The Story Behind the Story with Steve C. Eston of Fredericton, NB, Canada.

 

Steve is no stranger to the Scribbler, having been our guest several times in the past.

He’s an excellent storyteller and we are happy to have him tell us about his contribution to the Path Anthologies.

If you missed his previous visits, please go HERE.

Read on my friends.

 

 

Steve C. Eston is the author of four books: The Burden of the Protector, The Conclave, Deficiency, and The Stranger of Ul Darak (Book 1 of The Lost Tyronian Archives – Available in December 2023).

He has been a lover of the fantastical and the scientific since he was a young boy. He wrote his first story by hand while still in elementary school — a five-page fantasy action/adventure about a tiger-masked ninja fighting mystical monsters that included his own illustrations.

When not spending time with his family, Steve try to make time for one of his numerous hobbies, which include reading, listening to music, playing video games, watching movies, making puzzles, and playing hockey and tennis. He also love to travel and have developed an obsession with New Zealand after traveling there in 2015 (visiting the set of Hobbiton and hiking alone the slopes of Mount Doom may have something to do with it).

For more information on his current writing projects and for free short stories, visit him at www.sceston.com.

 

 

Working Title: Erasing

 

 

Synopsis: A young girl and her family try to find an escape when their small village becomes the target of the powerful Sentinels.

 

 

The Story Behind the Story: ‘Erasing’ is my contribution to Spring Paths: An Anthology, the third book in the Paths series, which regroups short stories inspired by the four seasons. It continues to be amazing to work with the authors of the Seasonal Collective in putting these books together. I’ve learned a lot from each of them and hope we will keep going for several years to come. At this point, we’re already thinking about the next instalment, Summer Paths.

In each book of the Paths series, I try to create a short piece that complements or expand on one of my publishes books or stories. For example, the events in ‘Erasing’ take place around 10 years before the beginning of my upcoming high fantasy book, ‘The Stranger of Ul Darak’. It is a great story on its own, while providing background information about one of the main characters, as well as showing how powerful and dangerous the Sentinels, a key organisation in the series, are.

Writing side stories  like ‘Erasing’ is a great way for me to explore characters or events that I wouldn’t normally get the chance to discover. I’ve come to cherish and look forward to creating these short pieces.

 

 

A question before you go, Steve:

Scribbler: Can you tell us about the perfect setting you have, or desire, for your writing? Music or quiet? Coffee or tequila?  Neat or notes everywhere? 

Steve: There is a big difference between the perfect setting, and the reality of my writing. Years ago, I used to have a chair in a corner of our guest bedroom and I would write every morning, between six and seven, closing the door, and putting on headphones. Those were the good old days.

Now, we have moved and added four young children to our family. I do not have a dedicated writing space any longer, and I need to be creative and flexible, balancing writing with my new responsibilities as a parent. I try to be as consistent as I can, and write regularly, even if only for fifteen minutes.

I prefer to write with headphones, listening to instrumental music that fits with the story I’m writing. Movie or video game soundtracks tend to work well for me. For example, I listened to the soundtrack of the movie The Adjustment Bureau while writing ‘Deficiency’, my science fiction thriller. More recently, I used the soundtrack of the movie The Fountain while writing my upcoming high fantasy book, ‘The Stranger of Ul Darak’. I’m also working on a new dark fantasy series and listen to the soundtrack of the Witcher 3 video game while doing so.

I scribble ideas and notes in several notebooks that I keep all over the house, and the cars. I also use my phone, texting myself so I don’t forget ideas that appear, often at the most random of times. When I have a minute, I copy and consolidate everything in a series of documents I keep on my laptop, one for each of the fictional worlds I write into.

 

 

Thanks for being our guest this week, Steve. Thanks for being part of the Seasonal Collective. Wishing you a ton of success with the new book coming soon. I am anxious to get my hands on ‘The Stranger of Ul Darak’. 

And a HUGE thank you to our visitors and readers.

 

****If you are intrigued by Steve’s novel - ‘The Stranger of Ul Darak’ – watch here December 16^th for the SBTS of the book.

Mark it in your calendar.