Author Spotlight: N. M. Rudolph

• an unfortunate hybrid with too many dreams/goals/projects to stay sane.

Readers, thanks for checking out another Author Spotlight Interview. Let’s give a good, hearty welcome to this week’s guest!

N. M. Rudolph is, in many regards, a stereotypical author. He has a lot of dreams, and he tries to capture them in words through his stories. However, he consists of a passionate fusion of heart and mind that will often surprise you with refreshing ingenuity.

N. M. Rudolph began writing before he can recall. The earliest poem he was able to preserve, however, is from when he was nine. Inspired by his father’s lifelong scholarliness, Rudolph gained a deep love of reading and writing. One of his fondest childhood memories is grabbing a volume from his father’s encyclopedia, flipping to a random page, and discovering far-off worlds.

Since then, he has become the innovative author and (sometimes) illustrator of three collections of poetry and one novel. In each work with his distinct style, Rudolph explores themes that reverberate deep in each of our souls: fear, hope, trust, betrayal, longing, despair, regret, and more.

Rudolph’s literature—whether in person or in print, poetry or prose—has been warmly and widely received, and he hopes to continue this outpouring for years to come.

He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and their four-legged children, Sofia and Laela.

N.M., thanks for agreeing to be here today. Most author spotlight 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?

Dragon. Every time. They’re already notorious, but something about them suggests to me that they’re more magical, more primal that we’ve cared to imagine. Ancient, terrible, powerful creatures: there’s something truly cosmic about dragons.

There’s a reason dragons are a classic choice among fantasy fans!

What do you write? And how did you get started?

I’ve been writing forever! My dad is a lifelong scholar, so I grew to love reading and writing from a very young age. As a kid, I started with poems, letters, and a little stories. One of the earliest things I wrote was a kind of prequel to my novel Meadowvale. For an English class in middle school, I wrote a story about a brash rabbit general named Werbel who went on wily adventures. My older self thought he was an intriguing character, so Meadowvale is in essence his backstory.

Meadowvale itself is a fantastic story. It’s built on a solid good-versus-evil foundation, but its richness reaches far beyond that. There’s an approachable but enigmatic magical language. There is a bevy of rabbit cultures, each with its own expertise and personality. There are great action, emotion, and even some songs woven into the tale. Splendid stuff!

I also have another novel coming up soon called Michael the Traveler. The story has a trippy multiverse vibe, but, if you let it sink into your heart, you’ll meet a lot of charming characters with momentous passions and inspiring adventures.

Besides that, I continue to write poetry. My form ebbs and flows, but I tend to favor strict rhyme and meter. I’ve published a few collections and have a bunch more in the works. Untold Tales is a collection of poems that consist of compelling new stories and some old tales reimagined.

Rumination recently came out and contains more somber poems to get you into a reflective mood.

What a great variety!

What do you like to read?

Fantasy and science fiction of course! I’m working through a delicious series by Brandon Sanderson called The Stormlight Archive. It’s the fourth book, and each novel is wonderfully long. Thus, I’ve been in this storyline for a long time now. C. S. Lewis is always a favorite. I really enjoyed Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. I read an amazing biography called Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxas. Oi! There are too many. We’ll just start there for now.

I made a mistake with Sanderson’s works — I was listening to a bunch of his shorts online in wake of his massively successful Kickstarter and found one of his books online, too. Only. It was just the first third of book 4. So, I’ve gotta go back and read the first 3 in that Stormlight archive and get ready for book 5!

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that doesn’t work for you

Build your audience.

I feel like so many writers (or even just would-be advisors) say to focus on audience first. I hear so much talk about building an audience, marketing to your audience, etc. Maybe I’m lazy. Maybe I’m a fool. Maybe I’m onto something. I believe that, if I put my heart and mind into it, it’ll sprout and blossom before too long.

I think building a social media audience is just one way to find your readers, and depending on your publisher and goals will affect how much you really need to put yourself out there. I think we all know which way *I’ve* gone with that advice, but I don’t know if it’ll pay off until I finally take the plunge and put a book baby out into the world.

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice they can pry out of your cold, dead hands

Write everyday.

I don’t actually do it lol, but, whenever I write most consistently, everything is better. My writing itself is much smoother. More than that, however, my mind is far less cluttered. There was a season in my life some years ago when I started a blog called “Rambling.” I wrote (almost) whatever entered my mind. I wrote consistently. I wrote a lot. Most of it was garbage, but that’s just the point. I had to get the garbage out. Once I purged myself of all those gunked-up words (it took years), I saw in my writing life tremendous improvement.

I’m a little rusty/dusty these days, but I find that it’s easier and easier to get into a good writing rhythm.

So true! The habit is the important part, not the “everyday”! Because writing takes persistence, not the perfection of habits.

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Shameless Self-Promotion time!

In N.M. Rudolph’s latest title, releasing March 1st!

Michael the Traveler

THE UNIVERSE IS FAR BIGGER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE—AND IT IS FALLING APART

Michael is an orphan at the monastery. He frequently has vivid nightmares that distract him from his duties, and the abbott scolds him for being so undisciplined. As the reality of his experiences becomes undeniable, Michael realizes that he is actually traveling to different dimensions.

With the help of supernatural persons called the keepers, he must learn how to master his powers so that he can find his ruby-eyed lady and save the shattering worlds. Perfect for fans of C. S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy.

Meadowvale

The story begins with the Highfallows, a charming family of rabbits whose livelihood is farming. An army of lizards sweeps in and shatters their peace. Those left behind must figure out how to rescue lost loved ones. When Meadowvale elders realize the problem extends far beyond just themselves, the story’s scale increases exponentially. Clashing cultures, the struggle for unity, wrestling with despair, festering regret, battle, forgotten magic, and beyond: it’s all there.

While each character’s tale has its own wisdom to impart, the full story of Meadowvale will capture the hearts and minds of readers young and old.

Untold Tales

Hear tell of a fearsome pirate who’s shrouded in mystery.

Travel to distant lands where the ladies are sumptuous delicacies.

Lament with the soldiers who lose their beloved Baiolwae.

Struggle with an angel and demon who doubt their destinies.

Whatever you read, wherever you go, you will rediscover worlds that you thought you knew—or enter new worlds entirely. Inside each image and line hides a mystery that will continue to unfold itself every time you revisit Untold Tales.

Unhinged 36×36

As an exercise in freedom and dipping into his own insanity, Rudolph has compiled thirty-six stories that inhabit the space between pure nonsense and uncanny wisdom.

While the content is hard to define, the thirty-six stories consist of 36 words each formed into plain sentences and prefaced by minimalistic illustrations of Rudolph’s own design.

If you’re looking for pragmatic literature, travel on. However, if you want something that presses undefined questions into the back of your mind, this may very well be the book for you.

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Check out N. M. Rudolph across the web!

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