Here at Olympia we love hearing from our authors, getting an insight into their lives in writing and asking them what their advice would be to future authors. This week we had the pleasure of interviewing Kenneth Hillyard about his book!
We noticed a clear theme of fantasy in your book, where did your love of fantasy and dragons stem from?
I have always had a vivid imagination and love to make up stories. For the past 30 years, those stories have been for my children, in fact, chapter 1 of this book was originally a bedtime story I would tell to my daughter. My daughter originally suggested I put a dragon into the story!
We understand you work in archaeology; how did you go from this to writing?
I have always been a writer, first for a local newspaper and later short stories for magazines.Of course, archaeology requires a tremendous amount of research and writing as well.
Where did you write?
The bulk of the book was written during a 22-month hospital stay; I had a lot of time on my hands!
Are you planning on writing any more books?
Isabel and The Dragon Queen does not “end”, and I have already begun working on book number 2.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Keep at it!Do your research on what publishers are looking for and what they require of their authors.Write what you know and be sure to capture the “voice” of the characters correctly…and avoid clichés.Most importantly, remain true to yourself.
How have you found your experience so far with Olympia Publishers?
Frustrating. In the end everything worked out, but there were a lot of bumps along the way.
