Author Spotlight: Robb Wallace

1. Hi! Welcome to my humble blog of all things bookish! I would like for us to start by getting to know you. Give us a short bio, please!

Hello readers, my name is Robb Wallace, I am from Ayrshire in the west of Scotland and I write both fiction and non-fiction books. I am an information junkie and just love curiosity, which led me to sci-fi and fantasy growing up. Life long trekkie! 

I have written five non-fiction titles, a few short stories and one epic fantasy. I love reading about other cultures, spirituality, religion, magic and technology. In my spare time, I participate in martial arts and love eating, yes lots of eating.

2. Tell us 5 fun facts people might not know about you! 

• I have no sense of smell, 90% of the year.
• I am a strong protan. Colour Blind.
• For years I was a tour guide in London on the open-top buses.
• I graduated top of my class. Truth be told that was my second attempt at university returning as a mature student. The first time I attended, I was kicked out for failing nine exams out of nine. The difference 15 years makes! 
• I regularly eat hot sauce way beyond my tolerance, which usually ends with me in tears and hiccuping like a dead man walking. But I love it.

3. To get to know you just a little bit better, I’d like to ask you some “This or That”-questions. Answer 5 of these and explain why you chose this or that, or maybe an entirely different alternative!

Ebooks OR physical books? – Both, I have stacks of both. 

First person view OR third person view? – Depends on the story, I personally write in third.

Standalone OR series? – Both, love a good series to get lost in but love a solid stand-alone that answers the call in just one book. 

Read multiple books OR one at a time? Nowadays it is one at a time, but many years ago I was a multiple book juggler, but no longer. As the mighty Hagbard Celine once said “Never whistle whilst your pissin” i.e don’t split your attention. 

Signed edition OR first edition? – Neither. I will take any edition.

Graphic novels OR comic books?– I have a decent collection of both. 

Plot driven OR character driven? – Both. Yeah a good book needs both, a strong plot and great characters, one without the other is no good. 

Zombies OR dragons? Dragons all day long. Zombies have to be the worst monster of all time. Slow, stupid, dead. hahah I just don’t get it. 

Witches OR vampires? A witch vampire sounds like a mighty character. I do love vampires, I wrote a comedy vigilante vampire short. Where the protagonist, the mighty “Steak bake” turns against his kind and starts staking other vampires. It’s dark, gritty and set in modern-day Glasgow. Like Falling Down meets Punisher/Blade. https://www.robbwallace.co.uk/books/steak-bake/

Shop at an actual bookstore OR shop books online? Been a while since I entered a Waterstones. I used to be a regular but now it’s all online. 

Hero OR anti-hero? Both

TBR list OR mood reader? I am impulsive, I will see a video, a post on social or a recommendation and boom, I am online buying it. I do have an extensive TBR but it all it does is grow. ahhaha.

Music while reading OR silence? Gentle elevator-style background music, or silence. But nothing that will interfere with me concentrating. 

Read in bed OR read on sofa?  Both.

4. When you look for books to read, what trope, theme, or type of story will always catch your attention?

I like things that are going to force me to think, something to challenge my ideas, to inspire me, to make me go ‘wow’. Which usually means non-fiction titles, epic/heroic fantasy or epic space opera sci-fi.

5. If you were to describe your writing style using 3 words, what would they be?

Passionate, Tenacious, Curious.

6. So what do you write? Tell us a bit more about your chosen genre, style and ongoing projects/WIPs/series!

I am currently writing book two in my Illusion series. The first book “The Silence In The Song” is about a young lad called Arran, it is a not-so-classic coming-of-age story. As part of his rite of passage, he consumes strong hallucinogenic mushrooms, gets outcast from his nomadic hord and then travels across the known world to save his people from an Immortal king, a figure he encountered in his hallucinogenic trip. 

https://www.robbwallace.co.uk/books/the-silence-in-the-song/

BLURB:

Death is not the end. The immortal King and his legion of otherworldly beings have made sure of that. 

The immortal king’s empire expands southward, consuming everything in its path.

A young nomad, born of prophecy, comes of age, plagued by visions of the King’s brutal conquests and the strange etheric beings that consume the souls of the dead left in the King’s wake.

This is the story of an uncommon boy who dares to believe that he can be the difference, that he can challenge the immortal King for the freedom of every soul on the planet.

The story is set in a human-like world and has a heroic/epic fantasy feel. A mix of barbarian tales, world-building, magic, spiritual dimensions, philosophical curiosity, ancient myths, psychedelic visions, conspiracies, martial arts and questions about the nature of life, death and reality.

This is an epic fantasy novel with science fiction elements. A firm crossover between the two disciplines.

Join Arran, the silence in the song, and find out if he has what it takes to kill the King and save his people.

Video Blurb:

7. What is your most recent release? Give us a short presentation, cover, and a link for where to buy it! 

The Silence In The Song by Robb Wallace, it is now available on Amazon, Kindle (KU for a limited time), Paperback and Hardback. Soon I will be releasing it wide. All links can be found at https://www.robbwallace.co.uk/books/the-silence-in-the-song/

8. Last but not least: where can we find you? Drop those links! 

I can be found at https://www.robbwallace.co.uk all my books, links, blogs, newsletter etc can be found there. On social, you can find me at @robbauthor on the major platforms.