Zachary Holbrook

I'm an author-in-training with the Author Conservatory, and as part of my schooling, I'm working on my ideal reader research-- trying to find out what kind of market exists for the books I want to write. I'm interested in writing epic fantasy novels that explore virtue in a masculine way. I want stories about what it means to be a good man, which I believe encompasses both traditionally masculine expressions of virtue such as grit and physical resilience, as well as compassion, gentleness, honor, and self-sacrifice. The question I'm asking here is, is there overlap between fantasy readers and people interested in thinking deeply about what it means to express traditionally masculine virtue in a healthy and self-sacrificial way? If I find readers who fit this description, I'll keep developing these ideas in both my stories and the way I talk about my stories; if not, I'll probably modify my writing slightly to serve a different audience. I'm asking the question here because a) everyone on this forum is (presumably) an epic fantasy fan and b) Sanderson's male characters (particularly Kaladin, Dalinar, Raoden, and Wax) have served as inspirations for me and as role models of the virtues I want to write about. And while virtues such as compassion, gentleness, honor, and self-sacrifice are universal human virtues and thus applicable to anyone who's not a man, I... well, I'm a man. And so I'm most interested in what it looks like to live out virtue in my manly way. If these kinds of books sound like the kind you'd like to read, I'd love to have a conversation with you to go deeper into what you love about a good story. -Zachary Holbrook P.S: Moderators, if you want me to move this to 'general discussion' because I'm asking for feedback on marketing and author brand rather than on my writing itself, let me know.

Something that won't make sense unless you read the whole book... hmmmm.... (mild spoilers for Eye of the World, but the kind that will make it more interesting) Padan Fain, the peddler, has been tracking Rand, Mat and Perrin for years (why? You'll have to read the book) Nynaeve has a crush you haven't found about yet One character heroically sacrifices himself There's at least one way to use saidin without going mad (I've only read Eye of the World so far, there might be others revealed later in the series) One of the Emond's Field refugees falls under a curse and attacks Moraine Another one becomes a lighteyes (not because he bonds a shardblade) The consequences of all these things ripple past the climax of the first book and into the beginning of The Great Hunt (which I began last night and found riveting)

I just finished The Eye of the World and found it maddening. The worldbuilding is fantastic, but the plot's episodic, with no real stakes. The Dark One repeatedly rants about how doomed Rand is but never manages to harm him in any specific way. HOWEVER The Great Hunt gets off to an explosive start. Much, much better. The Eye of the World feels like backstory to the rest of the series. If I were to start over, I'd skip the first book entirely, maybe read a summary. But if the rest of the series is as interesting as the first 100 pages of The Great Hunt, Jordan has my attention.

I'm talking about my futile desire for originality.

Oh, ploof. *reads introductory post to that very long RP thread* Not only did he beat me to the emotions idea, but he also has ‘Paladins’ and ‘nectar’, terms I use to describe some of the magical going-ons in the last novel I drafted. At least his use of the terms seem to refer to something entirely different. ‘Siren’s Call’ worldbuilding is interesting. I might rework some of those ideas into my own universe.

Oh, wow, that's started a ton of ideas churning. Another one-- what if you burned emotions as fuel? Maybe you have strong feelings associated with a person, place or thing. You can power your magic by sacrificing your connection to that-- you'd either forget it entirely, or remember it only as bare facts, with no deeper meaning. This could force characters to make some agonizing choices. What if the protagonist could only accomplish his goal by sacrificing his connection to his wife? Or, a character who wants to burn all his emotions, forget the pain he's suffered... but then in order to power his magic he's forced to make new connections and open himself up to emotional wounding again? Maybe he intends to destroy those relationships, but realizes he'd rather live vulnerable and connected to others rather than powerful and alone? I have an entire character arc right there.

Yeah, changing magic based on perception is cool. BUT if I want to be different from Brandon, maybe I should make it relevant that perception DOESN’T matter. One idea I had was making future-telling work differently. Rather than seeing possible futures, you see certain key events that will happen in the future regardless of the choices you make. But the way in which that event comes about could be changed as a result of decision stemming from the future-sight

A few years ago, I read The Way of Kings, and my brain exploded. That was when I began to grow really passionate about writing-- I thought, "This is awesome. The world needs more books like it." I set about designing my own Cosmere-esque storytelling universe. But as happens when you're only fourteen and trying to plot out an entire career of writing, my early ideas were all rip-offs of Brandon. I wanted different magic systems, all governed by one framework-- which basically consisted of what I understood about the rules governing Investiture. Eventually I realized my 'mirror realm' was a slightly altered Shadesmar and that all my ideas for magic systems were based off the same principles Brandon uses. But I want to create a body of original work, not fan fiction. I gave up on developing a unifying theory of magic for my universe for a while and devoted myself to writing good stories. Now, with a novel draft and several shorter works under my belt, I want to return to the universe-level, to develop some ideas for my world as a whole and gain a better understanding of which stories I want to tell in it. I've brainstormed a couple of meta-principles: -Teleporting. Different magic systems use different fuels to make you vanish and instantly appear in another place. In order to teleport, however, you have to 'ride' along your emotional connection to another person. That is, the deeper your relationship with another, the more mutual love and understanding you have, the easier it is for you to teleport to that person's side, regardless of distance. -Colors. One magic system uses stained glass in various colors, another flower petals, but the colors have the same effect. Inverse colors are the opposite of each other, i.e, red increases energy, making objects warmer and people more eager to act, whereas blue decreases energy, dropping temperatures and making people calmer and more willing to think things through. What other unique ideas could be used to tie together several magic systems?

What is Adolin holding? At first I assumed it was his shardblade, but he's in Shadesmar.

As an author, I seek to emulate Sanderson's top-notch worldbuilding in my own settings, and use them to weave powerful stories of love and sacrifice, guilt and redemption. I'm currently looking for new readers to join me on my authorly journey. A woman resorts to drastic measures after her gift of healing fails to save her brother's life. That's the premise of my short story The Besouler, which I now offer for free as a reward for joining my email list. You can access it (along with my other free stories) at my website: https://authorzacharyholbrook.weebly.com If you join my list before August 7th, 2020, you'll be swept up in my campaign to connect more readers with my writing. I'm encouraging my fans to share my work with their friends, and offering to release exclusive rewards if we reach 50, 80, or 120 subscribers. I'll send out daily emails until the end of the campaign, at which point I'll revert to my typical routine of emailing only when I have some news or a polished gem of thought to share with you.

I like the idea of a world where anything solid can be valuable-- yet solid objects are relatively hard to come by. Also the idea of a civilization from the sky competing with a civilization unground. What limitations does the transmuting magic? Can they turn soot into food as easily as they can turn it into gold, or wood? Are certain materials better as bases to be transmuted than others?

The Domidium is my massive interconnected universe that started out as a rip-off of the cosmere three years ago and has gradually developed into something much more unique. My current novel WIP, The Lore of Yore, is set in the Domidium. I recently finished the second draft. My writing group just started reading the climax and are blessing me with comments both enthusiastic and helpful. If you want to follow my work, go to my website at authorzacharyholbrook.weebly.com and subscribe to my email list. Also, if you're reading this before 8:00 PM Sunday the 5th PST, you can read all my published stories for free through Havok magazine. Normally, Havok's archives are accessible only to members, but to celebrate the upcoming release of their third print anthology, the website has opened to all visitors for one weekend. Links to all nine of my stories that have been published in Season 3: Twine Man Returns After the End (sequel to The Endbringer) Foodpocalypse The Light Smuggler Milk Abduction Flight of the Fading Sorrow (prequel to Fire and Stone) Family Reunion One Rogue Android at a Time The Future Tree

Kerry Nietz's Amish Vampires in Space has an intriguing premise, but the whole 'vampire' thing felt tacked on. After reading, I decided to build something of my own off the idea of an Amish space colony. The result, Family Reunion, releases today at gohavok.com. If you've been around Havok, you know that for one day this story is free and open to all. At midnight, it vanishes into the archives, where you can only read it if you part with the $2 necessary to secure your membership in the Havok Horde. If you liked Family Reunion (or even if you hated it), let me know. What did you enjoy? What would you like to see more of in my future stories? If you really liked it, you can give me the greatest gift of a reader to an author: recommend the story to your friends. But you'll have to read it yourself first. Visit gohavok.com today and read Family Reunion.

My flash fiction Flight of the Fading Sorrow releases today through Havok. As with all Havok stories, it is available for free online for ONE DAY ONLY, after which it will disappear to the archives, accessible only to members of the Havok horde. So, if you'd like to spend a few minutes caught up in the struggles of social outcast helping refugees escape while hiding a secret from her fiancé, go to gohavok.com today. If you've read the story, tell me what you thought. What did you like? Dislike? What could I do better with future writing?

Aliens arrive on earth, seeking unusual prey.An eleven-year old must protect his family from danger.My latest flash fiction, Milk Abduction, releases today on through the e-zine Havok. As with all Havok stories, it will be free for one day only, after which a crocodile-shaped spaceship will capture it with its tractor beam and suck to the archives, accessible only to Havok members. If you enjoy Milk Abduction (or even if you hate it), feedback is welcome-- reply here or comment on Havok to tell me what I did well or how I could improve.