Please give a warm welcome to Zax Vagen, author of Finding the Soul Bridge.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you’re currently working on or promoting.
I am a diverse character with many talents. When I was just a young boy, my father told me that I could be anything that I chose to be. I misunderstood his meaning as; “You can be everything.” Now I am just a plumber… and and electrician… and I own and run three small businesses, P.S Plumbing services, Renewable energy products and GreenEarth WormFarms. I’m also a boat captain, a scuba diving instructor, a real estate investor, a snake wrangler and shark diver extraordinaire… I write fantasy, scifi, motivation and romance. I have built a ship, been shipwrecked, gone bankrupt, restarted, patented inventions, started a new industry, written and published a novel, acted in five movies and planted more than 1000 trees.
What genre is your book? Do you write in other genres as well?
My book Finding the Soul Bridge is epic fantasy. I’m currently working on the sequel Soulstone of the druid and two scifi books about near earth space travel. Im also doing my biography and a DIY book about renewable energy.
Who or what inspires you?
Wow there are a lot of people; Steve Jobs, Nicola Tesla, Elon Musk, Albert Einstein, Richard Hawkins and Eminem.
Do you have an agent and/or publisher or are you self-published? If self-published, do you use a professional editor? If traditionally published, who is your publisher?
I am an indie author and no, my brother Joshua does an awesome editing job.
Do you outline your stories or just go with the flow?
I usually write the ending first and then I do the beginning and then I jump around filling gaps in-between until the story works. That’s the first draft, then I read a book about writing and editing and then I do the second draft.
What does your writing space look like?
I do most of my writing on an iPhone, so I find good scenery or a good coffee shop and just wing a few hundred words while I wait for someone.
Do you have any writing rituals or interesting writing quirks?
Yes, I can’t spell, auto-correct is my worst enema.
What are your three favorite books including the authors?
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Rage of a Demon King by Ramond E. Feist, and Ouma Shortie’s baking book by Hendrina Jacobs.
Is being an author your dream job? If so, how long have you been chasing the dream? If not, what would be your dream job?
Yes it’s my dream job, I’ve been chasing this dream since I was in grade four when I watched my teacher salivate over an essay I wrote.
Is there a message in your book(s) that you want readers to grasp?
Yes, I wanted to write a motivational book that reads like a fantasy book. I definitely got the fantasy part right. There are some gems in the words here and there.
What do you do to stay sane as a writer?
I think I lost the “stay sane battle” years ago, I won a prize when I was 17; “The mad scientist award” and my family refers to me (lovingly) as “the mad one” Don’t try to be normal, everyone else is doing that already.
Do you read your reviews and if so, how do you cope with a bad one?
I read and post all my reviews. I haven’t needed to cope with bad reviews yet.
Has reading a book ever changed your life? Which one and why, if yes?
Snakes of Southern Africa by Bill Branch. Without the knowledge that I gleaned from that book I would be dead.
If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?
Biography of a Madman.
You can find Zax on Facebook, Amazon, and ScienceBlog.