Author Interview: Daniel Swenson

Who are you?

To answer who I am would take more time that we reasonably have.  I am a walking cliché because of the fact that I am a Redhead stepchild. I was teased in high school as I was one of those geeks that use to wander the hall and rarely talked to anyone at least until my Junior year then that all changed. But even back then I would craft stories for games or for fun. Fast forward several years and I live in my home with my wife and kids, all of us are redheads. So yes we always get weird looks from people because you only see one or two redheads not a whole family of them. Yes we have been called the Weasley’s before.
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Daniel Swenson

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For the last nine years I have been earning a living like everyone else does and running the geek podcast, Dungeon Crawlers Radio. It’s been a fairly successful show as we were nominated for a Hugo Award and we’ve had a number of authors and other guests on the show. The show awarded me the opportunity to pick the brains of the many authors and editors that have some on the show so when it came time to write my first novel I was able to incorporate everything I had learned and wrote my first draft on three months. I spent the next year working on revisions until I felt it was good enough to send out to see if anyone was interested in publishing it and Immortal works was more than excited to take it on.
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​Where do you live?

In Saratoga Springs, UT with my wife and kids.



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​What’s your home life like?

It’s a mixture of chaos and wonderment with a side of normality. My wife and I live near Utah Lake which south of Salt Lake City. Every morning I get to wake up and watch the sun rise over the Wasatch Mountains to sparkle off the lake from my bedroom window. And then my kids wake up and all the craziness begins. After my wife and I get everyone shipped off to school I go up to my home office and work from there. I’m really lucky that my day job allows me the freedom to work from home because I get to look at this view all day and I’m available to help my wife when needed. Then the kids come home craziness returns and it remains until they go to bed. I do a lot of my writing in the evening after the kids have gone to bed when everything is quite. Honestly my kids are great and I couldn’t imagine a life without them.
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​What genre(s) to you like to write? To read?

I love to read fantasy and science fiction novels. Historical fiction is another genre I’ve really be enjoying as of late. When it comes to writing I would like to one day write an epic fantasy novel. However, I really enjoyed the freedom writing an Urban Fantasy story, The Shadow Above the Flames gave to me.  I didn’t have to do a lot of world building with this story due to the fact that most of the world dynamics was already there ready for me to use.
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​Why did you start writing?

I’ve always wanted to write for as long as I can remember. I remember writing a story back in third grade about how tigers got their stripes. I remember it being very detailed and I was selected to go read it to the grades below me. I remember how fun it was seeing the other kids’ reactions to my stories. Unfortunately as I grew up I felt I need to focus on a real job that would provide for a family and the writing got left to the wayside. Then in 2015 my wife and several of my friends continued to talk to me about writing and all of them encouraged me to do so. It was James Wymore that gave me the final nudge over the edge and I started the next day. 3 months later the first draft for The Shadow Above the Flames was done.
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​What do you do when you’re not writing?

When I’m not writing, I’m spending time with my family, catching a hockey game, working hard at landscaping my yard, learning new things, catching up on the latest movies or running my podcast Dungeon Crawlers. ​

​Where do you like to go when looking for a new book to read?

My favorite place to go for new books is conventions. I enjoy talking with and meeting the authors in person. There is nothing quite like the excitement other authors have for their stories. It just so much more satisfying that some unknown sales associate at some chain book store.
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​At what point do you call it quits when reading a new book?

I generally don’t quit reading a book until I’ve reached the end.  There have been some times that I find that the book isn’t keeping my attention riveted to it. In those cases I have been known to set the book aside for a little bit to read another before coming back to it. I do have my go-to authors that I enjoy reading. I know whatever they write I will be pulled in right away.
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​Are you independently or traditionally published?

My debut novel will be published by a small press, Immortal Works
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​How many books/stories have you published so far?

The Shadow Above the Flames is my debut novel. However, I do have two short stories in a couple of anthologies that are scheduled to come out later this year. ‘Tremors within the storm’ will be in the Valcoria Awakens Anthology which is due out in October and the other will be coming out possibly in September?
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​What book/story are you currently promoting or working on? 

The Shadow Above the Flames is the novel I’m currently promoting which is due out on June 6th 2017. 
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​What’s the elevator pitch?

Evil Corporation unwittingly unleashes dragon upon the world.
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​How long have you been working on it?

I wrote my first draft of the story over the summer in 2015. I started writing over the Memorial weekend and finished up the week before Labor Day. That first draft was written entirely on my iPad using the touch screen keyboard. Something I will never again do as auto-correct really messes things up. I sent that first drafts to a few friends of mine, one of them being Jason King of Immortal Works and he loved it. I spent another year doing revisions on it before I felt it good enough to send out to publishers.
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​Anything you’d like to add?

Yes, Check out Dungeon Crawlers it’s a fun geek podcast that is family friendly and we have great guest coming on the show all the time to talk about their latest games, projects or books. www.DungeonCrawlersRadio.com or www.DCRShow.com

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My heartfelt thanks to Daniel for taking the time to participate in this interview. My review of The Smoke above the Flames will post next week to the Laughable Blog. As a resident of Utah myself, I know firsthand the talent from the many amazing authors I get to rub elbows with around the Salt Lake Valley.

Nicholas Adams