- Fantasy Author Extraordinaire, Creator of Creatures, Embellisher of Events, and Firebrand “Stories that Kindle Imagination”
Readers, thanks for checking out another Author Spotlight Interview. Let’s give a good, hearty welcome to this week’s guest!
James Quinlan Meservy loves literature! His favorite genre to read is classic literature (Charles Dickens is his favorite author).
He lives in Southeast Idaho with his wife and children, and spent his childhood moving all across northern Utah. He considers his hometown to be Mendon, UT, a small community near Logan, Utah in the Cache Valley.
His family enjoys spending time together; playing with Legos, hiking, playing sports, watching movies, but they love reading together.
When not spending time with his family, at work, fulfilling various religious responsibilities, eating, or sleeping, James is likely writing.
James, 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?
Well, my family does have a pet, a male King Schnauzer dog, and while I grew up with a purebred Siberian Husky, our schnauzer is a good fit for my family’s lifestyle, and the size of my backyard.
When my daughter was a toddler, we visited the zoo in Billings, Mt. At that time, the zoo had a couple red pandas. She saw them, called them her “kitties,” and ever since has been in love with red pandas. So, a pet I would love with no worries about feeding it, and no worries about legally owning it, is the red panda. They are very adorable creatures.
Now, when it comes to fantasy creatures. That is easy. The Volkrog. What is a volkrog, many will ask. Well, a volkrog is a canine creature similar in size and coloring to a wolf, with a horn between the eyes, and they can do several things, including healing physical injuries.
What great choices! Dogs are man’s best friend for a reason. A dear friend of mine’s kid is also obsessed with red pandas, so I understand the appeal there. I’ve never heard of a horned wolf with healing powers, but that sounds pretty awesome.
What do you write? And how did you get started?
Well, I write fantasy. It all started one fateful day in elementary school. My 5th-grade teacher assigned the class to write a Halloween-themed short story. I had this brilliant idea about a wolf who ate the souls of mortals. Several years passed, and I eventually turned that short story into a novel, and The United, The Realm of the Light Book 1 was the result.
Sometimes the stories that stay with us the longest, grow into something amazing.
What do you like to read?
I love to read fantasy and classic literature. Right now, I am in the middle of David Copperfield, and while it is not my favorite of Dickens books, I am certainly enjoying Dickens’ way of telling the story.
It’s been a while since I’ve read Dickens, but his stories have survived for a reason.
Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that doesn’t work for you
Write daily.
That just does not work for me for several reasons. First, my work schedule is such that I do not have the time/energy to write on a daily basis.
When I was twenty, I suffered a concussion that knocked all curvature out of my spine. I have the x-rays to prove it, if you don’t believe me. Ever since, I have post-concussive syndrome. Every “mild” concussion gives me severe symptoms. When I have a headache, or migraine, or nausea, or really bad brain fog, the best treatment I have found is to limit screen time, and limit mental strain. When I have a good day, I write. When I have a migraine, I rest.
Pacing oneself is always key, but yikes! I’ve got some friends with post-concussive syndrome and others with chronic migraines, neither is fun even by themselves.
Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice they can pry out of your cold, dead hands
Read.
The best advice I was ever given was to read. To read a lot. To read in your genre, to read out of your genre, and when you read, learn from the author. As I read new books, and new authors, I am always amazed at how much I learn from reading.
Indeed! Few authors can’t be made better by reading more broadly.
Shameless Self-Promotion time!
The Rai Saga (4 books)
KINGDOMS FALL, ONE DESTINY AT A TIME
Some time ago in a land since long forgotten, an evil force by the name of Lord Yrimwaque – servant of the Threat of Rai – threatens to destroy everything and prepare the world for a harvest. The only thing that stands in his way are three reluctant heroes: Tyler, his girlfriend KimberlyAnn, and his best friend Blaze Morrison, who have been recruited by the followers of the Light of Rai.
Upon their journey of knowledge, TJ and his friends are forced into an unlikely encounter with a creature of legend, and find themselves in the midst of an ancient battle between the Light of Rai and the Threat of Rai, with our world hanging in the balance.
As the Light of Rai teaches them to hone their various gifts and talents for the greater good of the kingdom, faith is restored, in the hopes that they will be able to stop Lord Yrimwaque and vanquish the evil horde he desires to unleash upon the land. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the land hangs in the balance, as the lines between good and evil become more skewed.
But will all their efforts be enough, or will the kingdom be plunged into darkness forever?
The Sykar Series (2 books)
The world of Zhavirsto is vast and full of different creatures.
Sykar, a volkrog puppy, wants to discover everything his world has to offer. When a flause falls from her cloud home, Sykar is eager to discover what she is and what she can do. As they learn more about each other they will help Posie find her way back home.
Join Posie and Sykar in a fun short story of friendship and understanding.
Check out James Quinlan Meservy across the web!
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WRITING TIPS & WRITERLY MUSINGS 
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