Kenneth L Powell interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

I went to school at Oregon City High School. I attended two community colleges and then Full Sail University, where I received my bachelor's degree in game design. I found out I hated game design and only wanted to play games. Later I attended the Springboard Software Engineering program and fine tuned the one aspect I actually loved about game design, programming. I’ve never been one to try to make money off of things I enjoy doing and programming just wasn’t for me. I like to waste money apparently.

The idea for Dragonkind originally popped in my head when I was sixteen years old. I was reading an article about a civilization that predated known history, something like 10,000 years BC. That or it was structures being found from that era. That put the idea in my head. Avatar the Last Air Bender defined the idea a bit, but I’ll be honest, Kail was king in the first iteration and it was terrible.

It took my family, the girlfriend and kids, telling me that I never finish anything to push me this far. If they hadn’t said that, Dragonkind would never have been written again. I’ve always been the type to face a challenge that hurt my ego and beat it. Dawn of Prophecy is the culmination of that challenge. I actually completed something, now I have to complete that series, and the other two, plus all of the others I’ve thought up since I started.

When did your love of books begin?

I’ve never been in love with books. Honest. I loved stories and didn’t appreciate what books had to offer until later in life…actually when I decided to start writing officially (as in I wasn’t drafting my story any longer). Before I did I read half a book a year, if I was lucky. I was obsessed with gaming and television, or movies. That was where I received most of my stories. Afterward I started reading to research. Then I started reading because the stories were so much better than what I was seeing on TV. I’ll admit, I still watch TV and play videogames. I’m not as big of a movie buff, but I still enjoy them from time to time.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I had the desire to be an author since I was a kid. In middle school I said I was going to be famous. In high school I refined that. What I said at the time was that I was going to be a Rockstar, Author, Chef. My music career hasn’t taken off, and I think I’ve gotten too old to want to do so much…not to mention I can’t sing anymore, if I ever could. I’m a chef when I want to find a special recipe on Pinterest and make it for my family, it’s definitely not something I want to do for a living. It took me 24 years to achieve the Authorial dream, but it was well worth it and I’m excited for the future.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

Difficult. What’s sad is for me it hasn’t been the writing that was difficult, not sense finishing the first book. The difficult part is marketing. If you can market yourself, or are good at marketing products, then you’ll do fine. If you’re like the rest of us, you’re going to struggle. Just be ready to take advice and put yourself out there, that’s all that matters.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Don’t give up. If you’re a writer and you’ve had a great idea for a day, or twenty years, keep refining it until it’s what you want it to be. I spent the better part of twenty years with the story of Dragonkind in my head. It took the right circumstances and the correct people in my life to actually write the book. It was a thrill to write Dawn of Prophecy after so many years, and I’m just as excited about the book as I was when I first released it. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your favorite author. They may or may not respond to you, but either way, you’ll have tried and that’s what matters.

Tell us about your book/books:

I currently have three series in the works. Dragonkind is the first series, as it’s the starting point for everything in both of the other series. It helps that Dawn of Prophecy, Dragonkind book one is the first book I wrote. Dragonkind is about a dragon prince named Kail and his hellish relationship with his father, King Ocelot. It tells the story of what if the prince decided to rebel against his father and free humanity from their enslavement. The first book, Dawn of Prophecy, is about the beginning of the rebellion. The second book, Dawn of Heresy will be released this year with a target release for the third book, Master of Deception, sometime next year.

The Hybrids follows a police detective by the name of Aiyana Evans. She is working cases involving strange phenomena. When she finally has a lead on the case she is drafted into a world of secretive organizations masquerading as Governmental agencies.

Time Detective, Savior book one is about a man that contracts a parasite. If you’ve seen show’s like Doctor Who then you’ll understand when I say that the parasite is essentially the TARDIS. It has the ability to transport the host to any place and any time, so long as the host has been to the place, or someone he/she touches has been there.

I’ve finished the first books for both The Hybrids and Savior: Time Detective. I expect both books should be released sometime this year with my publisher. Stay tuned for more information.

Book Link:

Ebook/Physical Copies: https://books2read.com/u/bzZaNL

Audiobook: Dawn of Prophecy Audiobook on Audible

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

So far everyone has been really supportive. I have recently gotten into posting TikToks about my book/s. Everyone has been following and interacting, not with any malice, or sarcasm, but with real interest in my thoughts and ideals.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

I’m sorry. Yes I did that, mainly because I loved the reaction I received from my, now, 19 year old. You’ll know what I mean when you read the book. For everyone else, I’ll have a story spanning at least 12 books, but plan on writing at least 15 more on top of that. They’ll span the Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres, BUT I plan on dipping my fingers in the horror genre at some point. Please be patient with me, I’m trying. Also don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you find anything grammatically wrong with my books. It took a reader rating it poorly for me to realize my editor missed a lot. So please let me know. My email is on my website, and you can email me directly from there.

Where can people connect with you?

I have a website (www.kennethlpowell.com) where people can reach out to me. I also have TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Coming soon, though I’m not sure exactly when, I’ll have a YouTube channel where I will submit my reviews of books I’m reading. Both TikTok and Twitter handles/usernames are @KennethLPowell. Facebook is www.facebook.com/kennethlpowell. My Instagram username is kailclaskan. When I my channel on YouTube is up and running it can be found at Author Reviewing Authors.