Featured Interview With Dakota McElhinny
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Well, I was born in Columbus, Ohio (Go Buckeyes!); but when I turned ten, my family and I moved to Morganton, North Carolina. Growing up in both places, I gained the perspectives of the ‘bustling city life’ and ‘rural country life’. I loved living in both places; they’re both home to me.
I live in South Carolina now. I went to college at North Greenville University, gaining my Bachelor of Science degree in Sport Management. I met my wife at NGU, so I stayed in South Carolina. We live in central South Carolina, but it’s nice being not too far from Charleston because I enjoy the area.
I have two dogs. The first is a Maltese/Husky mix, which my wife was given, and she really wanted to name him Gimli because he was always going to be a small dog. Gimli has definitely lived up to his name though, being a small but loyal dog; and he’s super protective of my wife and daughter. Our second dog is a chocolate lab, and it was my turn to pick the name, so I went with Strider. Both dogs love each other and get along really well, though it took Gimli a moment because he was spoiled rotten before Strider joined the family.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was always fascinated with books. I don’t think there was ever a moment, when I picked up a book and was like, ‘Woah! I love books!’. Most of that is because my mother was a librarian, so books were part of my life at a young age. In first and second grade, I can remember my teacher having us do book contests; the concept was to see how many books you could read over a period of time, usually two weeks. Most students would come back with twenty to forty books read, but I would come back with sixty to seventy because all I did was read.
Fun fact, when I was in the sixth grade, my teacher had us take a test; the test was to see where we were with our different classes. Most of my tests came back average, except English which came back placing me at an 11th grade level; that was definitely an encouraging moment for me.
Ironically, the summer before sixth grade. I was starting a new school, and they wanted me to write in cursive, but my cursive writing was horrid. So I did what any child would do *laughs*, I sat down at wrote short stories. The discipline I have always had for writing, even at the young age, is kind of crazy because no one forced me to sit and write; I did it to do it.
My early writing included a lot of western cowboys and medieval knights short stories. Another theme that I dabbled in was super heroes, and I would take those super hero stories to school and I would read them to my friends at lunch. They enjoyed the goofy, quirky stories, and all of them wanted to be included in my stories; so at lunch time during sixth grade, I always had a new short story involving my friends. The joy they had from my writing, mixed with my own love for writing, really propelled me into wanting to be an author.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
When I hit seventh grade, I read two different pieces that would influence me for life. I read Alexander Lloyd’s The Book of Three and I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was definitely blown away by both. I read Lloyd’s work first, and I was intrigued by how he created a fantasy world. Then I read Tolkien’s work, and I knew I wanted to be a fantasy author; so I began focusing less on western cowboys and super heroes, and more on my passion of fantasy.
Entering my sophomore year of high school, I began reading Robert E. Howard’s Conan series, and I loved his descriptive writing nature. It paints an image in your mind, and it’s almost like you’re there watching it unfold. Lastly, when I was in my final semester of college, I read Rowling’s Harry Potter series; I was addicted to them, reading the books in all my spare time. I love how she takes something big, and perhaps complex, and she makes it fun and not complex.
Inspiration? I don’t know. I know I always wanted to be an author and write. When I was young, my parents and best friend encouraged me; I kept my writing a secret because I was nervous about critiquing and what not. I knew I was a decent writer, but I wanted to be better, and I wanted to hone my craft, before I let everyone read.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book would be, The Realm: Rise of the Demon Prince, and it’s the second book in The Realm Trilogy. The first book, The Realm, was published in 2016 and the second book was published in September of 2017.
With the first book, it was all about introducing the characters, having them play off one another, and creating their world for he reader. The Realm is about a wizard, Telezzar, and his four unlikely companions: Dar Caine the Malobathron Giant Prince, Troy Red-Dragon an elf of the paladin order, Leda a dwarf and ranger, and the happy go-lucky Lars the leprechaun who is a fisherman. Their journey takes them all over the realm, as they find themselves battling spidermites, meeting Odie the gneiss who is a rock creature, and taking up the task of finding the precious metal electrum.
The Realm: Rise of the Demon Prince builds on The Realm. I had written the first drafts of the second book in 2013 and 2014, but when I sat down to write the final version, I found the drafts repulsive. I decided to use some of the original draft outlines and ideas though, but over the course of six months, I wrote a brand new book draft. Writing the second book, it was so much fun, and I really enjoyed it.
The second book is split into two parts. Part one focuses on the companions’ journeys to find electrum on the Plain of Zinzinc, a snowy, winter plain, and the Plain of Delirus, a sickly, warped plain. There’s unusual peril in both adventures, and if the companions don’t keep a quick wit about themselves, things could turn deadly. Mixed with the high tensity, there is some sobering moments, as the companions open up themselves revealing more of their pasts. That was an important aspect of this book, I wanted the characters to be flawed and have their own troubles; no one is perfect, and it was important to me to make realistic characters, who understand hope and pain.
Part two of The Realm: Rise of the Demon Prince focuses on more secondary characters, that you meet in the first book. Part two takes place solely on the Plain of Prixem, where all the main characters are from. There is also a chapter in part two revolving around the antagonist, Dentar the Demon Prince.
To me, providing a backstory for my antagonist and showing how he thinks, is instrumentally important. Why have a bad guy and never talk about him? He’s the villain, yes, but what motivates him? I answer some of that in his solo chapter in The Realm, but I go more in-depth in the second book about his motivation and wishes. I think it makes him more haunting and threatening; it shows how he is cruel, conniving, and manipulative, but he has feelings and his feelings drive him to fill a certain void in his life. I do have a plot twist in mind for book three, involving why he came to Prixem, and I think it’s brilliant and I am really excited for readers to find that out.
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