Blog Tour: An interview with Aristeia author Wayne Basta!

Wayne Basta

Today I'll be interviewing Wayne Basta, author of Aristeia: Revolutionary Right and Aristeia: A Little Rebellion, which just got released on June 1st. Wayne is on a blog tour in honor of his latest novel release and Gossip Diet is one of his stops. I'm excited about this, and I hope you are too.

Has someone been instrumental in inspiring you as a writer?

Inspiring me as a writer? Aside from the writer of every good book I've read not really. There are a lot of people who have instrumental in me becoming a writer. First, my Dad for introducing me to science fiction. And then my wife for backing me in this endeavour despite the loss of one income. There's also many people on the internet, particularly some webcomics, who took that plunge to pursue their dream careers.

If you could select one book that you could rewrite and add your own unique twist on, which book would that be and why?

None. Any book I've liked there's nothing about them that I would change. They may have some flaws, but everything does. If I were to mess with them, I know I'd ultimately ruin their greatness. There are plenty of books I haven't liked that could stand to be rewritten, but if I didn't like a book I tend to forget about it.  

Now, there are quite a few movies and tv shows I'd love to redo.

Do you have any special routines or rituals?

Depends on what you mean by special :-). For my writing, I don't like big outlines, they just don't work for me. The story needs to be able to evolve naturally. But I do find it helpful to do a daily outline for what I'm going to write during a particular day.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I've watched, and enjoyed the entire series of the Sopranos but I've never seen the Godfather.

Say your publisher has offered to fly you anywhere in the world to do research on an upcoming book, where would you most likely want to go?

Caribbean.  One idea for my next series is a fantasy pirate adventure. So naturally I would need to visit a lot of tropical beaches. For research.

Does your significant other read your stuff?

Sometimes. She read my first novel and critiqued it. But when I was ready for her to read the second one she was 8 months pregnant and a little distracted.

Do you listen to music while writing? If so what?

Depends on my mood and the scene I'm working on. Sometimes I just want some good classic rock or some 80's/90's music that I grew up with in the back ground, other times I want a good exciting film score to help move an action scene along. But I often write in silence to help myself stay focused.

What are the most important attributes for remaining sane as a writer?

Accept the fact that you're going to have to throw a lot of your work away. It can be tough to do, especially if it's something you've put a lot of time and effort in. But if it's not working, it's not working and sometimes the only way to fix it is to start from scratch.

 About Aristeia: A Little Rebellion

Unlike her brother, Saracasi Ocaitchi has always known that her loyalties belong to the ideals of freedom and democracy, not the government of the Alliance, and that protecting those ideals would require a fight. But now that the rebellion she has dreamed about has finally begun, she must come to terms with what that truly means: for herself, for her brother, and for all of the people who will die in the coming war.

Purchase Aristeia

Aristeia: Revolutionary Right: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo
Aristeia: A Little Rebellion: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo