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*Please tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m pretty boring, actually. My family is from the foothills of the Smokies in Tennessee, and most of my childhood was spent playing outdoors. Those experiences help me tremendously when I’m writing in a fantasy setting because I have a wealth of firsthand information from which I can draw. Also, pretty much everyone I knew was either a farmer or a laborer, so my writing reflects that red and blue collar upbringing because I have a deep appreciation and understanding of the nobility of labor. That’s why I gravitated towards dwarves; they are the blue collar class of fantasy fiction.*Could you tell us in short what this series is about?
I’m interested in camaraderie, self-sacrifice, redemption, and perseverance, so each book revolves around those themes. The central plot revolves around a young dwarf named Roskin who leaves his peaceful kingdom to seek adventure and the ordeals he faces in a world torn apart by racial strife and war. However, I’m trying to allow each main character to grow and mature as unique individuals, so they often take the story off in unexpected tangents. There’s also a sub-context of the importance of interpersonal relationships over materialism, but I try not to be too heavy-handed with it.
I can’t really say any character is harder or easier than another because each one presents its own unique set of challenges. For me the characters are as real as anyone I’ve known, and they each have their own personalities and ambitions that drive them. The biggest challenge to writing any of them is for me to get out of the way and let them tell me how the story should flow.
*With which character do you identify the most?
Either Crushaw or Leinjar because of the obstacles they’ve had to overcome in their lives. I’ve been knocked down more times than I can count, so those two characters are very dear to me, and I’ve drawn on many of my own experiences when writing scenes for them.
Oh yes, especially the scoundrels and villains. Usually, if I do base a character off of a real person, it ends up being an amalgam of many different people, but occasionally I do create a character based on someone from my life, but like I said, those are usually the less than decent ones, so I don’t want to name names.
*Where did the inspiration for this series come from? Where do you generally draw your inspiration from?
Back around 2002, I had given up on writing because of the terrible experience I had gone through in graduate school from 1997-99. My creative spirit had been stifled by the program. Then one night, while watching The Two Towers, I realized that what I really wanted to write was fantasy adventure. It was why I’d gotten into writing to begin with. But my confidence was fragile, so I didn’t immediately start writing. At first, I just thought about what kind of story I would want to write if I ever chose to write a novel. Then, I started jotting down notes. Pages and pages of notes. I made notes for close to a year, still with no plan to write anything.
Then, I saw my first son’s heartbeat on an ultrasound. As I watched that little speck fluttering away on the grainy screen, my creative spirit, which had been dormant for many years, came back to life. I knew if I was going to be a good father, I had to be true to myself. That meant writing this story I had been building, being true to myself as a storyteller, so I went to work and haven’t looked back.
I am constantly researching the details. I strive for authenticity, so a lot of work goes into getting the little things correct. I will stop mid-sentence and spend an hour researching a particular species of plant to make sure it grows in the climate of that scene.
*Are there any other projects you are working on at the moment?
Other than book four in the series, just my regular blog, The Ramblings of D.A. Adams, where I write about whatever notion strikes me that day. I almost enjoy the blog as much as the novels.
*Do you have any writing quirks?
Oh boy, too many to list. For my books, I have to write in the dark with music playing, and I prefer facing north. That’s as much as I’m going to embarrass myself because I’m truly a dork with all my crazy quirks.
*What do you do when you’re not writing?
*Are you a reader?
Unfortunately, at this point in my life I don’t get to read much, other than the materials I teach for composition classes and student essays. One day, I hope to get to read what I love again because I miss reading for pleasure immensely.
*Is there anything you would like to add?
Thank you to my readers for taking your time and hard-earned money and buying my books. I appreciate every single sale. Thank you for reading my work and taking the time to tell me what you liked and didn’t. I appreciate every bit of feedback, positive and negative. Please forgive me for how long it has taken me to get each book to market. Life has thrown many obstacles in my path, and I apologize for my delays. I hope you’ll find book three has been worth the wait. I feel like it’s a solid work and is a great bridge in the middle of the series. Finally, please feel free to post comments on my blog and social media pages. I love talking to readers and try to respond to everyone individually, so please, share your thoughts and feelings and experiences with me.
D. A. Adams was born in Florida but was raised in East Tennessee. He received a Master of Arts in Writing from the University of Memphis in 1999 and has taught college English for over a decade. His first novel, “The Brotherhood of Dwarves,” was released in 2005 and has been described as “a solid, honest work about camaraderie, bravery, and sacrifice” and “a very personal journey, more interested in the ways that a person is changed by life’s events than in epic battles and high magic.” In 2008, the sequel, “Red Sky at Dawn,” was released to the exaltation that “this novel thunders along, at times with dizzying speed. The action is visceral and imaginative without being gratuitous.”
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Books in this series:
Thank you D.A. Adams for stopping by today.
And I will end this post with some more of the gorgeous interior illustrations for this series.
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