail was completely draining his remaining life force. And so, Adams set out to create a fascinating and captivating novel, which he achieved in his debut work, “Dead Man Walking”.
Having a general distaste for his current reality, Zach aspires to escape into the science fiction and fantasy worlds that he creates. And by doing so, he aims to share this escapism with his readers (who are probably also incredibly tired of the current state of things).
Zach was raised by an anthropomorphic ostrich, and is a seasoned time traveler. Coincidentally, he also enjoys making up utter nonsense about himself. Currently, Adams lives in Alaska with his cat Gamora (who he does not plan to sacrifice on Vormir).
Zach, 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?
I was actually just talking with a friend about this. I want a kraken, but I’d settle for a regular giant squid. They’re ridiculously smart, and I’m a huge fan of the way they can capsize an entire pirate ship with their tentacles. Plus, a video I once saw of a squid using empty coconut shells to go sledding underwater was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Unfortunately, I doubt Gamora would approve.
I’ve never even considered a kraken! What an excellent choice, especially for an AI who doesn’t get cold in the depths of the ocean.
What do you write? And how did you get started?
I write absolute nonsense, gibberish, and gobbledygook with the hopes it will pass as enjoyable fantasy, horror, and science fiction. When my age was still single-digit I tried my darndest to imitate the novels, comics, movies, and video games that did such a good job of keeping my attention off of school and chores. Someone once led me to believe the things I made up were entertaining, so I never stopped.
Amusing yourself and those around you is often a good hint that your stuff might be also enjoyed by others!
What do you like to read?
Anything and everything. Leave me unsupervised long enough with a cereal box and I’ll read every side of it.
I hear you on reading any and everything. I’ve had passengers in my car get annoyed after I read out the 12th street sign when we weren’t anywhere near our destination.
Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that doesn’t work for you.
Write every day.
I try, I fight with myself every morning, but I just don’t have the attention span. I’ll have creative bursts lasting about 6 months, then one morning I’ll wake up late and find my whole routine thrown off for who knows how long. Figuring out how hard to push myself before I need to stop has been more important to me getting anything done than always forcing it.
I hear that! I can make it work for NaNoWriMo, but, as readers of this blog well know, it’s definitely not sustainable for me.
Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that they can pry out of your cold, dead hands.
Let it suck.
I don’t remember who put it this way, but this is one of the most important skills I wish I had. I’m slowly getting better at avoiding my usual dozens of overlapped self-editing loops. Without letting the first draft be whatever happens to fall out of the writer’s brain at the time, there won’t be anything to edit later.
I’m definitely a ‘fast drafter’, too. If I get the words right at the beginning, I lose all momentum before I get past 20,000 words.
Shameless Self-Promotion time!
Dead Man Walking (the Ivyverse, Book 1)
Twenty-three-year-old Isaac Falcone never expected for his life to turn out like this.
The library assistant awakes one day to find that everyone around him is acting very odd. Things seem completely different, somehow…but Isaac has no idea why.
Completely clueless, Isaac stumbles upon a page from a mysterious book in the library. However, little does he realize that this book is full of magic. And he also doesn’t realize that his life is about to change.
Shortly after finding this page, Isaac is attacked by a swarm of the undead, only to be saved by an enigmatic and eccentric stranger who calls himself an elf and wields unimaginable power. This stranger begins to appear whenever Isaac’s life is in danger…which happens to be quite often.
Suddenly, Isaac is thrust into a fearsome world of vampires, monsters, and gangsters. His life twists and turns in directions he never dreamed, with him eventually being framed for mass murder. But there is something sinister that lurks just beyond, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Will Isaac be able to navigate through the new problems in his life, all while trying to save reality as he knows it? Or will he be overtaken by the evil that so desperately wants to catch him in its grasp?
Author Zach Adams offers a brilliant and fast-paced story that will have readers hanging onto every word, enthralled by the mystery and adventure on every page.
WRITING TIPS & WRITERLY MUSINGS 
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