Q&A with D.E. Ramey

  

 

 

D.E. Ramey is the author of the novel The Evil in the World Saga: Dawning. It's the first in a series. He lives in Mount Vernon, Ohio. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Dawning, and how did you create your character Avery?

 

A: The first thing that came to mind was a dear friend of mine, John D. Brown. I was thinking about some great doctrinal scriptures from our church that John and I had talked about years earlier. John is also a published author. I started thinking about what I would write about if I ever wrote a book.

 

Later, as I was in personal prayer, I thought to ask the Lord about my questions. Within no time, I was given a very vague impression of a Hero. After several more days, some intense daydreaming, the tiny seed I was given had sprouted into a story idea.

 

I had my story idea, genre, inciting incident, and main character’s goals. Then I came up with my bad guy.

 

Suddenly, my protagonist really needed to be beefed up. He needed to be interesting, kind of funny, and very hardcore when it was needed. He needed something to protect as well, so he would need a family to protect. My thinking and planning were very linear.

 

My heroes were Jedi Masters (Qui-Gon Jinn, in particular), Knights of the Round Table, Mel Gibson in the Mad Max series, all the Bridge Officers on the original Star Trek and The Next Generation, Ur-Lord Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (Stephen R. Donaldson). And just maybe a pinch of Kid Rock to spice it all up.

 

I wanted my MC to embody some of these amazing characters' qualities. I made some great character sheets and started filling in all the blanks with traits. I even took the MBTI test, answering each question as I would if I were the character. It didn’t take long to build my HERO.

 

Maybe someday, I will share how I came up with Avery’s name!

 

Q: Why did you choose 2081 as the year in which to set the novel, and how did you create the world of 2081?

 

A: I knew I wanted my story set in the future, but not too far in the future. When I originally wrote the manuscript, Dawning didn’t even have a definite year set. I knew that I needed time for the storyline to evolve in the background, and that the Lucus Family would be outside for nearly all of it, so that’s why Dawning begins on April 21. It gave me plenty of time for the story to progress.

 

As for the year 2081, I like to keep my fantasy worlds as realistic as possible. I needed a real year in the future with April 21. A little searching on the internet and I had my year.

 

How did I create a world of 2081? That’s a little more complicated. I needed a bad guy. I didn’t want some corrupt county sheriff or clergyman or even the Anti-Christ. Those bad guys had all been used, very well used, but used. I also needed minions for my bad guy. I needed more than a cult, more than a movement.

 

That is when I knew I really had to roll the dice and go big. I began to plan, as if I were the Good Guys and the Bad Guys. How would I do this or do that if I were this group? I wrote the backstories for both sides. Once I had that, it was easy enough to overlap them, line up the edges, and there I had my world! Welcome to 2081!

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: Yes, as a matter of fact, I did know. At least, I knew very close to how Dawning would end. But Dawning is just the beginning of the story arc. Its mood and tempo are set the way they are for a reason. I knew how the entire story arc would end long before I started writing Dawning.

 

As I went through the process of learning to write, not just making outlines, it was great fun and very rewarding. I had used the tools I’d been given, and it worked! It allowed me to have my ending and look forward to it before it happened.

 

There have been minor tweaks along the way of the editing process. That is a given. No one could write stories like these in this genre or any other without having to make some steering changes along the way.

 

Early in the editing, I almost made some HUGE changes. It would have involved major rewrites. Avery Lucas wouldn’t have been nearly the same man. So we kept it the same as I had written it initially.

 

Then, during editing, some of the fat was trimmed to the point where my editor and I agreed it was enough. I think Kim and I made the right calls.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: First off, my true hope is to find at least one person who can read this series or even a single book from it and be moved by its overall message. This message is Luke Chapter 15.

 

I’m doing my best to write a story that has many different facets of the kind of stories that I like personally, while at the same time trying to produce something that others will like as well.

 

If a reader doesn’t get into the religious aspect of the story, that’s completely fine. I just hope that person was entertained and found value in the quality of the story we gave them!

 

Secondly, just have fun with it! I think there is a little something for almost everyone in this. Whether it is the action, the family bonds, the dark twisty stuff, or the simple beauty of children… I hope the reader can find joy in Dawning!

 

Q: This is the first in a series--can you tell us what’s next?

 

A: Dawning is Book I of the Evil in the World Saga. The Saga is a planned six-book series. Book II is going to be wild! I have already written the first two chapters, though I’m still not done with the outline. As a new writer, I’m trying to learn something new about my craft every day. I am also trying to ensure I keep my promise to produce a well-written, thoughtful story for the readers.

 

Without going into detail, Book II will be darker, grittier, and more frustrating for the characters. There will be some big surprises for the readers, I hope! We will continue to set the stage for… well, I guess the readers will just have to stick around and find out!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Dawning and the rest of the Evil in the World Saga would have either a PG or PG13 rating. While there is no nudity, sexual content, and only minimally strong language, there are definitely violent scenes.

 

Please note that the violence in the story may be too intense for younger teens. I would personally suggest that a parent or guardian enjoy the book first and use their own best judgment before allowing a younger teen or preteen to read Dawning.

 

Lastly, please know that I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to do this Q&A!! Thank you all for your interest in Dawning: Book I of the Evil in the World Saga, and thanks for having me, Deborah!!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb