Interview with David Wind #Indie Author of TRINITY: The Battle For Nevaeh, Volume III

Interview with David Wind, Indie Author of Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

Tell us about your latest release, including its genre. Does it cross over to other genres? If so, what are they? 

My latest novel is TRINITY: Battle for Nevaeh, the third book of my Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series, Tales Of Nevaeh.  TRINITY, concludes the opening trilogy, but leaves room for more tales—which there will be. Nevaeh, is America, 3000 years in the future, following the terrorist wars, which was a nuclear war started by the terrorists in the twenty-first century, and destroyed almost all of the earth by the middle of the twenty-second century. In this future, there is no technology, and the mutations are very different in each part of the world.  In Nevaeh, men are bigger and stronger, and women have powerful psychic abilities, which they call ‘Magic’.

The genres for this book are Science Fiction and Fantasy as it contains elements of both, rather than just straight fantasy. The series is good for everyone from young teenagers through older adults and not just for sci-fi or fantasy fans. The story resonates with many.

Why did you write your book (or series)?

I wrote this series for several reasons. The first was because I have wanted to write a sci-fi or fantasy series since I was a teenager. Creating a world that is so vastly different from our own, yet with touches of familiarity, a world that can come to life, and make my reader believe in it while reading was a challenge I looked eagerly forward accepting. I also have a need to take what is happening in today’s world, the negative aspects of so many societies, extrapolate those possibilities into the far future, and keep the best parts of humanity alive was something I have always wanted to do. 

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

After becoming a veracious reader!

What do you find are the best and worst parts of being an indie author?

BEST: The ABSOLUTE best part of being an indie writer—and having published two dozen traditionally published novels—is being able to write what I want to write rather than being dictated to by my publisher’s best seller lists. So, what is best about Indie writing is FREEDOM!

WORST: The amount of time taken away from my writing to do the marketing of my books, the editing, and the proofing. BUT, even so, being an Indie writer was the best decision I have ever made.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Really?  Is there something else to do? Just kidding, (maybe) I love spending time with my wife, traveling and exploring. I love paying with my grandson, and watching him grow and seeing the joy of life in his eyes and on his face.  I have raised three children…or rather I should say I was a part of raising three children when I was around, because I worked more than I was around, between earning a living and writing novels. (I, like most writers, did not survive on royalties alone)

Do you have any pets at home?

I have a Sub-Standard rescue poodle named Alfie. Alfie was supposed to be a miniature, which was to be a break from the usual Standard Poodles we’ve always had. But, Alfie kept growing until he reached twenty-six pounds. The Vet took a look at him and laughed.  “Not a miniature,” he declared, “Alfie’s a Standard Poodle.”  Then he smiled again.  “Actually, he’s a sub-standard, because he’s missing about 15 inches and thirty to forty pounds.” 

Well, sub-standard or not, Alfie is a great dog!

Tell us about one or two of your favorite places?

Tuscany is magnificent part of Italy and my favorite part of the country. Lush rolling hills, friendly gregarious people, and small ancient villages alive today as they were two thousand years ago.  Wales is an adventure in places and people, with thousand year old castles, friendly people, and, of course, Hay-On-Wye, the book town where almost 80 percent of the stores are BOOKSTORES!   There is a third I think I would like, but when I was in Greece, it was for emergency open-heart surgery (yes, it played out like a novel or a movie) so I really didn’t get to see the country except through the hospital and hotel windows.

How much of your personality is in your main character?

Ouch… That’s an impossible question to answer. How much is always uncertain, but as the writer, I create the character, and somehow, there’s always a part of me in that character. How much, I couldn’t begin to tell you. You’d have to ask my wife.

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

The same advice given me: #1 – don’t give up, and #2 was from Andre Norton, who told me, when in doubt, or when stuck, go to the fairy tales and re-read a bunch.

What interesting aspect of your life would surprise your readers?

I have to take the fifth on that one. 

Are your stories driven by plot or character?

They are both character driven and plot driven for obvious reasons. Without a strong plot driving the characters, it would be one-dimensional. The same occurs when the characters do not drive the story with the same power that the plot drives them.

How do you balance a life outside of writing with deadlines and writing muses?

With great difficulty.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

The writing: creating people and worlds and making everything blend, not into just a good story, but one that reverberates with my readers and myself.

What do you enjoy most about life?

My wife, my family, good wine, good food, my readers, my writing, my reading (when I get a chance) my friends, my travels… I’ll stop here.

What themes and ideas do you often explore in your writing?

I work with world events and history and envision from there. My themes tend to revolve around good and bad. There is so much gray in the world, that the lines blur between the benign and malignant and I feel that good needs an emphasized in a way that is visceral; so, my writing tends to be optimistic whether it is a sci-fi, fantasy, thriller or mystery. I work with world events and envision from there.

What book, movie or TV show has most influenced your life or writing? (You can list more than one, but do include an explanation.)

Wow, I guess it would have to be when I was thirteen and wasn’t much of a reader (In fact I hated having to read). Somehow, at thirteen, I ended up with Andre Norton’s Daybreak: 2250 (It’s had a few titles). The book took me not just by surprise, but swallowed me whole. Then I read Edgar Rice Burroughs’s John Carter Of Mars, and between the two, my life went in another direction. By the time I hit fourteen, I was reading 3 to 5 books a week, and would read anything sci-fi. As I grew, I went through them all: Heinlein, Asimov, Clark, Doc Smith, Philip Dick, Bradbury, Farmer, etc.… And the older I got, the more varied was my reading: McDonald, Scott, Sabatini, Slaughter, Spillane, Ludlum, King, Koontz, etc.  They all influenced me and made my most treasured ambition to be that of a writer.

What are your current projects and plans for the future?

I am currently finishing the last short story in my Prelude To Nevaeh, which is the backstory of how Solomon Roth arrived in Nevaeh, 3000 years after his birth, and what led to his becoming Nevaeh’s High King. I designed the backstory to be read AFTER Born To Magic, the first book of the series. Once Prelude To Nevaeh is put to bed, I am toying with the idea of combining the two genres I enjoy the most, Sci-Fi and Thriller/Detective, and writing a detective story set in the somewhat near future, probably end of the 21^st century or the beginning of the 22^nd. 

TRINITY: The Battle For Nevaeh, Volume III

The Epic Sci-Fi Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery Saga, of the far future continues in the mystical world of Earth’s 53rd Century

     Concluding the opening Trilogy of the Tales Of Nevaeh series, Areenna of Freemorn and Mikaal of Tolemac bring together the ten dominions for one last battle against their ruthless enemy. The Dark Masters threaten to annihilate the Nevaens, wiping humanity from the face of the earth, unless Areenna and Mikaal can find the mystical power that is Nevaeh’s salvation. 

     To save their world, and their people, they must go where no one has gone for 3000 years: below the Island—deep beneath what used to be Manhattan. As the days grow darker, they search to find deliverance for their people, and become what has been prophesied—the Trinity of power. To accomplish this, they must first discover the third pillar of their powers.

     Time is running out. Can they build the Trinity in time to save humanity from extinction?

TRINITY: The Battle For Nevaeh, Volume III

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BGXSSJO

The Dark Masters, Volume II

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VQYVSKK

Born To Magic, Volume I: (FREE—US/UK/CA on amazon)  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QTYHVTO (FREE everywhere on: iBook, B&N & Kobo)

Excerpt from TRINITY, Volume II Tales Of Nevaeh book    

“So much is expected,” Mikaal said. “So many have pinned their hopes on you.”

The heaviness spread through her. “On us.”

“No, Areenna, on you. It has always been you.”

Her brows furrowed as she studied him. “What bothers you?”

He looked out at the sea. “The future. The Eight of the Island, Master Jalil, and The Masters of the Circle manipulate us. Each day I feel more like a pawn.”

A sad smile quirked her lips. “I understand; it is how I have felt since touching Duke Yermon’s hand in Freemorn—since we fought the first wraith she released upon Yermon and us—and on the Island when The Speaker commanded us to take this journey.”

He started to speak. She stopped him with a finger across his lips. Listen but speak not. They manipulate us because we are the hope the people of Nevaeh need. You are my hope. Without you, I am nothing. Without you, The Masters of Afzal win. Without you—

—Do you not have this backward? Without you, all is lost.

No, Mikaal, without you I am not completed. It is the two of us, not just me. As to the manipulation, how else can we reach the point we must attain? I know we are being…handled, but what they know not, is that when the time comes, we will end the manipulation. You and I have a purpose. What it is ultimately, I know not, but when it is time, we will know. No matter what The Eight say, I think they know not our true purpose.

The gray of his eyes deepened to the color of steel. He grasped her face between his hands. “So certain are you?”

 “As certain as my love for you. As certain as I know our children will change not just Nevaeh but the world itself.”

Before her last word was finished, everything around them vanished. They rose bodiless; below them was he plateau, in front of them, climbing through a cloud, was the Island surrounded by reddish mist. A shimmering vision of the black face of The Speaker of The Eight floated before them.

So finally, you begin to understand the truths of who you are, the truths of your lives…not just your lives, but everyone’s. The Speaker’s eyes flared red when they locked onto Mikaal. Remove doubt from your mind, Man-child, for you serve a greater purpose. The flaring eyes faded and turned a softer shade of amber. And you, Child of Power, how else could you have grown into the woman you are meant to be without the manipulation necessary for you to become such? Being born to magic means nothing! It is the understanding of your power, the learning of your abilities and the acceptance of them that makes you a Women of Power. Come to us soon. There is much to learn and more to do before they arrive. The Speaker’s face dissolved, replaced by another vision—it was of forty huge ships sailing toward Nevaeh. A moment later, they saw hundreds behind those.

This vision disappeared, and Areenna and Mikaal were once again standing on the plateau, Mikaal’s hands still clasping Areenna’s face. Reluctantly, he lowered his hands, stepped back and shook his head. “What choice is left?”

Author Bio

David Wind has published thirty-eight novels including Science Fiction, Mystery and suspense thrillers. He lives and writes in a small village about thirty miles upstate of NYC, and shares his house with his wife, Bonnie and dog Alfie, a sub-standard poodle (email him for an explanation). David has three children, 1 boy and 2 girls: His son works for CBS on the show, 48 Hours, his middle child teaches Special Ed in New Jersey, and his youngest is a pastry chef in San Francisco.

His newest release is the Sci-Fi fantasy series, Tales Of Nevaeh. The first book of the series, Born To Magic, has received numerous 5 star reviews and was a semi-finalist for the Kindle Book Review, Best Fantasy 2015. The second book of the series, The Dark Masters, has been well received, and the third Book, TRINITY: The Battle For Nevaeh, was released I February 29^th. 2 short stories, Prelude To Nevaeh, Parts I & II are the prequel to the entire Tales Of Nevaeh series, and are free downloads. A third Prequel short story will be out within a month.

David's Fantasy, Queen Of Knights, reached #2 on the Amazon.Com bestseller lists for historical fantasy and medieval fantasy, and his sci-fi paranormal, Infinity’s Doorway has received wide acclaim.

In 2008 David went Indie and published Angels In Mourning, his 'homage' to the old time private detective books of the late 40's, the 50's and the 60's.  Angels, is a modern day take on the old style hardboiled detective.  In April of that year, Angels In Mourning won the Amazon.com Book of the Month Reader's Choice Award.

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