Growing up in the small town of Timaru, New Zealand, Christopher Keene broke the family trend of becoming an accountant by becoming a writer instead. While studying for his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Canterbury, he took the school’s creative writing course in the hopes of someday seeing his own book on the shelf in his favorite bookstores.
In his spare time, he writes a blog to share his love of the fantasy and science fiction genres in novels, films, comics, games, and anime.
1.Why storytelling? What made you yearn to tell a good story, and how long was this story within you before it came out?
I wouldn’t say yearning is the right word for it. I’ve always written since I was a kid. Anything that has an ending in my head will eventually come out. It’s just a matter of finding that ending.
2.Without giving any spoilers, what is your favorite thing about this book?
There’s a time traveling warrior who turns into a dragon.
3.If I were stuck in a room with your main character, what would we be doing?
If you knew what he could do, you’d be asking him to summon some kind of cool monster. He would probably warn you how dangerous it could be, but eventually he’d oblige.
4.Everyone has at least one specific challenge that holds them back. What is that challenge in your work and how do you overcome it?
Fatty and sugary foods. To overcome it I have this diet plan where I eat as much of it as I can until O momentarily don’t want to eat it anymore. Then that moment wears off, and I begin again. It’s a vicious cycle.
5.You’re going to go back and visit yourself when you first started writing, at whatever age it was, and you can give yourself one piece of advice. What would it be?
Stop trying to write well. You don’t have skills yet, and you won’t until you’re fed up enough with reject to learn them.
6.Describe your muse.
Writing is my muse. Once I get started, good luck stopping me. It’s starting that’s the problem.
7.If we reach beyond the written word into visual media, and you could choose how your story is consumed, would you want a television show, a movie series, or anime to tell the story of the book and the world it takes place in?
There are some books that would work well as an anime, others that would work well as a film. I think a miniseries like the Gormenghast series would fit this book best.
8.If you are casting your protagonist in a movie, what actor would you choose and why?
Sean Bean as Aisic. Those who have read the book will understand why this is funny.
9.Can we expect an audio book from you, and if you had the ability to choose anyone to narrate it, is there someone in particular you would hire?
I do have an audiobook coming out for my book Stuck in the Game. For this book, I would’ve loved to have it read by Frank Muller when he was still alive, but now I’d probably go for Steven Pacey. That really does characters justice.
10.Do you have any regrets about the story you told? Would you make any changes to its telling or did you capture exactly what you were looking for?
I think this is the first book I had planned from beginning to end and executed it exactly as I envisioned it. Other books I could’ve done better, but no, this one’s pretty on the mark.
11.What are the things you’re most proud of in this book or series?
It ends. As tempted as I am to write a long-winded series, but unless it takes off, the things never ends. So I’m I actually gave this one a decent ending.
12.What element of this story can we expect in your future work?
Maybe I’ll use the summoning magic in steam punk mech world. Demonic spirits running machines and robots. That could be fun.
13.You are forced to pick a fist fight with one of the characters in your book. Who would you choose and why?
The main character at the start of the book, because he couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag.
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Jesse Teller 