Today, I’m interviewing Andy Peloquin who is preparing to launch is next book , Lament of the Fallen. I hope you enjoy our interview about writing and success!
Hi, Andy!
We are so happy to have you here on TMU! Let’s get right into it.
So, what exactly inspired you to be a writer?
I’ve always had a very active imagination! I remember reading and listening to stories, and thinking, “I wish I could do that.” As a child, I would make up stories to tell my younger brother and his friends, and it was such a rush to see people sitting spellbound as I wove them crazy, fantastical stories.
I come from a very creative and artistic family, yet I had no skill at the more visible forms of art (drawing, painting, etc.). Being a very “internal” person, I never excelled at the showier things. But finding I was able to sit alone and paint pictures with my words, that was a discovery that opened up a whole new world to me.
How do you find the inspiration and motivation to run a blog, write books, and have a writing service? What keeps you going?
I LOVE telling stories! I love hearing people say, “Oh my god! I loved X element or X plot twist!” For me, being able to do that is such a joy, and I’ve never been happier.
But I’m also a pragmatist. I know it takes a lot of hard work to succeed as an author. Even if I only get that happiness of creating 10% of the time, I can force myself to do the “hard work” the rest of the time.
Speaking of hard work, what is the best and worst writing advice you have received and why?
Best: Keep working! Even when your book doesn’t sell, you don’t seem to have anyone interested in your writing, and you’re sick of editing, keep it up. That’s the only way to get through to the other side.
I can’t say I’ve gotten any terrible writing advice–or at least none I can remember. If so, I’ve conveniently forgotten it!
That’s Good! What is something that you wish someone told you about writing and life?
I do wish someone had told me how hard it would be to achieve any modicum of success in this business. Most new 
writers have no idea how difficult it is to find your readers, make your books visible, build a following, find an agent/publisher, edit your books, and do all those 1001 other tasks that go into being a successful writer. Had someone told me how difficult it was, I would have approached the writing/publishing process differently. I would have taken my time with my first book rather than rushing to self-publish it and start being visible. Writing a REALLY GOOD first novel is an important step to success. Thankfully, I believe Blade of the Destroyer (Book 1 in The Last Bucelarii series) is that REALLY GOOD first novel.
That’s awesome! There are almost no magic formulas for success but there are markers. So besides writing a really good first book, what are some other things that you feel make you successful?
I don’t know if I could truly call myself successful yet, but I believe I’m doing everything I can to put myself in the right position for success. It’s going to be a combination of hard work, becoming as much of an expert as I can, and a whole lot of luck.
Can you tell us about your latest book?
Lament of the Fallen is the second book in my The Last Bucelarii series, following the Hunter, a half-demon assassin with a cursed dagger and a demonic voice in his head that drives him to kill. It continues soon after the events of Blade of the Destroyer, and finds the Hunter on the road away from the city he has called home for so many years. After everything he suffered in Book 1, he is trying to leave behind the pain of the familiar, as well as seek out answers into his forgotten past.
Where Blade of the Destroyer was heavy on action, Lament of the Fallen takes you in much closer to the Hunter’s head, his thoughts and feelings, and the things he struggles with. It brings you into the mind of a killer and gives you a look at what drives someone to take lives.
Where can we find you and your books?
Book Launch Event:
thoughtfulmindsunited.com 