Today’s
special author guest is Hugh Fritz and
we’re chatting about his new urban fantasy, Made to Be Broken, the first book in the Mystic Rampage series.
Welcome, Hugh. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born in
Chicago, Illinois which is why I used it for the setting. The idea for this
story first came to me when I was in high school but writing has not been a
consistent hobby of mine so partially completed versions of it sat in my
computer for years without being opened. It was only five years ago that I
decided to take this project seriously and finish Mystic Rampage, and as I did,
additional ideas came to me and it grew from a single novel into a series. Expanding
the cast of characters has made working on the second installment more fun, but
the real joy has come from joining a group of other writers to serve as beta
readers and critics. They’ve been helpful in improving the quality of my
writing and providing advice related to the plot and characters to make the
story more interesting. I’m proud of what I accomplished in the first book, but
thanks to their help the second one is going to be an improvement and I’m
excited for it to be released.
Please
tell us about your current release.
The book
follows three characters that have the same powers but different motivations
for using them. One focuses on protecting his loved ones, one believes in
destiny and waits for people in need come to him, and one runs about looking
for trouble which he is ready to meet with violence. These differences lead to
arguments, and gradually their squabbles turn into a battle that puts their
city and everyone in it at risk.
What
inspired you to write this book?
Most of my efforts
have gone into short stories. I enjoy flash fiction as a writing exercise and
was working on a collection of them for a while. I became tired of reaching the
conclusion after one or two pages so I decided to focus on completing a
full-length novel. I’m not saying the flash fictions were a waste of time. Some
of them provided fuel for the Mystic Rampage storyline and allowed me to expand
it into a trilogy. Inspector R.E.D. and the Old Ticker originally existed in
their own universes and had completely different adventures, but I decided to
put them in the epilogue of Made to Be Broken and make them main characters in
the second book.
Excerpt
from Made to Be Broken:
Here is a
portion of Inspector R.E.D.’s introduction:
He
couldn’t remember who he was, which didn’t scare him as much as not knowing
what he was. He remembered feeling numb, and then seeing light, but filtered
light, as if he was looking through a fog. He then smelled wet grass and felt
damp dirt on his hands. The last thing he became aware of was the man standing
before him with a gun. His first instinct was to run but he couldn’t control
his legs. He tried to scream but his voice was dry and hoarse, as if he hadn’t
used it in a while. He started recognizing shapes of objects around him, and
noticed he was surrounded by tombstones. He panicked. He thrashed and pounded
his fists into the dirt as he tried to swear at whatever was making this happen
to him. Suddenly, whatever was controlling his body released its hold and he
was free.
What
exciting story are you working on next?
Other than
the other two installments in this series, I have a more traditional fantasy
story that takes place in an imaginary kingdom. It’s about a knight, a farmer, a
scribe, and a dragon who work together to overcome curses that were put on them
by a sorcerer.
When did
you first consider yourself a writer?
I don’t
consider myself a writer because I’ve never had to rely on my work to get by.
Real writers are people who need their books to sell in order to pay rent, eat,
or even put gas in their car. The first time I felt proud of my creativity was when
I was able to use my imaginary world as an escape from the real one. There was
a time when video games and TV were my means of passing the time on slow,
boring days and if they weren’t available I’d still think about games or scenes
from a show. Since I started writing, my primary way of passing the time has
been daydreaming about my characters and coming up with new scenarios for
chapters.
I have never
been a full-time writer and have always balanced it between a job, school, or
both. However, even when I’m not adding to the story I’m always looking for new
material. I try to incorporate information from classes into the plot and some
of the places I’ve been employed have become settings in a few chapters. The
only days I have time to write are Saturdays and Sundays, but it usually goes
smoothly because I always dive in with new ideas to experiment with.
What would
you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I take the
potential for cosplay into account when coming up with my character’s attire. I’ve
even tried making costumes which I sometimes wear during promotional events.
The most recent was Albuquerque Comic Con when I made my own version of
Flarence’s wrist cannon by knitting an armband and stitching an old brass
doorknob to it. Someday I’m going to replicate Soleil’s toxic poncho.
As a
child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Like a lot of
kids, I had my heart set on being a musician and spent most of my free time
playing guitar. That dream didn’t last because no band I was a part of stayed
together for very long.
Links:
Thanks for
joining me today.
To learn more about Hugh, feel free to visit his other tour stops:
November 4th @ The Muffin
What goes better in the morning than a muffin? Join us as we celebrate the launch of the blog tour for author Hugh Fritz’s book Made to be Broken. Read an interview with the author and win a copy of the book.
November 5th @ Book Santa Fe with Crystal Otto
Crystal Otto shares her thoughts about the first book in the Mystic Rampage Series - Made to be Broken by Hugh Fritz.
November 6th @ World of My Imagination
Learn more about Hugh Fritz and his new book Made to be Broken as he shares a few thoughts in an interesting interview with Nicole Pyles at World of My Imagination.
November 7th @ Bring on Lemons with Carmen Otto
Middle Schooler Carmen Otto raves about the first book in the Mystic Rampage Series – she encourages everyone to read Made to be Broken by Hugh Fritz! Find out more today at Bring on Lemons.
November 8th @ World of My Imagination
Nicole Pyles reviews Made to be Broken by Hugh Fritz – find out what you’re missing and learn about the first book in the Mystic Rampage series – if you love sci-fi you’ll love this book!
November 9th @ World of My Imagination
Learn more about Hugh Fritz and his new book Made to be Broken as he shares a few thoughts in an interesting interview with Nicole Pyles at World of My Imagination.
November 14th @ Look to the Western Sky
Visit Margo's blog today where you can catch today's author spotlight and learn more about Hugh Fritz and his fabulous book Born to be Broken.
November 15th @ Anjanette Speaks
Anjanette Potter interviews Hugh Fritz as well as reviewing his book Made to be Broken – find out more about the first book of the Mystic Rampage series – now available!
November 18th @ Breakeven Books
Today’s Book Spotlight at Breakeven Books is Made to be Broken (first book in the Mystic Rampage Series) by Hugh Fritz – don’t miss this great opportunity to add this exciting new novel to your collection!
November 19th @ To Write or Not To Write
Sreevarsha reviews Made to be Broken by Hugh Fritz and delights readers at To Write or Not To Write with her thoughts about this fast-paced novel – it’s the first book in the Mystic Rampage Series – don’t miss this!
November 20th @ A StoryBook World
Don’t miss today’s publicity post at A Storybook World as readers at Dierdra’s blog are introduced to the first book in the Mystic Rampage Series – you’ll want to run out and get your own copy of Hugh Fritz’s Made to be Broken!
November 21st @ Lisa Haselton Reviews and Interviews
Lisa Haselton interviews Hugh Fritz about the first novel in the Mystic Rampage series, Made to be Broken. Readers will delight in learning more about this science fiction story with intriguing plot and multiple plot twists!
November 22nd @ Look to the Western Sky
Visit Margo's blog today where you can catch today's author spotlight and learn more about Hugh Fritz and his fabulous book Born to be Broken.
November 26th @ Selling Books
Don’t miss today’s author interview with Hugh Fritz as Cathy Stucker finds out more about his latest release Made to be Broken – the first book in the Mystic Rampage series.
November 27th @ Author Anthony Avina
Author Anthony Avina shares his thoughts after reading Made to be Broken by Hugh Fritz – don’t miss this review!
December 2nd @ Bring on Lemons with Tara Forst
Wisconsinite Tara Forst shares her thoughts after reading the first book in the Mystic Rampage Series – find out more in her book review of Born to be Broken by Hugh Fritz.
December 4th @ Author Anthony Avina
Author Anthony Avina interviews Hugh Fritz about Made to be Broken - the first book of the Mystic Rampage series.
2 comments:
Thank you for taking the time to interview me. It was fun to reflect on how this project began and how the process has changed for me over time.
-Hugh
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