Scribal Love Welcomes Nick Krimp!
Nikolai Krimp is an author of Sci-Fi Fantasy. My newest work “The Last Mage," is available from Mobi Pocket in E form.
What is the name of your latest book? And how did you come up with the title?
“The Last Mage” is the title of the series, with a sub title called “The Dragon’s Mouth” The idea came to me as I was looking for a picture for the cover and I stumbled upon a volcano. Since just a volcano wasn’t enough for the cover I chose a photo of a ship sailing in the night to an island, which is described in the book.
What is this book about? And what genre is this book in?
Ever since I was a child I have loved to read fantasy and so I chose to write a story that originally started out as a game, but quickly turned into a novel. The story is about a young girl named Jennifer Wells, who lived in our present day and had her mind magically transferred into the body of an elf woman in the far future, after a cataclysm had almost destroyed the earth.
Who is/are the main characters? And why did you choose them?
Shannon Brightstar and Roma Connors are the two main characters in this story, along with another elf named Kirin Foxhunter a Halfling named Rufus the Mighty and two dwarfs Duncan and Blick. I chose the two female characters to be the heroines because many books that I have read in the past always had male heroes.
What is the coolest or best part about your book? (Any Favorite scenes, the world-building etc..
My favorite scene has to do with the competition, where Duncan, who is an old dwarf, has trouble trying to compete with the younger men of the village. Also I enjoyed mapping the world so the reader can get a better idea of what and where the characters are heading.
Do you have a favorite character in the book? If so, why?
That is a hard question, as I did enjoy all the characters in the book. They are all favorites of mine, since I created them.
Is this book part of a series? If so? What can we expect in future books?
At present I am working on a third book. The second in the series is called “The Home Stone,” and the third is called “The Shadow Lord.”
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
I really can’t say, except maybe a few more encounter scenes. No I would say that there is enough in the first story to introduce the characters and the theme of the story and future books to come.
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Did I learn anything? Oh yes. It’s not that easy to write a novel. There is a lot of preparation involved even before you start and sit down to write. Character planning is the hardest and I found that I changed some of the characters in the book as fast as I could dream them up. Trying to stick to the character’s behavior and to have them stay in character was the hardest. For I always came up with something new. One could say that in the first book I developed them as I went along. I think that this process was easier and more permanent.
Do you have a publisher? And if so, why did you choose them?
No I have no publisher and I am presently looking for one. This first novel I self published through my own company, Best Book Publish, which is now no longer operating, mainly due to the costs involved.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
There are many writers that I enjoy reading and not all are in the fantasy genre. But if I had to choose one it would be Terry Brooks. His book the Sword of Shannara was the main reason I became a writer. It’s all his fault ha ha. I have read every one of his books in a very short time. The problem was that I had to wait a whole year for the next one to be published. So I began to pen my own and found out very quickly, why it took a year for him to bring out his next novel.
What books are you reading now?
I have read all kinds of books, but mostly in the Fantasy, Sci-fi, Mystery and Thriller genres. Every so often I like to change and read a good Steven King or Mary Higgins Clark story, while other times Piers Anthony come to mind. I can’t say that I have any other favorites.
What are the current writing projects that you are working on?
Book three, “The Last Mage”, “The Shadow Lord.”
Do you write full time? If not, do you hope to do so one day?
A few years back I injured my back at work and was forced into early retirement. This allowed me to write full time. If you can call it that. It’s not easy to sit in front of a screen, when your mind went shopping. So I play games, or talk to people on Face Book, or on Twitter,(which BTW I just started). I do hope to be able to continue writing and that some other publisher will pick up my book some day.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Oh yes. I got angry because I read Terry Brooks’ book so quickly and thought, “I can do that too.” I never thought that it would be so difficult, but I persevered and now when I write it’s like I am reading another writer’s book, because I sometimes do not know what lies ahead in the next scene.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
As I said before. The most challenging part of writing a novel is character building. It is hard to keep the same rules for the person as the series goes on. So I have to constantly go back into my notes to check to make sure I didn’t change gender or race of any of my characters.
Do you have any advice for other writers seeking to get published for the first time?
One and only one. Don’t get discouraged from all those nasty rejection letters. Remember you are writing for yourself and there is someone out there who will like your work. So keep on writing and enjoy your craft.
