Digital Book Nook recently caught up with Dalton Roberts, author of “Fallen Divinities: In Other Worlds Part II.” We are excited to share this insightful interview with our readers today. 

When did you first discover that you enjoy writing and wanted to become a published author? 

I have this clear memory from 5th grade of writing a Halloween ‘horror’ story about a kid who finds out his parents were ghosts. I honestly don’t even think it was an assignment, I just wrote it on my own. And I was hooked. 

Over the years I continued writing short stories here and there but it wasn’t until I was reading a book by an indie author a few years back that the thought of writing one myself really struck me as doable. I thought it was a good story, very creative, but reading it I really felt like ‘I could write this. I could do this.’ I worked on a few projects the next few years, and these In Other Worlds stories pushed their way to the front of the line to be the ones I published first.

What is your favorite and the most challenging aspect of writing? 

My favorite part about writing is easily the creation aspect. I’ll write a scene, then go back and read over it and think ‘That exists now. I just created something out of nowhere and now it reads like fact.’ Hope that isn’t too megalomaniacal of me to say, but it’s the truth. It’s a lot of fun.

The biggest challenge for me has been pacing and burn out. I will dive in and write a third of my first draft in a couple of weeks, and then I’ll feel like I need to step away from it because it becomes too much. Then I’ll spend some time away and think about what’s next, and dive back in a few weeks later. It’s worked for me to this point, but I’d really like to have a more steady process end-to-end.

Tell us about your latest release. 

Fallen Divinities pulls back the veil, so to speak, on humankind’s relationship with their creators as they work together to rebuild civilization. The events of Singularity Dawn have also unleashed a new group of deities on the world, setting up a classic good vs. evil showdown. While the themes of deities and good vs. evil carry throughout the book, at its core it’s a story about a family fighting through every possible barrier to be reunited.

How did you come up with the title of your book? 

The title has a bit of a double meaning. Figuratively, it relates to the image of our creators being shattered in some respects, while the introduction of the new race of deities occurs quite literally by falling from the sky.

What do you hope readers are able to get from reading your story?

An escape, plain and simple. The stories I’ve most enjoyed over the years allowed me to get lost in them for a little while, and I hope I can pass that on to others. I’ll definitely give them opportunities to explore topics they may not have thought of before. Maybe they’ll want to look up who Sariel is and wonder where I pulled his name from. If so, great. If not, I hope I entertained them, and maybe cost them a few hours of sleep one night when they wanted to finish my book.

Who are some of your favorite authors? 

Stephen king has undeniably had a huge influence on me, and is the author I have read the most through the years. I am also a big fan of his son, Joe Hill. When I want to get away from thrillers/supernatural, Pete Hamill is a goto for me. And then I also enjoy the mysteries of Harlan Coben and Ed McBain.

Do you have any advice for writers looking to get published?

Be humble and appreciate every milestone. Try not to get caught up in your book ranking or even rating. Appreciate that first sale, then when your sales reach double digits, and triple… Those are all great accomplishments, in my opinion. Don’t expect that readers are going to find you on their own and your amazing book is just going to take off. You’re going to have to pour money and time into marketing your book, and it’s probably not going to race up the charts, but when your audience does find you, little by little, it’s incredibly rewarding. 

Also, don’t lose your mind over a one-star review/rating. Hopefully, it’ll just be one out of many positive ones, and it’s sort of a right of passage. Find me any book, movie, album, painting in history that doesn’t have someone willing to say ‘Meh, I hate it.’ about it.

About the Author

Follow Dalton: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

After many years of living in the bustling city, Dalton Roberts now resides on the crest of a ridge in the scenic Hudson Valley. This exodus has quieted his mind and allowed for the return of the imaginative spirit of his childhood. Armed with much better publishing tools and slightly better grammar than when he was a child, Dalton now aims to share these stories with an audience. He enjoys taking everyday life and turning it on its head by interjecting some of humankind’s greatest mysteries.