{"id":161,"date":"2025-09-15T10:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T10:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/?p=161"},"modified":"2025-09-15T10:27:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T10:27:16","slug":"interview-with-zack-riley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/?p=161","title":{"rendered":"Interview With – Zack Riley"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pen name Zack Riley\u2002\u2002\u2002
Website: Zackriley.com<\/a>
Twitter: @Coldheart_prj<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the story behind your very first piece of writing?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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\u2014the topic was \u201cUnfortunate End\u201d<\/em> with a 500-word maximum. That draft, and the many changes I\u2019ve made to it over the years, is my reference point for how far I\u2019ve come. I\u2019ve always been a sucker for the good guys having everything going for them and still failing, and this was a reflection of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When did you first realize you wanted to be an author?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t think I ever had that exact realization. I\u2019d 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\u2019t exist without a good story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do you outline your stories, or discover them as you write?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I do both. Usually, I start with the climax or the endpoint. From there I\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Which authors or books have had the biggest influence on your writing style?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

None, really. I\u2019m dyslexic and wasn\u2019t 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<\/em>, etc. My style comes more from lived experience, stubborn drafting, and being torn apart by my writers group and editor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s audio\u2014music, the tone of a song, conversations in my head, and visualizing a scene as if it were on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s your writing routine like?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t keep a daily routine. I write in bursts, usually at night. Sometimes I pause for weeks to do other things\u2014I don\u2019t force it. Right now, I\u2019m focused on editing and world-building an already finished story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The one consistent thing: text-to-speech. Between Balabolka and Microsoft Word, I\u2019ve gotten pretty close with Zeera\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do you prefer short stories, novels, or something else?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Novels are my centerpiece\u2014I 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<\/em>, forced me to fit full arcs into shorter spaces. It\u2019s something I\u2019d recommend to all new writers, and something I\u2019d like to revisit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s the hardest part of writing for you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Editing. Being dyslexic and not a natural reader, it\u2019s a grind. I rely on fonts like Dyslexie and Comic Sans, and always text-to-speech, to help me get through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s the most rewarding part of being an author?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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\u2014especially after working in the same world for 11 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How do you handle writer\u2019s block or creative burnout?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I pivot. If a chapter stalls, I world-build, switch drafts, or even write \u201csomething interesting happens here\u201d as a placeholder. I also shift to other hobbies, like cars. Switching gears keeps me moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What advice would you give a new writer?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Learn to take criticism.<\/strong> Give your betas permission to tear your work apart\u2014tell them \u201cdon\u2019t be nice.\u201d Feedback isn\u2019t about ego; it\u2019s about improving. If someone takes unpaid time to give you feedback, that\u2019s a gift. Use it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Write your characters out of context.<\/strong> Drop them in the modern world, a carnival, wherever. Watch how they react. It deepens their voice, emotions, and quirks\u2014and can even give dark fantasy characters room for joy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    What themes keep showing up in your work?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Death and whether it\u2019s final. Fate vs. choice. Loyalty, sacrifice, and the possibility of redemption. I love giving a protagonist everything\u2026 then pulling it away at the last moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Do you listen to music while you write?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Yes. Mostly instrumental scores or atmospheric music\u2014songs that set a mood. For example, Ventexo \u2013 Hearts in Motion<\/em> inspired a chapter by the same name. Lyrics sometimes fit afterward, but every chapter has music behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    What\u2019s one book you think everyone should read?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    I don\u2019t have a universal recommendation. Instead, I\u2019d say: read in your genre. Find what\u2019s been done well, and learn from it. For me, that meant Watership Down<\/em> as a foundation. I\u2019m working in a strange gray area\u2014between fantasy and anthro\/furry\u2014and finding good examples is tough, but essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    What\u2019s next for you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m working on Cold Heart<\/em>, a follow-on from my Tales of Arillion<\/em> short story series. It will be three novels, around 120,000 words each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    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.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Think Disney\u2019s Robin Hood<\/em> mixed with Children of Men<\/em>, The Walking Dead<\/em>, and a touch of End of Evangelion<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    What do you hope readers take away from your work?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    That death doesn\u2019t erase meaning. That flawed characters can still be loved. That even in darkness, there\u2019s weight and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I want to set the bar for anthro novels\u2014the series people point to and say: \u201cThis is how you write anthro stories.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After the final book, I hope readers feel compelled to go outside, touch grass, and really think about life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Favorite Quote:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    \u201cBite off more than you can chew, then chew like hell.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Peter Brock<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Want to be featured? Check out the original post here for more details. <\/strong>https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/?p=154<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Pen name Zack Riley\u2002\u2002\u2002Website: Zackriley.comTwitter: @Coldheart_prj What\u2019s 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\u2014the topic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-author-interviews"],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[2],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":true,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161\/revisions\/163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curioustalesbooks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}