MVF Interviews: Kevin Breaux

Posted by Susan in Interviews | 5 comments

We have a special Wicked Wednesday treat this week: our first published author has signed up to write a tale for us! I had an awesome time reading this interview, and even better time reading his WW submission. So, go thee now and read! Don’t forget to leave a comment and check out Kevin’s debut novel, Soul Born.

1-Could you introduce yourself and your writing for our readers who might not be familiar with your work?

—My name is Kevin James Breaux and I am an author. Why does that always sound like I am introducing myself at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting? Hmm….

Anyway… I have been writing, seriously, since the nineties, but have focused on writing as a career and business since early 2007.  My first short story, a zombie horror called Dead Man’s Party, was published in 2008. Since then I have had many horror and erotic short stories released into the wild.

11/30/2010 saw the release of my debut novel, an epic fantasy called SOUL BORN by Dark Quest Books. It’s book one in a three book series and easily read as a standalone novel.  SOUL BORN is the first novel I ever wrote, so finding a publisher for it was like hitting the lottery.  Since writing it I have written three other books. You can see a list of my published works at my author site www.kevinbreaux.com

2-How did you discover that writing was something you wanted to do?

—Like most other authors, I wrote when I was a kid, but I truly discovered writing as a creative outlet during my sixth year of Art School (yes, I said sixth… curse you transfer department). For so long I was unable to get what was in my mind’s eye on paper, and was becoming very frustrated with the arts. No matter how hard I tried I was not finding satisfaction with my work.  When I began writing I was finally able to translate the images in my creative mind onto paper.

3-At what point did you decide to seek publication and what was the process like?

Let’s just say I was sending out queries back when the only thing you knew about the agents you were sending to was a name and address listed in some “almanac” you bought at Barnes and Noble.  Crazy how that all slowly changed over the last dozen or so years, right?  I like to imagine that in thirty years I will be at Dragon Con 2040 and I will be saying something like, “When I was young we could not talk to the agents we were sending queries to. Nope, we just sent things off all willy-nilly and prayed to get a photocopied post card reject letter!”

4-What was your inspiration for Soul Born, and can you tell our readers more about this fantasy novel?

—Soul Born was inspired by years of playing Role Playing Games like Dungeons & Dragons and playing video games of the same genre like Dragon Warrior, Ultima, Final Fantasy Tactics… etc. Having been a fantasy fan from near birth, it was natural for me to write Soul Born. Yet, I wanted to take a different approach and make it more character driven than myth and surrealism driven.

Soul Born does not drop you into an all ready overdeveloped fantasy world, it starts at the beginning.  By the end of the third book a deep fantasy world will be revealed, and the reader will have been there for its creation.

Overall, Soul Born is the story of a world coming out of a dark age.  Lands are beginning to prosper, when a warlord invades the southern tip of the island continent of Illyia. Meanwhile in the northern mountains a young mage by the name of Opal devises a plan that will garner her the respect she feels she deserves from her teachers, and rise her in their ranks.

Opal is faced with a lot of obstacles and many of her decisions are made out of selfish desires. By the midway point of the book the story changes some and the reader will see things from a different perspective as they follow Karn, a solider caught up in the middle of a power struggle.

This first book was developed with lots of twists and turns, it’s not necessarily a mystery, but there are lots of secrets and my characters are not always who they first seem to be.

5- What advice would you give regarding the publishing process for those who are seeking publication?

—Be very careful at first.  There are people and places that will take advantage of you. Make sure you have your resources close at hand. All artists need to be aware of their rights. Places like Preditors and Editors will help you. Also, it’s very important to join several writing groups and edit, edit, edit.

Seriously, most new writers I meet are in such a hurry to be published they make all the mistakes in the world. Take it from me, a dozen years ago, in the late nineties, I was making all the mistakes in the world as I rushed to get published too.

If I have learned anything, it’s in the publishing world you need a combination of drive and patience. Too often I see writers submit their works in one round of queries and then afterwards quit or decide to self publish.  One round? Really? One round? The concept boggles the mind.

In the American Revolutionary War, did we quit after losing one fight? Nope! We rallied like Hulk Hogan… Stood up struck a pose and fought back!  If I recall right, Soul Born was on its like tenth round of queries before a publisher picked it up and I was still prancing around the ring saying, “What’cha gonna do brutha?”

6-Do you have a specific writing process? For instance, do you outline?  Listen to music?

—I do not outline. I just sit down and write. It’s all up here (I’m pointing to my head.)

I do listen to music when I write. Some days I might be listening to KMFDM, an industrial band that sounds like kick-ass heavy metal.  Other days, when I am mellower, I might listen to the new wave tunes of Delerium.  Most of the time, I am just on shuffle waiting for a track from the Judgment Night Soundtrack to pop up.

7-Do you like to read, and if so, what are some of your favorite titles and/or authors?

—Sadly being a writer these days means having to keep up with the growing world of social media. I swear it’s a black hole that your day can vanish into, but it’s a helpful necessary resource.  After wadding through all that, and working to met very large daily word counts, there is little time left in the day to read or play Xbox 360. And a man’s got to play a little Xbox from time to time or possibly go nuts in the head! Whoo!

That being said, I enjoy Terry Goodkind and all things Frank Miller.

8-Your Wicked Wednesday submission is our first Original piece for this feature.  Have you ever written fan fiction, and what are your thoughts fan fiction in general?

—I have never written fan fiction, unless you count a script I submitted to the TV show The Dead Zone.   I am open to the idea, and will write fan fiction if asked to.  When I approached Wicked Wednesday I was told I could submit an original piece, so I did.  I figured you all might like some real down and dirty wickedness in your Wicked Wednesday.

Last year a friend of mine was asked to write a short story for an upcoming anthology based on the GI JOE comics and cartoon. Being a huge GI JOE fan I pitched a real fit that I could not join in on that fun. I would have loved to write a GI JOE tale!

Another life time ago I wanted to be a comic book inker, and submitted art to many of the companies. Now… well I would love to write a comic book. As an artist and comic reader for the past twenty years, I think I would do a great job.

9-How did you discover our Wicked Wednesday feature?

—I was pointed their by a twitter friend who has a real finger on the pulse of all good things happening and possible for writers. Julie, from A Tale of Many Reviews, has been a great supporter and I owe her a lot.  High-Five!

10-Soul Born is in the fantasy genre; what is it about this genre that appeals to you?

—Simply put anything is possible.

It’s also my roots. From as far back as I can remember I was interested in and surrounded by the fantasy genre. Even when I went to the museum as a young child, I was drawn to the suits of armor more than the paintings. Something about antiquities always caught my eye, especially the weapons.

From drawing the knights and monsters from my Dungeons & Dragons books in elementary school to reading all the Dragonlance books in middle school, I was hooked.  Even in high school I preferred playing Fantasy RPG games over shooters.  I guess you could say the genre is in my blood.

11-Many of our readers are aspiring writers but aren’t really sure where to start. Can you give any advice on finding your voice as an author?

— Write daily and join a local writers group. Nothing puts a fire under a writer’s ass like being in a writers group and listening to your peers fight the good fight.

12-Is there anything you would like to tell our readers about upcoming releases/projects?  And, thanks again for taking time out of your schedule to chat with us!

—I am actively promoting SOUL BORN as well as finishing up the first draft of the final book in the series.  I have a short story called Mother’s Milk that is being printed in a new anthology called Too Much Boogie. That erotic-horror work should be released around March or April.

Most importantly, this winter, I will be sending out queries (e-mails Thank God!) in search for an agent to shop around an Urban Fantasy novel I wrote. This new Urban Fantasy is the beginning of a long series I intend to write. Developing and creating it has been the most fun I have ever had as a writer to date.  So if you are an agent reading this, call me.

Now that you’ve had a chance to check out the interview, make sure to check out Kevin’s work. He had to pull his WW submission due to it being accepted for publishing. But you can find a link to Soul Born on his website, so don’t forget to check it out!