Check out this spotlight for author DB Rook!
You can find all his links furthest down the page, and don’t forget to check out his books!
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! A pleasure to be here. I will attempt to freestyle and avoid the copy and paste approach that is so alluring when talking about myself!
I am a life-long fantasy fan that always dreamt of inventing worlds and imbuing enough life into them that other people could join me in my creations. I have explored many day jobs and have always written on the side. For the last few years, I have been deep in the charity sector, carving out an existence in the field of drugs and alcohol whilst dreaming of presenting my worlds to the… world. I have now secured my first square on the game board by releasing Callus & Crow and I hope to keep up the momentum with the follow up whilst honing my skills and learning from the greats.
2. 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!
Cat or dog?
Cat! I love cats, sadly I have a dog, a beautiful, insane pain in the proverbial that is not a cat…maybe that’s why she’s such a pain
Tea or coffee?
Coffee, I am fully dependent on the brown nectar, nothing wrong with tea, but it’s just not coffee
Witches or wizards?
Witches! They’ve had it worse than most over the centuries and I’m down with the sisters. I cant help feeling that witches are slightly more feral than wizards (sorry ladies) and that is a plus for me!
Ninjas or pirates?
Now these are getting hard! Ill go for pirates, maybe as a teenager I would have gone the other way but in my 40s I appreciate the free roaming buccaneer over the honour bound, loyalty driven assassins.
Standalone or series?
At the risk of being called a cheat I’d say each has its place. A good series will have you in a frenzy to buy the next book, to dip your head back into the world you love never to be truly sated. On the other side, there can be a feeling of relief that there is no more, the journey is over, your work here is done. I remember when I finished reading David Gemmel’s Echoes of the great song, feeling a sense that It would have been cheap to read on, that it was created to tell its tale and then end. I loved that feeling but then I would go and read the Liveship traders and fall utterly in love again…ahhh my head hurts!!
3. When you look for books to read, what trope or type of story will always catch your attention?
I like a classic trope with an inventive twist or a new way of telling a story. The most recent series that has really had me by the throat is Anthony ryan’s Draconis Memoria. What an incredible take on a fantasy trope as old as dragons, I cannot praise those books enough.
4. What do you write? Tell us about your current projects and the latest happenings!
I am currently working on the follow up to my Debut, Callus & Crow whilst I find my way around the brave new world of marketing, publicity and general book salesmanship. Im almost ready to unleash a website and am in talks with a small collaborative publisher who may be able to help me learn the ropes and increase my reach. Im also very slowly, I might add, building a collection of shorts set in the Wayward World that I aim to release as an anthology at some point, I would love to explore inviting other authors to get involved but that’s way ahead on the horizon.
5. What is your most recent release? Give us a short presentation, cover, and a link for where to buy it!
Callus & Crow: The Wayward World Chronicles
Callus & Crow is my latest and only release so far. It is the first of a series all set in the same dystopian world. I guess I’m trying to shake up those tropes (See above). Its got weird west, Vampiric curses, steampunk-like industrial innovation, addiction, Trolls and tyranny. I guess its got everything I want to read in a book but laid out in a semi-plausible way, a way that makes sense to me at least but still relishes the celebrated sum of its parts. Despite all the clever world building and the design of its backdrops, it’s a story about a boy who essentially ends up with a new dad, a less than perfect dad with a crippling addiction to human blood and a hunger for violent revenge.
6. What real-life inspiration do you draw from, and what are your primary fictional sources of inspiration (books, authors, films, music, etc.)? Name a few!
I love film, I love to read and I am a massive metal head! I play drums in a death metal band and have done for many years. I try to take inspiration from all of the above as well as some of the more grounded (and arguably darker) aspects from my day job, there’s a reason that the vampirism in Callus & Crow is more “Near Dark” than “Twilight.”
In terms of individuals that have inspired my work, I have to mention (again) Robin Hobb, the first person inner torment that she wields in her story telling has undoubtedly had an effect on me as a writer. In terms of film, it may be no surprise that I am a massive Star Wars fan. I know, I know, there are a few patchy moments in the series as a whole but I have always loved the universe and how relatable the galaxy wide plight of the downtrodden is and it has space wizards/witches! I could talk for hours about my appreciation for the world building in the Star Wars universe and I am not afraid to admit it.
7. What is your writing routine? If you have one, give us the run-down!
Routine is probably not a word I would use. Sometimes my work ethic is more akin to addiction, I have to vent my brain into my laptop and won’t stop until I run dry. Other times it is a case of very skillfully weaving time from the very busy schedule of a tired nerd with a family and many professional commitments; it can be difficult to get into a rhythm. I go on the premis that even 1% is progress and do what I can, maybe its time to make more time!
8. If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as you started out on the path to becoming an author, what would it be?
I guess “believe in yourself” or something as cheesy as that. Not because that is all it takes but more that if you believe and you’re prepared to do what needs to be done you will get where you need to be. Nothing is easy but without the drive you have no chance to begin with.
9. Last but not least: where can we find you? Drop those links!
Mailing list:
https://db-rook.mailchimpsites.com/
Facebook:
https://facebook.com/dbrookbooks
Tiktok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@db_rook?_t=8XREH79D150&_r=1
Email:
