Author Interview: Aaron J. Waeskuk
Tell me a bit about yourself. Who are you and what do you write?
My name is Aaron J Waseskuk and I am the writer, editor, and producer of the SoulBound series. It is a fantasy series with horror elements. It's inspired by Japanese manga and mythology with a western twist. It follows the events of a young woman (Jaelyn) as she discovers magic powers latent within her soul.
What’s your favourite genre? Is it the same as the one you write in?
Fantasy, Sci Fi, and Horror, but it depends on the day. All genres I either write in or plan to in the very near future.
What do you do for inspiration?
I've been telling stories since I was a toddler. I love building worlds and creating characters. As for specific inspiration, I pull from the stories and characters I've grown up with and loved. Often I'll reread or rewatch something if I'm needing a specific scene. There are a handful of sharp comedies I'll refer to when I want good dialogue. Or certain action sequences I'll comb through to help craft moments of combat. I break down A LOT of specifics in our Beyond the Page series on Patreon. Which also covers some of the lore of the series as well.
How do you approach building your worlds?
Everything from plot to setting starts as a rough outline. Some generic concepts of ideas. Once something becomes plot relevant, flesh out the details to make it feel like a place. I like knowing where I’m starting and where I want to end up. Then I let the characters try and make those connections. Spoilers, we don’t always make those connections.
I also like starting with lore and mythology. In fact, old D&D games I've hosted are the basis for some of the world's history. Lost heroes and ancient monsters. In fact, my favorite world building concept is ancient advanced civilizations and lost technologies. The possibilities for a fantasy/sci-fi cross genre story are endless.
What comes first? Characters or plot?
Characters. A plot can't happen if a character doesn't make choices to do something. Plot implies I am telling them what to do. And while I may direct them like a type of DM, I prefer to run characters in my books like players in my games. Give them a place to explore and let them explore it. To me, it makes the world and characters more compelling.
What was the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
Emotionally, it would be the funeral scene for one our main characters of book 2. The death scene was tough, but it had been in the works since I started. However, writing about the funeral, I recalled memories of my own grandfather's funeral and it hit me hard. Not just the emotional beats of losing someone, but writing about them and reflecting on the happiness they brought to your lives. About the inspiring words or actions they did to shape the character (or myself) into the person I am today. I still get misty eyed when I re-read the chapter.
What’s your favourite/least favourite thing about the writing process?
It's a love/hate relationship with editing. I love actually finding ways to improve the work and reshape bits and pieces to better tell the story. But I don't like actually having to make the edits themselves. It feels so much like re-writing what I've done and I am too excited to move on to the next thing. If there’s one thing I like, it’s moving forward with new ideas and content. I’d love it if this series ever got big enough to have a dedicated editor as part of the team. Just not something we have in our budget at the moment.
Are you able to share any short snippets from the cutting room floor?
We actually have released “bonus chapters” which are unedited cuts we made from SoulBound Vol1 and 2. when we changed to a first person POV, a lot of scenes simply couldn't exist. Nothing critical, but stuff that filled in the gaps between events. These bonus chapters are Patreon exclusives. Examples include battles the protagonist isn't around for or when her sensei goes on his own investigation.
A personal favorite of mine is the one in which Jaelyn’s friends from her training have their own battle against some of the villain’s monsters while she and Ethan continue with the main plot. It let us figure out their characters more and set up ideas for spin-off stories with them. Sascha (my artist) put a good amount of work into designing their character and once I saw them come to life, I really wanted to put a pin in them to come back later. Because, unfortunately, after Vol 2, they aren’t involved in our main plot… at least for now.
What is your absolute favourite piece of your own writing? Could be a short scene, a bit of dialogue, a character or even the tiniest piece of worldbuilding.
I like when we can dip our toes into an “impossible space” because it allows us to get a little abstract. Impossible space being a place that simply couldn't exist. Jaelyn (protagonist 1) visits an alternate world built from her fears. Sebastian (protagonist 2) suffers through an “endless dream” as his own powers awaken and he questions his place in the battles ahead.
These are the spaces in which the horror-fanatic in me kind of takes over. Because these spaces create an air of the uncanny and weird. It puts our characters in a powerless space and forces lots of self-reflection as they unravel these spaces. Jaelyn’s space was definitely inspired by the likes of Silent Hill, where as Sebastian’s feels more like a Sandman motif.
What are you promoting at the moment?
Soulbound Vol 1 and Vol 2 are available now on most major book sellers websites.
Soulbound Vol 3 is available on Patreon along with all of our bonus chapters, beyond the page, and character art. We also have audiobook chapters for Vol 1 and 2 exclusively on Patreon. Vol 4 is currently in development.
And we have started planning a scifi- horror book which we hope to start releasing this year. Star Chasers. A paranormal investigation story, but on a derelict space craft.
If you’d like to be featured in an author interview, just contact me.
