Guest Post: Turning on the Light Bulb, by Andre Alan (Pt. 1 of 2)

Today I’m pleased to bring you the first of a two-part guest post courtesy of author Andre Alan. In today’s piece, Andre talks about writing and the inspiration for his sci-fi/fantasy novel Heaven’s Fate (coming soon – hardcover and Ebook available everywhere on June 26, 2012!). Next Thursday, be sure to check out the excerpt of his book. Thanks for letting us inside your head Andre!

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Turning on the Light Bulb

By Andre Alan

Since I told people that I will be writing a science fiction, fantasy novel titled Heaven’s Fate; people always ask me: how do I get my ideas and where did the idea for this particular book come from.

Well, from an early age I have always been interested in artwork and cartoons. From that point on I have sort of lived two separate lives; one in my own little world and the other amongst the normal people in the real world. In class, I routinely daydreamt about characters fighting each other and magnificent and grotesque monsters clashing. After a while my head became crowded with creating storylines and worlds for those characters to populate and I started writing things down. This particular idea started out in graphic novel format while I was in college, which was nearly a decade ago (I know that I am dating myself here, but oh well). Although the names for these characters have changed from initial idea conception to hardcover and ebook execution, the storyline, more or less still remains the same. I came up with the idea for the storyline at a time when I was lost in a world of Japanese animation and when Dragon Ball Z was all the rage. Although, Heaven’s Fate initial creation idea drew heavily from anime, its transformation into a YA, science fiction, fantasy novel had to undergo several stages that every book goes through such as world building, creating laws for magic use, and overall character, plot, and storyline development that make any entertainment property – whether it is a movie, book, or tv show – a full-fledged product for human consumption.

I get a lot of my ideas from the randomness of life, as well as other random readings or television shows. Some of my favorite programs to watch are documentaries and specials on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, etc. Really any show, book, or random sight can insight my imagination and my creativity takes over from there. Anything that sparks a thought in my mind I tend to write down, either in a notebook or my iphone’s notepad app and then create characters and storylines from that point forward. Then I ask myself a fundamental question that I believe all writers should ask: ‘Why is my character doing what they are doing.’ I feel that if you can answer that question then you potentially have the makings of a great story.

But for Heaven’s Fate specifically, I always wanted to do one of those series where you have a guy who is the chosen one; similar to so many other fantasy tales out there (ie: Robert Jordan’s – ‘A Wheel of Time’ series and Frank Herbert’s – ‘Dune’ series or even the movie Star Wars) where a young man is destined to follow fate and save the world and so on. I wanted to do one of these series because I felt as though I could do it better than all of the other books and movies out there. Not only that but because those other titles have inspired me. When you ask the question, ‘what if’ and go from there you will be surprised what you can come up with.

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Andre Alan is from Hartford, CT and attended college in New Haven, CT. After graduating with a degree in international business and a brief career as an IT data analyst, Andre Alan decided to follow his lifelong passion of creating fiction entertainment. With a small amount of artistic talent, some of his first memories are of drawing. After a brief stint at poetry and comics, the timing seemed ripe to pursue fantasy novel writing. An avid video gamer, when there is time and an addict for cup noodles. Andre is a sports fanatic and a lifelong student of business.

For more information and other works by Andre Alan check out the Official company website, his Official blog site, or Follow Andre on Twitter.

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As a special treat, here’s a teaser for next Thursday’s excerpt from Heaven’s Fate:

Thame Elliot, an expert Rietsu martial artist, is consumed with thoughts of avenging his father’s death and rebuilding the legendary Tundra Sword. Little does Thame know that his aunt, the first empress of the human continent, Eioda, Autumn Augustus, has set the nation on a course that can only lead to war with the Orcs. The mystical inhabitants on the planet, Threa have been plunged into a struggle for the ancient artifacts buried in the mysterious, Consummate of the Trust. Not only that but his aunt is hell bent on marrying him to a corrupt military admirals daughter while Thame’s spiritual guardian, Masaya from the Astral Plane tries to manipulate him in order to keep the heavens from falling apart. The fate of mankind rest in Thame’s young hands but does he even want the responsibility that goes along with being the chosen one. Or will Thame’s spiritual twin, imbued with dark powers granted by the evil one, assassinate him before he can fulfill his destiny.