Bestselling author publishes new book: 'Knight's Ransom' - Idaho Press-Tribune

Posted: 20 Mar 2021 11:15 PM PDT

Author Jeff Wheeler has more than a thing or two to say when it comes to fantasy fiction. In fact, the prolific Wheeler has written more than 30 epic novels, has sold millions of copies of said novels and even has wound up on some pretty prestigious bestseller lists. We're looking at you, Wall Street Journal.

Recently I had the opportunity to "talk" with Wheeler via email about his passion for fantasy, writing and life.

Jeanne Huff: Jeff Wheeler, you are the author of more than 30 epic fantasy novels, have sold more than four million copies worldwide and have been on the Wall Street Journal's bestseller list. What or who gave you the writing bug?

Jeff Wheeler: I've always been the story teller in my family and sharing quirky anecdotes to get a laugh was something that started at a young age. But it was in junior high that I experienced that creative spark that drove me to want to write. I enjoyed reading but felt I could usually predict what was going to happen. One day, I borrowed a book from the school library, a fantasy novel by Terry Brooks, that I simply couldn't put down nor could I predict the twists and turns in the story. After finishing it, I felt a strong desire to do the same thing. I wanted to make others feel the way his book made me feel. You can imagine then, my delight and awe a few years ago in appearing on a panel with Terry at Seattle's Emerald City Comic Con. That was a pretty awesome day.

JH: Where did you grow up — and how did you wind up in Idaho?

JW: I was born in New Jersey during my dad's grad school years, but I was raised in Silicon Valley in California. I attended high school and college there, but the traffic and cost of living made it impossible to afford to live there. I got a job at Intel and was able to eventually transfer to our Sacramento-area offices. After my books became bestsellers, location wasn't an issue anymore. My family (I have seven siblings) had a reunion in Island Park a few years ago, and my wife and I fell in love with Eastern Idaho. We moved to that part of the state four years ago and love it here. I have a brother in Meridian, a sister in Nampa, and another brother in Rexburg. We love the community we've moved to, the quieter pace of life, and the scenery is certainly inspiring for a fantasy writer! I have two grandparents who were born and raised in Idaho as well.

JH: Were you a prolific writer even when you were a kid? What was your first writing project — was it a challenge?

JW: Even though the ambition to write struck me in junior high, the ability came after a lot of hard work. I didn't really start to practice the craft until high school. I wrote five novels in four years, none of which were assignments from a school teacher. I could easily spend hours on our family computer writing stories (an Apple IIe for those geeks who remember the '80s). I even submitted one of my novels to a New York publishing company and earned my first rejection letter when I was a senior in high school. I spent a lot of time staring at the screen, wondering what was going to happen next, but I kept at it and the "flow" of writing started to happen more reliably.

JH: Did you start out with short stories or other forms of fiction or did you delve straightaway into book-length projects?

JW: I wrote a mix of short stories and book-length projects. In high school, many of the essays I wrote for my English classes ended up being short stories. My teachers loved them, but it didn't prepare me for college very well. I bombed my first English 1A class because I tried to pass off fiction for essay writing. While attending college, I took every creative writing class I could and juggled between shorter fiction due for school while working on novel-length projects for myself. I think that short stories are a great way to learn the craft. You have to condense all the elements of a novel with much fewer words. It was during those college years that some friends and I came up with the dream of creating our own magazine.

JH: Were you always attracted to reading and writing in the fantasy world?

JW: Actually, I didn't start as a fantasy writer. The five books I wrote in high-school were all thrillers, probably because of my interest in comic books and action movies. I delved into historical fiction next but realized that to make it realistic, it required a lot of research for accuracy. With fantasy, I could create my own worlds, my own politics, my own magic. I could take history from this world and twist and jerk it enough to suit my own purposes. Many of my story ideas were inspired by Dungeon & Dragons adventures I created as a teenager and played with my friends.

JH: You were a D&D enthusiast? Who was your character and how did all of that world affect you in the real world — and your writing?

JW: The character I played the most was named Jared. He was this ninja-like guy who could sneak into places but he was also good in a fight. When I became a Dungeon Master myself, I used Jared as a Gandalf-like being who would send other people out on their quests. When I wrote my first fantasy novel, "Landmoor," I changed the spelling of his name to Jaerod and wrote him into my first fantasy novels. The reason role-playing games really struck a chord with me was because it was like inventing a book and letting my friends play the characters in the story. It was a very creative thing for me and my imagination developed a lot. I cared more about the plot twists than I did about fighting monsters with magic weapons. And I mastered the art of the cliffhanger during those years. I would put my friends into these impossible situations before announcing, with a sly grin, "that's all for today." It made them want to come back for more. And it's why my readers have to read "just one more chapter."

JH: Your most recent book, "Knight's Ransom," kicks off a new "Arthurian-inspired fantasy series." Can you give an elevator speech-length plot description?

JW: So many of my stories are based on rare bits of history from our world which I've re-imagined into a fantasy world so that I don't have to follow the script too closely. "Knight's Ransom" is set in my Kingfountain world, but it's not required to have read any of those previous books to understand what's going on. Ransom is a young man, a knight in training, who wants to serve someone worthy of his loyalty. But in a kingdom recovering from a brutal civil war, things fall apart in Ransom's life and it seems circumstances will constantly throw him back on his heels, time and time again. While it's based on a true story, I don't reveal the details until the author's note in the final book. One of my favorite characters in this tale is Ransom's love interest, Lady Clare de Murrow. She writes the inter-chapter quotes and I had so much fun exploring her feisty side.

JH: You've also recently signed a TV deal for an adaptation of your Kingfountain series. Can you talk about this, and who the showrunner is?

JW: Yes, I was contacted almost a year ago by a European studio called Nucleus Media Rights. They were looking for family-friendly fantasy authors that they could adapt into TV series that were as compelling as "Game of Thrones" but safe for the entire family to watch. One of their writers mentioned my name and we kicked off a conversation and began talking about them acquiring the rights. We picked an amazing showrunner named Morgan Gendel who has won awards for "Star Trek Next Generation," has done the fantasy series "Dresden Files," and written for shows like "Law & Order." Morgan is really talented and has become a friend of mine. We share the same vision, have worked closely together, and can't wait to pitch this TV series in the coming weeks to networks. Fingers crossed that it gets picked up!

JH: In addition to writing books, you also produce "Deep Magic," a quarterly fantasy e-zine. Do you look for new or experienced writers?

JW: As I mentioned before, my friends and I thought about creating our own magazine. We started "Deep Magic" in 2002 and then shut it down in 2006 after our lives got so busy. I decided to bring it back 10 years later after my books did well because I wanted to help new authors get their first publishing credits. So we predominantly look for new writers, but I also recruit experienced writers as well, which we typically save one slot for in each issue. It's not easy publishing a digital magazine, but we have some great people on the board and a crew of first readers who go through the slush pile. We've found some awesome new voices these last five years — some from Idaho, too.

JH: You are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and The Latter Day Saints. Does your faith inform the underlying themes in your writing? For instance, your characters often grapple with human nature challenges such as being oblivious to another person's feelings or being too quick to judge.

JW: When I was trying to get my "break" into publishing all those years ago, what was popular in fantasy had gone from family-friendly to some pretty dark stuff. I didn't want to write "grimdark" (as it's called), yet wondered if I'd even be considered if I didn't. I stuck with the adage to write a novel that I would want to read. Of course my faith played an important part in that decision, but also because I wanted to feel comfortable that my own kids would be able to read my stories. While members of the church will recognize little Easter eggs I have in my novels, most of my fans aren't members of my faith, but they appreciate the spirituality in my writing. I feel CS Lewis did a great job weaving faith and virtues in his writing, and I wanted to be known for the same thing. I've had many readers reach out and ask about my beliefs (I'm very transparent on my website with my own faith journey) and have had wonderful conversations over the years with people with different beliefs. It's also interesting how many successful fantasy authors out there are also members of the church. I get asked a lot if I've noticed that.

JH: As a family man, married with five children, what do you do for fun? How have you been dealing with the pandemic?

JW: For fun, I enjoyed reading (obviously), playing piano, and practicing martial arts. I studied Kung Fu while I lived in Silicon Valley and still practice it today, though not as often. I've recently taken up snowmobiling. You need to have some winter sports to make it through the winters here. COVID has been a huge disruption in all our lives. I'm grateful that I've been working from home as a full-time author, so that didn't change. Having the kids home for school was a challenge, but we made the best of it. Once the quarantine started, my kids demanded I break out the dice box and D&D manuals and take them on an adventure, which I did. So it hasn't been all bad!

JH: Anything else you'd like to say?

JW: I get asked a lot to tell the story of my writer's journey because it's far from typical. I had over 40 agents reject me. I self-published multiple times, failed, and tried again. I didn't even submit novels to my current publisher, 47North, one of Amazon Publishing's imprints. They reached out to me. Every person's journey is different. I wrote about my experience in a memoir called "Your First Million Words," an idea I first heard about from Terry Brooks that your first million words were just practice. It turned out to be true in my case. Whether someone wants to be a published author, a software engineer, or a potato farmer, it takes a lot of practice, some humility, and learning through repetition and practice. As I wrote in my memoir (along with telling some very cringey stories about myself), you have to want the consequences of what you want. When I was in high school, I wanted to be an author when I grew up. I can't tell you how amazing it is to be living that dream today. But dreams come in all shapes and sizes.

UP Publishers & Authors Association announces 4th annual Dandelion Cottage Award winners - WLUC

Posted: 08 Mar 2021 12:00 AM PST

MARQUETTE, Mich. (Press Release/WLUC) - The Upper Peninsula Publishers & Authors Association (UPPAA) has announced the winners of the 4th annual Dandelion Cottage Award.

The award recognizes U.P. student short story writers of excellence in grades 5 – 12. The Dandelion Cottage Award is funded entirely by charitable donations and no fees have ever been charged to entrants or winners. Students submit stories in consultation with their teachers.

This year's contest was made even more competitive thanks to a free Student Writing Workshop run ahead of the contest by author and educator Deborah K. Frontiera, of Calumet. The contest is chaired by Larry Buege, of Marquette, a UPPAA Board member and author of the popular Chogan series.

In the senior division (grades 9 - 12), first place will be awarded to Kyra Holmgren, of Negaunee High School for her story "The Treasured Flower." The award includes a medallion, the winner's name on a traveling school trophy and a $250 cash prize. Second place will be awarded to Nicholas Painter, of Whitefish Township Community Schools, for his story "The Imposter Among Us" accompanied by a medallion and $100 prize. A medallion and prize money of $50 will go to third place winner Walter Dennis, of Lake Linden-Hubbell High School, for his story "Ash."

In the junior division, for writers in grades 5 to 8, Annabell Dankert, of Rudyard Elementary, won for her story "The Dagger of the Eagle's Eye," which confers a $150 prize.

This year's participants came from 13 different schools from Chippewa County to Houghton County. Some schools submitted up to 4 entries from its students.

The judges would like to thank each and every student who submitted their work. For more information about the annual Dandelion Cottage short story contest, visit www.DandelionCottage.org.

Each of the honored stories will appear in the 5th volume of U.P. Reader, UPPAA's own annual literary anthology featuring short stories, poetry and essays by its members. This successful publication helps spread the word about the organization, raises money for educational programming, and encourages people in the Upper Peninsula and beyond to read U.P. writers. Complimentary copies of the U.P. Reader are available to all U.P. educators and media for the asking. The on-sale date is scheduled for April 15. Consult your local bookseller for availability or purchase at Amazon.

For more information, visit www.UPReader.org.

The awards were scheduled to be distributed at the 23rd Annual UPPAA Conference in June, but due to COVID-19 considerations, the awards, including cash prizes, medallions, and complimentary copies of U.P. Reader will be distributed through private meetings throughout the U.P.

About the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA): The UPPAA was founded in 1998 as a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation with the goal of educating and empowering authors of the U.P. Among its outreach programs are the U.P. Notable Books List, the Dandelion Cottage Award, and a yearly anthology The U.P. Reader. For more information about this award, contact president@uppaa.org (Victor Volkman)

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