What if the person you were meant to love existed in a world y
ou were never supposed to find?
I'm plasrd to welcome author Gerard Stahl to The Writing Desk:
Tell us about your latest book.
At its core, Tides of Renderis: Forged Slumber is about five individuals who have created a family of their own. When I started developing this series, I wanted to create characters readers would genuinely want to spend time with. Characters you'd want to call on the phone, invite over for dinner, or have by your side when life gets a little crazy. I wanted them to feel like real people, even though the world I've thrown them into is anything but ordinary!
Set in the quaint coastal town of Cobalt Cove, Forged Slumber introduces readers to a group of friends whose lives become entangled in a supernatural mystery involving another realm, dark magic, and secrets that challenge everything they thought they knew. From the opening line, "I fell in love with someone I never met," to the mysterious words, "Someone forged his slumber," there are clues and twists waiting to be discovered.
There's also a love story at the heart of it all. I'm a sucker for a good slow-burn romance! Ultimately, I wanted readers to come for the mystery and magic but stay because they've fallen in love with the characters.
What is your preferred writing routine?
I'm a part-time writer, although sometimes I feel like I'm writing all day! I've been an English Language Arts teacher for more than 25 years, helping elementary school students develop a love of reading and writing.
My own creative writing usually happens at night, after I've finished my teaching responsibilities and settled in at home. I've never considered teaching a hindrance to being an author. Quite the opposite, actually! During the school day, I'm constantly surrounded by stories, creativity, and young imaginations. My students inspire me to think differently, and sometimes their enthusiasm for storytelling sparks ideas of my own.
Once that final school bell rings, it's my turn to put those creative muscles to work. I think teaching is the perfect companion career for an indie author. At least, it certainly has been for me!
What advice do you have for new writers?
I would tell aspiring authors that the key to good writing is getting there. Don't rush an ending just because you're excited to reach it. All the things that happen along the way are the heart of the story.
Those quieter conversations, unexpected friendships, difficult decisions, and little moments of growth are what make readers care about your characters. You can write the biggest, most spectacular ending imaginable, but if readers haven't connected with the people experiencing it, that ending won't have nearly the same impact.
Give your characters room to grow, make mistakes, and surprise you. When you finally reach that big ending, you want it to mean something.
What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?
I think the best way to answer that question is with one word: perseverance. The writing is the easy part. Finding your audience presents a challenge, but it isn't an impossible feat if you're willing to persevere.
I've always been a visual learner, so I take the time to create imagery and even videos that help convey what my stories are about. I share them across various social media platforms in the hope that they'll reach the right readers. I'm constantly experimenting with different ways to bring my stories to life beyond the pages of a book.
I also firmly believe in the power of word of mouth. Everyone knows somebody who knows somebody! I'm proud of my work, and I'm certainly not shy about talking about it. I think that enthusiasm is important, especially as an independent author. You have to believe in what you've created and be willing to keep putting it out into the world.
Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research.
My answer might be a little unexpected, but I'd have to say love. We love our fellow human beings, places, experiences, and so many other things in life. What I didn't expect was to discover an entirely new level of love for my creative process once I hit that publish button and sent my book out into the world.
I loved my book from the very beginning. After all, I spent years creating its world and developing its characters. But what surprised me most was hearing why other people loved it, too. Sometimes readers connect with characters or moments in ways I hadn't even considered.
As a writer, you can spend so much time trapped inside your own head, building worlds and creating characters that feel incredibly real to you. There's something wonderful about finally opening that door, inviting other people inside, and hearing what they have to say. That has been one of the most unexpected and rewarding parts of this entire experience.
What was the hardest scene you remember writing?
What a challenging but welcome question! I don't want to give too much away, but there is a scene in my book that required me to place a character in two different realms at once.
This character possesses certain core qualities that remain consistent across both realms, but their behavior and personality are distinctly different in each one. They also have a task to carry out in both realms, and each task directly affects another character's life.
The challenge was balancing the positive and negative aspects of this character's personality while making sure everything remained consistent with the larger story. I had to consider how their actions in one realm would affect events in the other without disrupting the continuity of the narrative.
It was definitely one of the more challenging scenes I've written, but I think I accomplished what I set out to do. And I'll leave readers with one little hint: this character is both young and old across the two realms. Make of that what you will!
What are you planning to write next?
Book two of my Tides of Renderis trilogy, Forged Realities, is pretty much ready to go! Book three, Forged Sunder, is also completely written, although I recently decided to revisit its final story arc. I'm spending some time reworking a few elements because I want the conclusion of the trilogy to feel earned and give these characters the ending they deserve.
It's strange and exciting to be this far into a world that existed only in my imagination for so many years. Forged Slumber introduced readers to these characters and their world, but their story is far from over. There are still plenty of secrets to uncover, relationships to explore, and surprises waiting for readers.
And believe me, these characters still have quite a journey ahead of them!
Gerard Stahl
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About the Author
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