Author Interview: Zak Archer
Tell me a bit about yourself. Who are you and what do you write?
Hi! My name is Zak. I write code for a living and I write stories for fun. It seems I’ve done so much writing in the recent years that I’ve managed to write myself into this interview (thank you for the opportunity!). My pen is most comfortable in science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction, but there has to be coffee and sunlight, that is not negotiable.
What’s your favourite genre? Is it the same as the one you write in?
My favorite genre is a story done well. It can be romance, or fantasy, or horror, or anything else. Genres are but the lenses of the writer’s microscope. What matters to me is the object on the slide.
That is how I approach my own writing, too. I certainly borrow some elements of the genre I choose, but otherwise try not to be restricted by it.
What do you do for inspiration?
Read, mostly. I am a terribly slow reader so I choose my books wisely (or so I wish to think). I am yet to have a bad writing session following a good reading.
Inspiration itself can be found in many things. It tends to soak anything done with care and passion, be it a page of writing, a verse in a song, a movie scene, or a video game character. Consequently, one can contract the virus of inspiration if one surrounds themselves with the creative output of others.
How do you approach building your worlds?
I suppose like any aspiring author—with a chock full of enthusiasm and about zero clue. The very first full story I’ve ever written was largely based on a hunch and a fair share of discovery. I’m glad I did it that way. It helped me find my course in the vast ocean of uncertainty and doubt that is writing.
It also made me realize discovery writing wasn’t for me. With my next works, I approached world-building with more care, spending up to half a year on tinkering with the world, geography, languages, religions, beliefs, races, songs, and myriad of other elements that make up any world, real or fictional. It is hard work but it pays off in more ways than one. Once I have a solid picture of the stage, I ready my actors and watch the play unfold.
What comes first? Characters or plot?
I like to think characters are the reason the plot happens in the first place. Thinking back on the books I’ve drafted so far, I always seem to start from an idea for a character that slowly gets entangled in the plot like a fragrant rose lost in a garden of thorns.
What was the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
My pen has been through many scenes and ruthless edits, but nothing comes close to having to write a blurb for your own story. How does one condense the essence of the thing into a few paragraphs and hope to keep its beauty and appeal? I am yet to find the answer to that question.
What’s your favourite/least favourite thing about the writing process?
I like stepping aside and letting my characters speak. I am here only to listen, really, not to interfere. Listen and write. And to be the first one to hear these stories, which I treasure dearly.
As to what I dislike… That would be the well. That deep, lonely well of cold stone where so many voices echo at the bottom, yearning to be heard. It shouldn’t be like that. There are bright minds out there with stories to tell, stories that deserve a chance, not the misery of chasing it. I know firsthand what wonders can happen if someone was to believe in you. I want to see that experience as a norm, not a luxury.
Are you able to share any short snippets from the cutting room floor?
Not a snippet but a funny story, if you would have it.
There is a scene in one of my books where a character and her guards board a ship. It must have been a really long time between that scene and the next chapter to follow it because when that same character arrives at the destination, she steps ashore alone. I always giggle thinking about that scene. The one where negligence managed to slay three men without blinking an eye.
What is your absolute favourite piece of your own writing? Could be a short scene, a bit of dialogue, a character or even the tiniest piece of worldbuilding.
I am extremely critical of what I do, which helps me do it better. As a part of that process, I try not to attach myself to my work so I can stay objective and make choices that would benefit my stories, not myself. So what I will share instead is not something I necessarily consider my favorite writing but rather an excerpt from my book that simply makes me proud:
What had made him pursue music? Had he done it for those who would listen to him or solely for himself? So much struggle for something that hardly mattered.
But then he remembered. It was nothing like that. There was no single moment in time, no traceable thought that had convinced him to do it. In fact, he did not pursue anything. The music was pursuing him. From the first time he had heard the jazz virtuosos play on the radio and until this storm, he had been swept away by the sound of music. It was a fascination too vast to comprehend, like an open ocean that could not be crossed but could be challenged. For in doing so, one challenged themselves, even if that meant surrendering to the current.
What are you promoting at the moment?
If I may, my debut novelette, Loggerheads, is coming out this June and I would like for people to read it.
Loggerheads is a story that follows a married couple stranded in the middle of a storm. Having survived a car crash, they find themselves rescued by an old lighthouse keeper called Amos. He asks them for a favor—to take his lantern to the top of the lighthouse and light it up again. In the dark night like this one, even a little light can make a huge difference.
A book is rarely the product of a single person. When I am promoting it, I am also promoting my wonderful editors, Sarah Chorn and Isabelle Wagner, as well as the Indie Book Spotlight Discord server, which is a haven for all indie authors run by Rebecca Crunden. Please follow these and join these to support more authors and their stories.
If you’d like to be featured in an author interview, just contact me.
