Pen name Zack Riley
Website: Zackriley.com
Twitter: @Coldheart_prj
What’s the story behind your very first piece of writing?
My very first piece of writing is now incorporated into the climax of the current novel I am working on. This was a writing challenge set on the Australian Defence Force Writing Forum—the topic was “Unfortunate End” with a 500-word maximum. That draft, and the many changes I’ve made to it over the years, is my reference point for how far I’ve come. I’ve always been a sucker for the good guys having everything going for them and still failing, and this was a reflection of that.
When did you first realize you wanted to be an author?
I don’t think I ever had that exact realization. I’d rather be known as someone who can craft a believable world and story, no matter the medium. I started writing because of my love for video games. While good games exist without stories, story-driven games can’t exist without a good story.
Do you outline your stories, or discover them as you write?
I do both. Usually, I start with the climax or the endpoint. From there I’ll either map out the core moments and use them as a guide, or just let the characters make the messy choices to reach the goal.
Which authors or books have had the biggest influence on your writing style?
None, really. I’m dyslexic and wasn’t well-read before this year. I could count all the novels I had read on my fingers: Helen Keller, Of Mice and Men, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, etc. My style comes more from lived experience, stubborn drafting, and being torn apart by my writers group and editor.
My years in the Royal Australian Navy, late nights rewriting chapters aloud with text-to-speech, and world-building piece by piece shaped me. If anything has influenced me most, it’s audio—music, the tone of a song, conversations in my head, and visualizing a scene as if it were on stage.
What’s your writing routine like?
I don’t keep a daily routine. I write in bursts, usually at night. Sometimes I pause for weeks to do other things—I don’t force it. Right now, I’m focused on editing and world-building an already finished story.
The one consistent thing: text-to-speech. Between Balabolka and Microsoft Word, I’ve gotten pretty close with Zeera’s voice.
Do you prefer short stories, novels, or something else?
Novels are my centerpiece—I love crafting a deep, well-constructed world. But I started with short stories capped at 5,000 words. That challenge, set by my writers group after submitting six chapters of Cold Heart, forced me to fit full arcs into shorter spaces. It’s something I’d recommend to all new writers, and something I’d like to revisit.
What’s the hardest part of writing for you?
Editing. Being dyslexic and not a natural reader, it’s a grind. I rely on fonts like Dyslexie and Comic Sans, and always text-to-speech, to help me get through it.
What’s the most rewarding part of being an author?
Seeing myself in the characters. Not just the main cast, but every supporting and background character has weight. The guard who gets yelled at has a home life. The child who steals a runestone does it to save his sister. Giving everyone depth makes the process incredibly rewarding—especially after working in the same world for 11 years.
How do you handle writer’s block or creative burnout?
I pivot. If a chapter stalls, I world-build, switch drafts, or even write “something interesting happens here” as a placeholder. I also shift to other hobbies, like cars. Switching gears keeps me moving.
What advice would you give a new writer?
Two things:
- Learn to take criticism. Give your betas permission to tear your work apart—tell them “don’t be nice.” Feedback isn’t about ego; it’s about improving. If someone takes unpaid time to give you feedback, that’s a gift. Use it.
- Write your characters out of context. Drop them in the modern world, a carnival, wherever. Watch how they react. It deepens their voice, emotions, and quirks—and can even give dark fantasy characters room for joy.
What themes keep showing up in your work?
Death and whether it’s final. Fate vs. choice. Loyalty, sacrifice, and the possibility of redemption. I love giving a protagonist everything… then pulling it away at the last moment.
Do you listen to music while you write?
Yes. Mostly instrumental scores or atmospheric music—songs that set a mood. For example, Ventexo – Hearts in Motion inspired a chapter by the same name. Lyrics sometimes fit afterward, but every chapter has music behind it.
What’s one book you think everyone should read?
I don’t have a universal recommendation. Instead, I’d say: read in your genre. Find what’s been done well, and learn from it. For me, that meant Watership Down as a foundation. I’m working in a strange gray area—between fantasy and anthro/furry—and finding good examples is tough, but essential.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on Cold Heart, a follow-on from my Tales of Arillion short story series. It will be three novels, around 120,000 words each.
A Vulpus girl, a Lupus soldier, and a Grisius scholar are bound by a prophecy of five stones: where innocence must die, remorse will shatter the world, and only the Shaman of Power can decide who returns in the end.
Think Disney’s Robin Hood mixed with Children of Men, The Walking Dead, and a touch of End of Evangelion.
What do you hope readers take away from your work?
That death doesn’t erase meaning. That flawed characters can still be loved. That even in darkness, there’s weight and purpose.
I want to set the bar for anthro novels—the series people point to and say: “This is how you write anthro stories.”
After the final book, I hope readers feel compelled to go outside, touch grass, and really think about life.
Favorite Quote:
“Bite off more than you can chew, then chew like hell.” – Peter Brock
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