Q: Do you do this full time, or is there a day job that distracts you from focusing on it?
A: When I began writing in Sept 2017, I also had a full time ‘day job’ and wrote late at night after work. In March of 2019 I gave up a 25yr career, salary, benefits, and became a full-time author, thanks to the support of readers and LitRPG/GameLit community members! These days my main distraction is goofing around on social media with readers and fans. And the occasional binge-watching of Firefly or old Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica episodes.
Q: In your own words, how would you describe this story to someone who isn’t already aware of your style as a writer?
A: Battleborne is a mixture of classic fantasy and LitRPG (Literary Role- Playing Game) which is a whole genre of books based on our love of RPGs. The sub-genre is commonly known as Portal Fantasy, as the main character is transported from Earth to another world. One that operates on an RPG basis, meaning the inhabitants have attributes (Strength, Intelligence, Agility) and levels that can be increased to make the character Willmarth - Battleborne 3 more powerful. Max starts out in the new world with nothing but a loincloth and has to use his wits and experience to survive. He must learn about how magic works, how to use melee weapons like clubs, swords and axes. He has to find water, and forage or kill food. It’s a race to grow stronger before he meets a monster that kills him. Max learns spells, a few crafting skills like cooking, alchemy, and blacksmithing, and martial skills as he adventures through the world. He also makes (and loses) friends along the way.
Q: Other than for the massive amount of money and free sex, why do you do this?
A: Hold on, free sex? Nobody mentioned free sex. I feel cheated! I’ve always wanted to be a writer. When I was a small child, maybe 7 or 8, my parents gave me The Hobbit. Master JRR Tolkien transported me into a world of monsters and magic, elves, dwarves, and orcs, and I wanted to live there myself! Growing up I devoured any fantasy and sci-fi I could get my hands on and started writing short stories that I never showed anyone. Real-life intervened, and I spent three decades working regular jobs, occasionally writing a chapter here and there. But I never had the time, or the confidence, to complete a whole book. I spent A LOT of time gaming, playing various MMORPGs with my guildmates through the nights. Then in 2016 I discovered LitRPG books that combined my love of reading with my love of games. I interacted with some of the authors in online groups, and they convinced me to try writing. I was sure that only my family and a few friends would ever read that first book. To my surprise, the community embraced it! I got reviews saying they loved the book and wanted more! That feeling, that high, has kept me writing book after book. Battleborne is my 13th full-length novel in less than three years. The money is great, and it allows me to pay the bills and work at home in my boxers and fuzzy slippers. But the love and adoration of readers, the demands for more books are what motivate me most.
Q: Who, or what is your main character in this story? Describe them to us. (Name, class, etc.)
A: Max Storm is a soldier who is killed in battle, then given a chance at a new life by Hildi the Valkyrie. He is reborn as a Chimera, a mixture of four different races. Two of those are ‘monster’ races. The combination gives him a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. As he learns to navigate his new world, he learns both melee and magical skills, allowing him to fight effectively up close or at range. His actual class, when he achieves it, would be a spoiler! But I will say that like all my books, Battleborne features a good amount of kingdom building. Max is fascinated with learning skills like cooking, which when done right, can provide helpful buffs to himself and his friends. Or Alchemy, which allows him to create health potions and such. And with his monster blood, he occasionally rages out and gets all face-bitey!
Q: What, if anything, do you hope people get out of reading this story?
A: I hope that readers feel the same sense of wonder, get the same feeling of being transported into an exciting new world, that I got when I was discovering fantasy as a kid. I want them to forget that they’re reading, to feel like they’re right there next to Max, fighting monsters and sharing a shot of Firebelly’s Finest.
Q: Do you write in other genres, and if so, which is your favorite?
A: All of my books so far are LitRPG. But they are in different sub-genres. Battleborne is Portal Fantasy. My most successful series, Shadow Sun, is a mixture of Post-Apocalyptic survival, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi. So… elves and orcs fighting with swords and magic in space! My Dark Elf Chronicles is also Post-Apocalyptic, but it involves what is essentially a zombie apocalypse. And Greystone is about playing a full-immersion VR game that has real-world consequences. I think post-apoc is my favorite, because I enjoy imagining how I would survive in a real-world apocalypse. The research and imaginings have turned me into a sort of amateur prepper. And of course, fantasy of any kind is my first love. I enjoy purchasing things like crossbows, swords, and axes that I can hold in my hand, test out how they work. Purely for research purposes, of course.
Q: Who are/were the people that have most influenced your decision to do what you do? Explain.
A: To begin with, great authors like JRR Tolkien, Isaac Asimov, RA Salvatore, CS Lewis, even GRR Martin inspired me with their world building, their master storytelling. I fell in love with, admired, or hated their characters with a passion. More recently, I have to thank some of the LitRPG/GameLit authors who made themselves accessible to a reader and fan, who encouraged me to join them. Busy guys and gals who took time out to answer some noob questions and give advice. They have become my friends, and even though we are technically competitors, we support each other to help grow the genre.
Q: Since we are a gaming focused website, are there any games that you love to play when not writing?
A: I don’t game much anymore, as most of my time goes into writing, editing, marketing, research, all the things they don’t tell you ahead of time that you have to do as an indie author. But I played MMO’s like Warcraft, Elder Scrolls, SWTOR, D&D Online, EQ, etc. since their very first days. I’m nearly fifty years old and have been a gamer since the very first video games like Pong and Tank Battle, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong. My guildies that I met in the early days of WoW have stuck together for more than a decade now. We played all the games, moving from one to another, and remain good friends today. Occasionally we get the gang together and try a new game. One of the great things about writing LitRPG/GameLit books is that I’m basically developing a video game with each one. I’m creating the game world, the visuals, the classes and races, the mechanics and rules. I decide how spells work, what they cost, and how hard they are to learn. I create quests, fill the world with NPCs, and imagine the monsters to fill the dungeons!
Q: Are they are any games you can’t stand? If so, why?
A: I don’t like the Street Fighter type games. No particular reason that I can put my finger on. They just don’t do anything for me. And I’m not a fan of the GTA type games where you just drive/ride through the landscapes n kill stuff.
Q: When not gaming and/or creating, what do you like to do in your free time?
A: I recently adopted a rescue dog, Joey the Miniboss. He’s a mini-wolf, and pretty badass. But he was badly abused as a pup, and never learned to be a dog. He was scared of everything when I got him and would hide from me all day. Over the last several months, we’ve been learning to understand each other, and I’m teaching him how to dog. It takes a lot of time and patience, but the reward is having a new best friend!
Q: Favorite fast food?
A: That’s easy! Taco Bell, baby! Before the cootiebolavirus social distancing, the folks at my local drive-thru knew my face and voice and would greet me by name when I picked up my food. I’m sure they miss me now.
Q: Favorite K-Pop artist (and song)?
A: What’s K-pop? I’m a heavy metal, classic rock, Motown, and 80’s hair band kind of guy.
Q: What is something, not related to creating, that you wish you were better at?
A: Housekeeping. In the general sense, not just cleaning my house. I’m extremely ADD, and an expert level procrastinator. The combination means I constantly forget or put off stuff like doing my taxes, balancing my checkbook, running errands, etc. I live inside my mind A LOT, and the mundane tasks of everyday life bore me. I have to set reminders for everything on my phone calendar, or my life would be a total disaster. I had to set an alarm to complete this interview on time. Also, I wouldn’t mind be better at attracting the ladies…
Q: What is your creating process like?
A: I work in nearly complete silence. There’s already too much going on in my brain, I don’t need the distraction of music, or crowds in a coffee shop, or TV in the background. When I started, I only worked between 10pm and 2am most of the time, with the urban music of gunshots, sirens, and car horns to accompany my thoughts. A couple years ago I moved out to the boonies, got myself a hunk of land with tall trees all around. Now I write to the sounds of birds and frogs. Generally, I work on my sofa, with my feet up, using a laptop. I pour myself a Captain Morgan n coke, take a seat, and get set up. I take a few minutes to review what I’ve most recently written, to make sure my brain is back on the same track. Then I close my eyes, take a few deep breaths, and picture in my mind what the character is doing. Whether that be a complex battle scene with multiple combatants, attack angles, weapons, and points of view… or just walking through a cool forest with sunlight filtering through the canopy. I do a lot of research. Whether it be the mechanics of blacksmithing, the proper length of a two-handed sword, or finding weird real-world creatures that I can modify into fantasy monsters that use their natural abilities. I read about poisons, anatomy, the science of gravity, even the components of bombs. If some government agency is tracking my web searches… I swear it’s all for book research, guys! I tried being a structured writer, with a full book outline established ahead of time. But the little bastards I write never follow the outline, just running off on tangents, taking side quests, doing their own things. Now I just sort of go with the flow, keeping in mind the general direction I want the stories to go.
Q: What are your thoughts on eSports?
A: I’ve watched a few episodes of ELeague, and it was interesting. I don’t generally follow eSports. If I’m not writing, I’d rather be playing the games than watching others play them. But I’m glad my fellow geeks and gamers are able to earn a living doing what we love to do!
Review
In the Battleborne, the initial book in a new series by known LitRPG author Dave Willmarth, we start out exactly like one would expect, or at least in one of the few possible starting points. Career soldier, pinned down with his men, taking heavy fire. Despite his best efforts things don’t work out well for him or his unit. Max is the leader of his squad, and you can tell from the start that he takes his mission and duty to his men seriously - very seriously. After his passing, and that of his men, Max is giving the chance for a fresh start on a new world. In an effort to avoid giving out spoilers, as I truly hate spoilers, I won’t go into too much detail regarding how the story unfolds from here (in this review, but hit me up via social media and we can chat for sure).
I have read Dave’s Greystone Guild Books previously, so am familiar with his work. I enjoyed the Greystone books. However, there was something about the Battleborne story that I felt superseded his previous work, which I will review at some point down the road. The characters are easy to relate to, their goals and, in some cases, their dreams in life are those we can all appreciate. The people of this new world, which are not NPCs by the way, which I think I prefer, are good people - mostly.
Max has a steep learning curve and gets himself into some instances of hot water (as you would expect.) How does he get out of them? Does he even get out of them? Does Max become a wizard, thief, or other class?
From what we know of Dave’s writing in his other stories we have high expectations on anything he puts out there for our consumption. I would say personally, he exceeded those expectations for me in this book. I will probably enjoy the next book I read less, since it won’t be the follow up to this story, but that is the risk we take when we travel through the worlds of other people’s creations, to bastardize a quote from Willy Wonka.
Recommendation
Read this book. Support this author, so we have more works from him down the line. If you wish to discuss this, or anything else, feel free to reach out to me directly on social media!
