Featured Interview With Reginald Andah
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello, and thank you for taking interest in my creative work! I always had a goal to create a story people could relate to as well as convey a heartfelt message about the world we live in today. Thanks to your support, I'm able to accomplish that goal one step at a time. For a little bit about my background, I was born and raised in Houston, TX. I've traveled outside of state before but still reside there. If you read my author bio, you will see I was given quite the responsibility at a young age while trying to fight my own hardships. However, thanks to those experiences, I've been able to find deeper meaning in the life I live which led me to storytelling.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Since I learned to read when I was a kid, I was interested in a wide range of books. I read stories from Dr. Seus, R.L. Stine, and Cynthia Voigt just to name a few. My passion for reading dwindled as my personal life became harder going into my pre-teens. However, the reading aspect turned into writing where I expressed things I was going through by either writing in a journal or doing poetry. Thanks to the influence of some of my childhood friends, I incorporated what I expressed through my journal entries and poems into rap. I never knew I would actually do anything with it, but the rapping eventually turned to music when I entered adulthood as an outlet for my emotions. Thanks to that, I translated those emotions by putting a piece of myself into each character I write for my stories. Also, my music is influenced by hip-hop beats inspired by raps I made, and instrumentals I developed over the years. I have even made a soundtrack for my book titled "A New Dawn" for readers to listen to as they engage with the narrative with tracks full of orchestral instrumentals and some hip-hop influence.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Favorite authors for me are hard to narrow down. My inspiration comes from all types of media and is influenced by a plethora of individuals. However, I will say, the most influential authors and pieces that have changed how I write today would be Dan Brown "The Davinci Code", Lois Lowry "The Giver", Masashi Kishimoto (Manga novelist/artist creator) "Death Note", Tsugumi Ohba (Manga novelist) "Death Note", and last but definitely not least the Bible. Expressing biblical morals and philosophy through fictional stories in a way where people can relate is what really inspires my writing. However, as you can see, I don't limit my inspiration solely to scripture. Everyone has a beautiful story to tell despite the type of media it stems from. After all, God chose sinners in The Bible since we are all sinners. Therefore, people tend to relate to the broken character because we are all flawed and wish to change something about our lives or ourselves. Character development is something we all go through in our individual lives whether we achieve what we strive to pursue or not. That's why I personally love redemption stories, plots that inspire hope, or narratives that challenge people's perception of reality for the better. Hence, why I chose the authors and their respective pieces. My favorite genre to read usually is science fiction because I believe the potential for storytelling is endless. However, I also enjoy any story as long as it's a good one that will keep me engaged (unless it's too dark).
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book "A New Dawn" is a book that can be put into different categories. Some may read it and see it as a romance between the two characters Xander and Leona. Others may read it and see it as a mystery/ thriller warning us of things to come in our society. Another group may get excited by both the futuristic and old concepts incorporated into the narrative that clash in descriptive scenes to create action-packed adventures. I see it as a science fiction story weaving in biblical concepts to make humanity aware of the dangerous path our society is headed toward. However you see this narrative, it is my greatest hope that each reader is able to get something out of it and that the story challenges them to take a deeper look at the world we live in.
It took me a little under a year to write the first part of this story. Xander Williams, the main character, strives to do the right thing, although the darkness plaguing the world makes being righteous extremely difficult. The main female protagonist, Leona, is a strong, independent individual who carries a hard responsibility as one of the top soldiers and a burden greater than most people are aware of. Both of these characters act as foundations for each other as they try to navigate the post-apocalyptic world. Throughout their journey, they find other characters who are willing to aid them in the fight to take back planet earth from vile beings. Three support characters in particular become like family to them as they strive toward defeating the enemy. However, each character introduced is an integral part of the story in some shape or form. Though some people today may have forgotten, every person matters and is connected to another in some way. This is one of the many concepts I also tried to convey throughout the story.
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