Q: How long have you been writing either as a hobby or professionally?

 A: I’ve written, in one form or another, for as long as I can remember. The first ‘book’ I ever wrote was Star Trek fan fiction when I was about eleven years old. I ended up writing a series of four stories, and my mother had it printed and bound. It was so exciting to hold my work in my hands!

Q: What compelled you to write your first book?

A: As cheesy as it sounds, my son. After we read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as bedtime stories, I wanted to create a world like Tolkien’s that we could discover and explore together. That was more than three years ago, and although he’s almost eleven, we still read new chapters together at night.

Q: What are currently reading?

A: Nancy Chase’s The Seventh Magpie, of course! I’m only a few chapters in, but I’m loving it so far. I’m also re-reading a book called The Last Death of Tev Chrisini, by Jennifer Bresnick. A while ago I tried to get into the Gormenghast novels by Mervyn Peake, but I had to put it aside because it was too dense. Technically I consider myself still reading it since I never finished it, but it may take me a while to get back to it. In general I prefer to read books by new and unknown authors—I like to think I can support them in some small way!

Q: Where you have lived and what you have experienced can influence your writing in many ways. Are there any specific locations or experiences that have popped up in your books?

A: Oh, absolutely. I grew up in a lot of places, but most memorable was probably the years my family spent in Switzerland. There’s a setting in the second Redemption of Erâth book that is taken directly from a small alpine lake that I once hiked to with my father. You approach it from below along a narrow dirt path, and the last few yards you have to climb up near-vertical rock. When you pry yourself over the edge, there’s this crystal clear lake reflecting the sky back at you, surrounded by grass fields and scree. It’s absolutely breathtaking.

Q: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

A: My stories inevitably deal with darkness and despair, because it’s such an enormous part of my own life. If there was anything I’d want people to take away, it’s that darkness and depression are a part of life, and sometimes there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. You persevere anyway, as best as you can, until you die. My—that’s gloomier than I intended!

Anything else you’d like to share?

A: Gosh, anything else? I love heavy metal and cats. I hear the internet has lots of both. I was a musician and composer in a past life, and I like to pretend I’ll be famous one day for my symphonies. Or writing. Either’s good.

Thank you so much for your time. I wish you the very best of luck! Let’s chat again soon.

A: Thank you for having me! This is my first author interview; I feel dreadfully important now.

Bio: Satis began writing stories from childhood and studied music composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. His twin loves of music and writing have stayed with him throughout his life, and he regularly introduces his son to new music, as well as writing bedtime stories for them to read together. He currently lives with his wife and their son in northern New Jersey.

The Redemption of Erâth blurb: In the fallen world of Erâth, a place overrun by the forces of Darkness, a young boy is taken in by his grandfather when his parents perish in a fire at his birth. Feared and misunderstood by everyone around him, Brandyé Dui-Erâth grows up alone, save for a single family who sees the sadness in his heart.

Through his grandfather’s many fireside tales, Brandyé begins to learn the true nature of the world around him. As Darkness and its creatures begin to creep into the once-safe lands of Consolation, he discovers that he has a connection to the long-forgotten ancient world. As events force him down a path of ever-growing danger, he finds his destiny is to suffer both joy and sorrow, and to learn the true nature of Darkness and Death.

The Redemption of Erâth: Consolation is the first in a series of novels chronicling the epic journey of Brandyé Dui-Erâth through the dark and terrifying world of Erâth – a journey that will take him to the ends of land and time and put the salvation of all men in his hands.

Links: http://satiswrites.com/; http://www.amazon.com/Redemption-Erâth-Consolation-Satis-ebook/dp/B00LZQHFHE/; http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8404535.Satis/