It's Monday, and we have Byron Lin sitting in with us for a few minutes! He's the author of Infernal Wanderings, a speculative fiction book detailing the final mission of a group of world-saving teens...after their deaths.
I first realized I wanted to be a writer pretty much as soon as I learned to read and write. I have an extremely vague memory of hammering on a typewriter in either kindergarten or first grade. Then I’d excitedly show my teacher.
Interesting writing quirk would be coming up with an idea, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. Maybe that idea won’t work out in the story it is originally meant to be a part of. Over the years, it’ll roll and reroll to transform into something else.
I was 12 or 13 when I wrote my first book. It was maybe a bit later than that? I managed to write 2/3rds of a fantasy trilogy between 8th grade and 10th grade. I couldn’t sustain much progress into part 3 (Heir to the Throne) but around the same time, my two best friends and I were writing a series of action-horror stories derivative of Angel and Buffy.
What do I like doing when I’m not writing? Good question…playing video games seems to be my number one pastime, often displacing the art of writing.
My family is very supportive of my writing. My parents and sister encouraged me to nurture my talent. That’s how I ended up with a bachelor’s degree in English (with a minor in creative writing) and a master’s degree in professional writing (again, on the creative writing track, big surprise.) And my wife and mother-in-law are very supportive as well. For my graduation from Towson (where I got my master’s) they had the manuscripts for my first two serious novels (Looking Forward and Where We’re Going) printed and spiral bound between two red cardstock covers. It’s seriously one of the most touching gifts I’ve ever received. No idea where the hell it ended up though.
How many books have I written? Umm…depends on the genre, really. I’ll have to look that up and go into more detail during our actual interview.
Suggestions for other aspiring writers? Okay. Write what you know, but don’t let that restrict you from branching out. Also, be very careful when you want to model your characters after real people in your life. Potential falling-outs can get incredibly messy when a writing project is in the mix, even if the other party isn’t a co-writer on it.
As a child, no joke, I wanted to either be a pro baseball player (shortstop or pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles) or the first astronaut to step foot on Mars. Obviously, neither of those things happened.
Literary pilgrimages? Does a writer’s retreat to Still Point, West Virginia count?
Heck, first book to make me a cry? I honestly have no idea.
Writing kryptonite is easy: grammar.
https://byronhlin.weebly.com/ <- official website (sort of)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CG7HFRT (link to the one book I have on Amazon)
Spacehey Link: Lord Byron, You've Got Mail!'s Profile | SpaceHey
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