About Rory Surtain
Rory Surtain is a 2020 debut author and novelist. They reside on the Gulf Coast of the USA, dodging hurricanes, airports, and alpha-personality domestic cats. After a few decades being creative in the technical corporate world, freedom has taken the form of fitness, Irish whiskey, and full-time writing and self-publishing.
An avid cloud photographer, art collector, and long-time reader of Historical, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Fiction, Surtain is in it for the art, the escape, and the chance to entertain.
Read our review of Firefanged: Demon in Exile here as well as our interview with the author here.
BOOKS:
1. Firefanged, 2020
2. The Scarred Man, 2020
3. Sorrow’s Twin, 2021
4. Wind Catcher, due out April 2021
5. Black Fortune, due out June 2021
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Your biggest literary influences:
Authors such as Dorothy Dunnett, Dan Abnett and Alexander Dumas. They allow their characters to be as dark and complex as their stories and drive them to succeed through their own determination and wits. To me, the best characters are those that have a vision and follow it, paying the cost along the way.
Last book read:
Forged by Benedict Jacka. It’s book #11 in the series. How’s that for commitment?
The book that changed your life:
Surprisingly, I have one: A Course in Miracles. It took me three years to finish reading it, so I very much doubt I could explain its full impact in a few sentences, but to put it simply: change your mind and you change your world.
Your favorite literary character:
Francis Crawford of Lymond, the main character for the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett. He was deeply flawed on an emotional level yet smart enough and determined enough to achieve his goals against complex odds. More than anything, I pattern my protagonist in the Demon in Exile Series after him, though in a much more insane and overly dramatic way.
Currently working on:
Besides a bottle of Red Bush? The eight-book Demon in Exile Series, which as far as I can tell will have nine, maybe ten, or more books.
I’m currently writing book six, book seven and a half, and book seven and three-quarters. Book three, Sorrow’s Twin, is the latest one to launch. Books four and five are in the final editing and review stages. Having stacked up several near-complete manuscripts before I ever pushed the publish button on the first novel, I set aggressive release dates for the first five books in the series without having to rush anything out before it was ready. Now, I’m trying to slow down the pace of releases as I learn more about the publishing and marketing processes.
Words to live by:
“Forgive the world.”
Advice for aspiring authors:
Treat your writing with sincerity and respect, and own it. Make every new book better than the last.