Risingshadow has had the honour of interviewing the fantasy author Jon Ray.
About the author:
Jon Ray is a writer, director, and actor in film along with a large assortment of other titles when it comes to entertainment. Since the age of 13, he has played and enjoyed Dungeons & Dragons normally running his own games as the Dungeon Master for others. Originally from Tyler, Texas in the U.S., Jon currently resides in Sydney, Australia where he prospects for gold in the outback when not writing.
Jon is the author of the fantasy book Gorp: Goblin Janitor.
Click here to visit his official website.
About Gorp: Goblin Janitor:
Gorp the goblin is fleeing his lands in search of better employment. With only a cloth map to guide him, he sets out across the sea to secure work at Ye Olde Dungeon working for the sinister Dungeon Overlord Jamalin Spellslinger. Once there, along with a group of misfit monsters, Gorp is hired on as a janitor to clean up the messes left behind by the horde of fortune, glory, and treasure seeking adventurers. But all is not well within the dungeon as the Red Dragon has ideas and an agenda of his own.
AN INTERVIEW WITH JON RAY
- Could you tell us something about yourself in your own words?
I've been playing Dungeons & Dragons since I was 13 years old and still love a game to this day. I prefer to Dungeon Master the game than play it. D&D inspiration does find its way into my works.
- What inspired you to become a speculative fiction author?
It was always a bucket list item that I wanted to do. I had plan to just do a one-off novel and be done with it. So during NaNoWriMo 2010, I wrote my first fantasy novel in 30 days. I then sat on it for 6 years before I finally edited and published it. It wasn't until I saw my novel in my hands that I knew I wanted to be an author for the rest of my life and my stand-alone novel became a series. I've also been published in Fantasy Anthologies with other authors as well.
- Could you tell us something about "Gorp: Goblin Janitor"? What kind a fantasy novel is it?
Gorp the Goblin is a character I created to show the perspective of what it's like working in the dungeon as one of the creatures, opposed to the more familiar heroes types. I assumed there was this whole world going on behind the scenes when adventurers were not there and the perspective from the other side would be something I could play with through Gorp's adventure. As to what kind of fantasy novel it is, I would say a bit of epic with sword and sorcery. It also has a red dragon and kobolds that worship it, complicating the power balance of the Dungeon Overlord who is cold calculating human sorcerer.
- What kind of a protagonist is Gorp?
Gorp is just a lowly goblin, tired of the same old raids on human settlements back home. He wants to better his life and feels a connection to humans more so than his own kind at times. He's actually a nice guy, just born into a culture that is despised and hated.
- What is the target audience of "Gorp: Goblin Janitor"?
Because of some some descriptive combat and mild gore, I would say young adult to adult readers. Anyone who loves Dungeons & Dragons or reverse perspective stories should like this novel.
- What has been the most rewarding part of the writing process? And how about the most challenging part?
The most rewarding part thus far is holding a copy of my own book in my hands. I recently released a 2nd edition of "Gorp: Goblin Janitor" with a new book cover, updated maps inside, and new formatting. Seeing this new version of the book, surpassed those early feelings even more. The most challenging part of writing is not really writing but trying to market and sell your novel as an unknown fantasy author. But I'm here for the long haul and have multiple irons in the forge regarding literary works.
- What can readers expect next from you? Will there be more novels about Gorp?
Gorp the Goblin is now a series and the 2nd book in the series will be releasing sometime very soon, May 2018 at the latest. Yep, "Gorp: Dungeon Overlord" will be the 2nd novel in the series and I already have the book cover designed and ready to go and I love it even more than the first one. I just need to add about 20k more words to the novel, have it edited and then on to publishing.
- Is there anything you'd like to add?
If anyone is curious about my works or would like to see what else I've got coming out, a 3rd Gorp book in the series, a new fantasy based Choose Your Own Adventure series, or a new series of anthologies set within my fantasy world of Agrobathe, you can check them out at my official author website http://author.jonray.net or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/JonRayAuthor/.