Author Interview ~ Wayne Batson

Wayne Thomas Batson graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park and received his first graduate degree in Counseling. He has continued his studies with 36 credit hours of graduate-level Reading courses, and has spent the last fifteen years teaching Reading and English to middle schools students. He lives in Eldersburg with his beautiful wife of twelve years and his four wonderful young children.

The Door Within, Batson’s first novel length work in publication, has received favorable reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, Aspiring Retail, Armchair Reviews, FaceOut Books, Mybookshelf.com, and popular author/speaker Josh McDowell. Rise of the Wyrm Lord is the second book of an epic fantasy trilogy for readers 10 thru adult.

If you’d like to know more about Wayne and his books visit: www.thedoorwithin.com

Interview by Kelly Klepfer

What book or project is coming out or has come out that you’d like to tell us about?

The Final Storm releases nationwide by September 5th. This is the end of The Door Within Trilogy, and definitely the most powerful of the three books. In it readers will see Paragor’s ultimate push to take King Eliam’s crown. Readers will witness the catastrophic power of the Wyrm Lord and the Seven Sleepers. And…readers will be reunited with a surprise old friend!

Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head.

I’ve been writing since the 6th grade—won a Halloween Short Story contest, and they gave me chocolate! The connection was made: good writing=chocolate. There I knew I wanted to write.

After that I did very little fiction until years later, 1993 as a 6th grade Language Arts Teacher myself, I sponsored a short story writing contest for my students. Funny how things come full circle, isn’t it? My students challenged me: “Mr. Batson, you make us do this work. Why don’t you write a story?” So, I did.

Year after year my students helped shape The Door Within from the 17 page short story handwritten in green ink on looseleaf to a 180 page manuscript in 2001. In 2001 I tried to get the book published by sending it out myself. But I didn’t have a clue. First the manuscript still wasn’t where it needed to be artistically, and second I didn’t understand how publishing houses depend on agents.

Summer of 2004 after contracting with my agent Gregg Wooding, we traveled to a writer’s convention in Atlanta. There we met with 11-12 publishing houses. Thomas Nelson showed immediate interest.

But it wasn’t until November of 2004 that I actually got the call to say, “We’d like to offer you a contract for The Door Within.” I was in my kitchen. My agent called, and said “Wayne, are you sitting down? Thomas Nelson wants not just The Door Within, but all three books of your trilogy AND they want to put them out in hardcover!” The thought that went through my head was, “Thank you, God, for not giving up on me.”

My wife had just come up the basement stairs, and I told her the news. She broke down into hysterical tears. All I could do was hug her.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I’m 37, married to a phenomenal RN, father of four bright young children. I teach middle school Reading in Howard County, Maryland. In my spare time…

I dabble in 3D art, play electric guitar, golf, PS2, and of course, I read voraciously. I’m addicted to nachos in all of their cheesy goodness and find myself more than a little annoyed at restaurants who serve nachos and do not obey The Moundage Principle.

I surfed to your site and found out that you must love teens...share some thoughts about teenagers.

Tweens and teens, really. By God’s grace I have NOT forgotten what it was like when I clawed my way through the 11-17 corridor. And as a teacher, I am reminded of it everyday. Once kids enter middle school, it’s like they leave the kind world behind and enter a place that is full of danger and cruelty—much of it self-inflicted. We adults sometimes forget the enormity of what they experience, the level of emotion, and the intellect.


Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?
I don’t doubt the ideas. The story concepts that pop into my head are very cool, but where I really doubt is in the area of my written craft. I have so much to learn, and I read so many authors who are artistically WAY beyond my scope. I’m in awe of the language used by authors like Cornelia Funke and of course Tolkien. I also doubt my ability to meet deadlines. I’m a full time teacher. I’m a father of four wonderful young children. I lead a Bible study. So as much as I want to write, I find myself staring at a relentless calendar. Trouble is, I don’t want to just get by in ANY of those areas. I absolutely HAVE to excel. A lot rides on every single endeavor.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication?

Sending out the manuscript before it was ready. If an editor looks at your work and it’s not there, they may never look at your work again. The other thing was not having an agent to begin with. Aspiring writers, repeat after me: “I will get an agent. Publisher do not read work submitted unless it comes through an agent.” LOL There are a few who get away with it, but very few.

What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?

It wasn’t so much one piece of advice, but I consider a Graduate level poetry class to be a turning point in my skills. This wonderful, critical teacher, Kathy Mangan taught me the importance of using active verbs, concrete nouns, and imagery. My writing began to change for the better during her class.

What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve heard?

I actually had an editor in 1994 tell me that if I want to write for kids that I needed to dumb down my writing. I was a good thing that I taught middle school kids and knew better. But I think back then, the prePotter days, that this was the prevailing attitude in kids fiction. Hogwash, I say. Kids are thinkers, and more than that, they are still honest enough to ask the big questions and listen to the answers.


What inspires your creativity?

Ideas come at me everywhere. Often during praise music in church, I’ll get an idea for a poem or a story. I listen to a seriously eclectic mix of music, but my favorite is Progressive Metal. Bands like Dream Theater, Fly Leaf, Angra, and The Orphan Project conjure up an incredible, crunchy brand of symphonic music that sends my imagination spinning.

The biggest spark of creativity comes from my constant asking of “What if?” Most of my concepts come from taking regular life and putting the “What if?” spin on it. For example: A story about raking leaves one fall in the backyard wouldn’t thrill the average reader. But WHAT IF while raking the leaves, you uncovered a trap door that hadn’t been there before? Or maybe there are skeletal remains beneath the leaves. Or maybe the leaves begin to swirl on their own and form a face. You get the idea.


When you sit down to write and get lost -hit the sweet spot- can you describe what takes over your fingers and silences the inner editor?

When I’m in the zone, hit the sweet spot, on a roll—when the pages are flying, it’s usually when my mind goes to the movies. Literally, I start to see scenes unfold in my mind like I’m watching a flick on the big screen. I see everything, from the nervous expression on the heroine’s face to the dark force lurking around the corner. It all comes in a rush, and my fingers can hardly type fast enough to keep up with the ideas. I use sticky notes all the time to quickly scrawl down those blessed rushes of ideas as they come. I guess that’s why my writing area looks like a Technicolor blizzard just hit.

When I wrote the scene where Aidan (DW’s protagonist) enters Falon’s Labyrinth, the whole chapter just flooded into my mind. My fingers scorched the keyboard—they really ought to make Teflon keypads, y’know—and the scene just exploded into reality. It’s still one of my favorite scenes. I guarantee you Falon’s Labyrinth offers a surprise that no one will see coming!


What’s something you wish you’d known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?

The agent thing is one. The other is I wish I’d known how important it is to hook the reader early. Tommy Nelson lopped off my first four chapters of The Door Within simply because it was too much character development and not enough HOOK. Hook ‘em first---then you can clue them in on the other stuff.

Do you have a scripture or quote that has been speaking to you lately?

2Corinthians 7-18: Powerful stuff. “We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair…” That is so where I am right now. Life has taken a few unexpected turns for me and my family. I don’t understand it, but I know He does. I need to trust in things unseen and remember His faithfulness.

Is there a particularly difficult set back that you’ve gone through in your writing career you are willing to share?

Missing my deadline for The Final Storm. That was hard. The book just ballooned on me. What was supposed to be an even 300 pages went to something like 375. So much had to be cut. This was a terribly hard time because it was during my Christmas break, and I felt horrible having to take time from my family.

What are a few of your favorite books? (Not written by you.)

Tolkien’s LOTR, Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart, anything by thriller writers Doug Preston and Lincoln Child.

Spiritually speaking - what has curled your toes and rocked your world lately? Any impact on your writing?

Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness was my first experience with Christian fiction. And it really curled my toes. Made me want to spend every waking hour praying, for I actually had images in my mind of the spiritual battle being fought. In a way, you might say that inspired my writing of the DW Trilogy. For, I too wanted to make people wonder if there might be more going on than what we see before our eyes.

I’ve also been rereading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. I’ve been profoundly impacted by the section where Lewis talks about people vain search for “that mysterious something.” As Lewis explains, we are all trying to quench our thirst for Heaven with something material and fleeting. It just won’t work. None of us will ever be truly satisfied until we leave this world. Of course, that’s not to say that we cannot experience tastes of Heaven here on earth. Every chance we get to serve God offers us a taste. But there is much much more to come.


What books have you read lately that you do or don’t love and why?

Disappointment – A YA title that started off with a compelling premise but went south in a hurry. And for a YA title, I thought the violence was way too intimate. That may be unclear. I don’t mean everpresent or even gratuitous violence. I mean intimate, violence of a sort that troubles you—atrocity kind of violence. I read the scene twice because I just couldn’t believe what was in there.

I was extremely impressed by Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart and Inkspell. Funke’s creativity is just mind-blowing. I still can’t believe she writes all of her novels in German. The language is so beautiful in the English translation.


What piece of writing have you done that you’re particularly proud of and why?

The ending of The Final Storm. I promised big things in the first two books. I couldn’t fathom the prospects of falling short at the end. I SO wanted to have the end provide that perfect mix of satisfaction, action, and melancholy. Some of the early reviews say I’ve done just that. If so, thank you God.

Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

Pet Peeve #1: The deadlines are crazy! #2 I hate having to do all the little things that go along with the book like synopsis, summary, teaser blurbs, press releases—there are just an endless number of little things that you have to do, and many times, they all come due while you are feverishly trying to complete a set of edits!

Can you give us a view into a typical day of your writing life?

I’m weird, but then again, I guess you already know that. But I don’t have a set schedule. I’m not like Stephen King who writes ten pages a day EVERY day. I teach all day, try to be a Dad and Husband when I get home, and then write when the kids are asleep. Good thing I’m a night owl.

If you could choose to have one strength of another writer, what would it be and from whom?

I’d like to have God’s ability to create something from nothing. Lol. Really, I have more book ideas than I know what to do with—going on 18-20 book concepts that I think are solid. But finding the time to write them all—now that’s hard.

I love Stephen King’s use of active verbs. I love Peretti’s grasp of the spirit world, I love CS Lewis’s incredible way of weeding through distractions to capture life in such marvelously compelling language. I love Mildred Taylor’s vocabulary and Preston and Child’s creepiness.

Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?

After the Isle of Swords pirate series, I want to work on another fantasy. But this one is something on a massively epic scale, a life’s work kind of thing. I’ve been working at it on the backburner for some months now, and it keeps getting bigger and more interesting all the time.

Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?

Never thought of quitting but almost did by complacency. There were some years where I became too content with letting the manuscript lay dormant, all the while telling people, “Yeah, I’m working on a book.” I became lazy and apathetic. God was very patient with me.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?

My favorite part bar none is doing public readings of my stories. I do accents and dramatic voices—really getting into character! I love reading my stories to kids and watching them react.

My least favorite is having to write, edit, and promote all at the same time.

How much marketing do you do? Any advice in this area?

TONS. I assault the blogs and websites that cater to my audience. I do “drive by” booksignings all over. I visit schools, travel to conventions, do press interviews. My advice: do all of the above and always look for new ways to get the word out about your book. I don’t mean stapling a flyer of your book to the neighbor’s cat, but almost anything else!

Parting words?

To the kids: Ask the big questions. Look beyond The Door Within. There are answers for those honest enough to see.