O.J. Dyer

Welcome Back on "A Writer's Playground" Round 2

Author Interview:

1. How has becoming a published Author impacted your lifestyle?

- I mean writing has been such an important part of my life already that it feels like at times not much has changed. But at the same time nothing is the same. I actually found my purpose in life, and I'm getting a bit more fame. From being featured in blogs in the United States and the UK, to appearing in magazines, to selling books internationally, and just having fans across so many different states it's all so surreal to me. I've even talked to a couple New York Times bestselling authors and a couple authors that I used to look up to as a kid. The only thing I haven't done yet is public readings and making live appearances but that's changing later this year so stay tuned. I've also met so many cool people from authors, to bloggers (such as yourself), designers, editors, and other people in creative spaces. A lot of people also look up to me now and are proud of my growth, coming from where I come from, people don't get this opportunity often or have a chance to make it out but here I stand, and I forged my own path. Nothing was given to me, I had to earn this, I'm seizing my moment and not looking back. Ever since I made that decision everything has been looking up.

2. What influence does your book/books have on its audience?

- Representation for sure. Most of my characters are designed by or inspired by friends and family so they love being a part of my stories. In a broader sense, in the post-apocalyptic and dystopian genres there are not a lot of stories that are POC led. As a kid growing up, I LOVED zombie apocalypse stories but it seemed like most black and other minority races were more so an after-thought or just background characters. So my realm of influence is spreading these two great genres to a community that doesn't get much representation in these stories. My hope is that I inspire more people of color to start writing in these genres.

3. Are or have you released any new books recently?

- A couple of months ago I signed to GangTales Publications and released 'Angels and Decay' which was my debut novel. I've written and published poems and short stories before but that was my first big project. I worked on and off with that story for a few years, it actually started as my first short story I ever wrote titled 'Black Autumn' and from there I just fell in love with the concept of the story and kept going with it. It's inspired by a blend of "The Warriors" by Sol Yurick and "Rot and Ruin" by Jonathan Maberry, sprinkled with a bit of my actual life story in it. A lot of the content in that story is a fictionalized version of things I have actually been through and experienced, and almost every single character in that book is based on someone I know in real life. The deeper meaning behind that project was to show how easily a "good kid" could fall into gang culture and doing the "wrong things" for the right reason, as well as showing how the people that we surround ourselves with can change our future and show how one can easily become a product of their environment. The apocalypse may seem like a drastic setting but it's actually a euphemism. Albeit not zombies, we all as people go through our own personal "apocalypses" that transform us and can fundamentally change the trajectory of our life in a moment's notice. The apocalyptic setting is meant to be a comparison for "the struggle". It's easy to justify actions taken in that book because the world is ending and the moves made were made for survival. But people are less graceful in real life, where people have to live in similar conditions. Yes there may not be someone trying to eat your brain when you come outside in real life (unless you live in Florida), but starvation is a real thing and people rob, steal, kill, and drug deal in the ghetto in order to survive and provide because they don't know any other way. It's easy to justify robbing people when scavengers pick the city clean, but in real life inflation is like the scavengers - people can't afford the basic necessities so what else do you expect them to do? In the book, revenge is a major theme. And we in real time write it off, but when you see someone you love killed in front of you and the police do nothing about it, can you really blame that person for wanting vengeance and to seek out justice even if it's performed in the streets? Hurt people hurt people. Angels and Decay shows you exactly how that cycle and mindset takes place, so when you read that book - read in between the lines. I have another book coming out next month titled 'Andrasei: The Book of Madness' that I'm releasing through my company Half Dead Publishing House - it's a remake of my previously published book that is called 'I Did Something Bad'. It's a dystopian novel about a cannibal journalist that is trapped inside this walled-in city that no one is allowed to leave - and he's actively trying to break out and exposes the chancellor/mayor as a sham and liar. The main character also has this malevolent genie type being trapped in his wedding ring who encourages incorrigible behavior and provides her own commentary throughout the story. It's kind of an unhinged story but I have enjoyed writing it so much. It too has its own "in between the lines" type of theme. It's a call for people to analyze how much we trust our political figures in charge, as well as showing the influence spirits, jinn, and other supernatural beings have on us and our decisions in the material plane.  

4. What has been your biggest inspiration to keep writing?

- The obvious answer is my kids, yes I love writing but I also do this to teach them how to run a business and also to chase their dreams no matter how out there it may seem. The not so obvious answer is to be an example to the culture as well as hopefully provide an escape for someone who desperately needs it. As a kid, books used to transport me to a different place even when my world was falling apart around me in real life, and I hope to do that for someone else - I hope to inspire them the way authors like Mary Amato, Jonathan Maberry, and Neal Shusterman did for me. Inspiring the next generation of authors, and showing young black and brown kids they can make it in the publishing industry.

5. What pitfalls have you experienced as a published Author?

- Because writing isn't viewed as something as glamorous as being a musician or being a professional athlete my biggest pitfall has been forgetting that I have fans and that I have a real following at times. I'm so thankful for them and for them being patient with me. I get so caught up in life with raising my kids, finding new hobbies like cardistry and playing dungeons and dragons with friends, as well as taking care of my probation responsibilities. Life is a lot, and at times I tend to push the whole "author" thing to the side. So I struggle with the balance of it all. Other times it's the complete opposite, I'll get in my zone and lock in so hard with writing that I kind of isolate myself and I have seen some of my relationships deteriorate because of it. At one point it became the collapse of one of my relationships, I just spent so much time writing on my laptop, networking online, and designing that I kind of became a robot in a way. I wasn't being present with my partner unless I was asking opinions on stuff I wrote, book covers, and clothes I designed and she kind of got fed up - she said it seemed like I was more so in a relationship with my writing career and she felt like a side piece. So yeah the biggest pitfall for me is finding the balance, and I'm still working on finding it. I'm only human.

6. If you could feature or collaborate with one celebrity, who would it be?

- Honestly, this is a hard one but I'd probably have to say I would pick Donald Glover (Childish Gambino). He's extremely talented and I genuinely think that's probably one of the most creative people on this planet. I feel like our energy would mesh well and we'd make a lot of good projects together. I'm definitely a fan of his music, his standup specials were hilarious, he's a really good actor, and I feel like he's mastered his pen as far as writing movies and tv shows. I mean he was even on Regular Show and as a kid that was really dope to see. Also, he's a fellow Spiderman nerd and how could you not love that? I could envision us making a really funny zombie movie similar to Zombieland.

7. What platform/s would you suggest new Authors use for advertising or review purposes?

-  I don't have a secret sauce for this, I'd go with the traditional Facebook writer groups, X (Twitter) helped me tremendously before I left that platform, Instagram, and Goodreads. But if I had to share some knowledge on this topic - I'd say it's more so about your "gimmick" or "persona" - it's not enough to just write books, a bunch of people do that - new books come out daily, but you have to sell yourself not just your product. Yes people may seek you out because you write cool books but you have to have a reason for them to actually follow you that sets you apart. My persona is "The Voice of the Apocalypse" and my gimmick is cardistry. People know I write books, but I lean into my genre with my persona - I try to keep things apocalyptic in nature especially with my poetry and then my gimmick gives people something else to see. Say you are scrolling through social media and two videos are in front of you, one is a guy standing in front of the screen just telling you about a new zombie book they wrote. The other video is a guy doing cool card tricks as he recites an apocalyptic themed poem about his book. Which one would you rather click on?

8. Do you enjoy reading or writing more? Why?

- I definitely enjoy writing more, just being able to let my creativity out and build this extremely detailed fictional world is a stress relief for me. I guess in a way, it's like playing God. I actually don't read as much anymore because writing takes up so much of my time. Outside of my Quran, the only books I've recently read are the ones my authors wrote. T.H. Pyatt's Haven Trilogy is such a beautiful work of art, and I can't wait to release it. The way she describes things in such great detail makes everything so easy to picture and when I first read Haven I felt like I was there next to the main character experiencing every moment with her. The other one thing I have been reading is Peach Flesh by Cloe Lockett, it's not finished yet but it's one of the perks I have with being her publisher - I get to read it as she's writing it and I'm so proud of Cloe. The book she's creating is truly a masterpiece and I can't wait until she finishes it and we can let the world see, I think it's definitely going to be an eye-opener for a lot of people. There's another author of mine who's writing a crazy book that I can't really speak too much on because they want it to be a secret. So yeah, I love writing more but I love reading the works of my authors because I'm actually a fan of them - every person I signed I think is a better author than me, but it makes me love writing even more. Iron sharpens iron.

For more: https://www.amazon.com/Angels-Decay-J-Dyer/dp/B0F8C4W15K

www.halfdeadbooks.com