This week, the GCP guys are joined by fantasy author Joe Malik. His first book, Dragon's Trail, was released in September of 2016, and is a #1 international bestseller. He is currently working on his second book in the series. Joe is appearing at RadCon Feb 16th-18th and will be a featured Reddit Fantasy Author of the Day on Feb 19th. The guys first met him at Norwescon 40 and were excited to sit down with him and catch up from the last time they talked. The show kicks off with the guys talking about meeting Joe at Norwescon 40 and what brought him to the con. Joe then dives into his fantasy novel, the first in the series called ‘Dragon’s Trail’. He explains that it’s a techno thriller and the importance of creating a historically accurate world in his stories that suspends adult disbelief in the mundane. He discusses the rejection letters he had received over the course of 4 years and having his first author signing at Norwescon.
8:08 – Joe explains what has happened since Norwescon 40, the bump in sales he had afterword, amd the promotional opportunities that came with it. He converses about it hitting #1 in Amazon in epic fantasy and the book getting picked up at Barnes and Noble. He talks more about world building, long sward sparing in his back yard, and participating in SCA.
Around the half way mark Joe discusses e-mail’s he receives from fans, him and his wife working with a veterinarian to design a saddle that would work with winged horses, and the importance of putting real world applications in with fantasy to connect readers with the story. Conversation then goes into the great editor that he had and his working career as a stunt man.
29:02 – Conversation goes to the story line of book two and the development of the evil wizard character. They talk about what a good villain can do for a book, his military travel, and his recent exploration of Scandinavian castles. This episode comes to an end with talk about why it was so important for him to get so technical in his writing. He tells the guys where listeners can find his book and how people can find him online through Twitter and Facebook.Thanks Joe for joining the guys for a great conversation, we look forward to the release of your next book!
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Special Guest: Joseph Malik.