A couple of months ago, I met writer Kevin Cox on Bookstagram. Kevin is the author of the Bewilderness Series, a great Young Adult Fantasy/Science-Fiction series. Check out my review of part one, Bewilderness, here, and my review of part two, Shadowsphere, here.
Thanks again for the interview, Kevin Cox!
Update: My review of part three, Neverscape, can now be read here.
Author Interview
About the author
My favourite…
- Animal: Dogs if I have to pick one, but dragons are really cool too.
- Book: Do I really have to pick just one? I always enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings. I really like Michael Crichton a lot too, especially Jurassic Park and Sphere.
- Writer: Again too hard to pick one, I’ll try to mention someone different than authors of the books I already mentioned, so I’ll say I really like Neil Gaiman also.
- Dessert: Various chocolate or cinnamon desserts.
What is your favourite time and setting to write?
I like imagining other worlds, what sorts of other places that could be out there. I’ve never really written any real time period stuff, but since I write fantasy I would say medieval. Swords, bows, castles… stuff like that. I also like to mix older periods with modern or even futuristic things.
What kind of a book would you love to write one day?
An epic fantasy series with long twisting character arcs, a huge world filled with lore, unexpected character deaths so that the stakes are very high in dangerous situations and a huge satisfying ending.
About the Bewilderness Series
In short, what is the Bewilderness series all about?
On the surface it’s about a few teenagers that discover dark entities wanting to destroy the universe and what those characters do to try and prevent that from happening. Underneath that, Bewilderness is about facing sadness or depression in solitude and shutting the world out. How taking risks and going outside your safe, comfortable oasis is necessary to heal and grow.
What did you like best about writing the first two books?
Bewilderness was literally the first book I ever tried to write. I learned so much about writing during that process. My developmental editor helped me see the story from a reader’s point of view how the reader needs to know where the story is going
Who is your favourite character?
I’d have to say Ambrielle at this point. She has a certain innocent curiosity about the world around her, but also lives in her head a lot. She thinks beyond the moment at a bigger picture than others might, sometimes at the expense of details right in front of her. I think I identify with her better overall than the other characters.
What is Ambrielle’s biggest dream?
I think she wants to understand the universe and what her place is in it. There’s something that happened to her that she doesn’t remember at first that she wants to understand why it happened. She wants to believe that there is some purpose to it and that it wasn’t just a pointless accident. I think overall though her dream is to help others in a meaningful way, to make a difference.
If you could live in one of the worlds you’ve created, which one would it be and why?
As awesome as Elyravess would be, I think I would pick Anatharia. I love walking through forests and seeing interesting birds and creatures. I could do without running into the dangerous ones though. Some of the creatures I came up with for Anatharia I ended up having to cut because it was too much walking through forests and seeing new animals and not enough story. Hopefully I’ll be able to use them again later.
Which of the societies you’ve imagined did you find most interesting to write?
Right now, I would say the Kavekkians. Their fascination with light and knowledge of crystals, I think are interesting. There’s a society in Book 3 that I think is interesting too, but I don’t want to talk about that just yet.
If you could take a portal anywhere, where would you go?
There’s so many places on Earth I would want to go, too many to name. And then if it could be anywhere in the universe that opens so many possibilities, I’m not sure I have a great answer for this one.