Behind The Words // Luke Romyn

I came into contact with author Luke Romyn earlier this year on the web, just as I have most of the fellow authors I call acquaintances and friends. Though we've yet to really get into any hearty debates or trade any material with each other (barbs, praise or otherwise), I get the sense from Luke that he's passionate about writing and keen on creating a unique reader experience right from the stories he shares down to the marketing efforts of getting those stories into hands and onto e-readers.

Take it away, Luke!

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“Please don’t kill my wife.”

These were the first words I wrote on a novel which would lead me into an incredible world beyond my wildest dreams.

Hi there, my name is Luke Romyn and I’m an author from Australia who has spent many years dragging my knuckles in the security industry both around Australia and internationally. My first published novel is called THE DARK PATH which smashed its way to become a #1 best selling horror in eBook format and is now also available in print. I have two other novels in proposal with publishers in New York with several more lined up ready to go and am currently working on my seventh novel. Cari Foulk from Tribe Literary Agency is my wonderful and supportive agent.


The next two upcoming novels are very dissimilar in many ways, but at their cores remain action-thrillers, much like THE DARK PATH is in many ways. My second novel, BLACKLISTED, revolves around a troubled young man’s descent into crime and murder from which he is unwillingly plucked and forced into a group which is to be trained in a way no elite military force can be trained; to mix in with some of the worst scum the world has ever seen in order to kill a terrorist mastermind. BEYOND HADES is my third novel and it sees an archeologist thrown into the middle of a maelstrom when he discovers his identical twin brother has been killed. Dragged from his house under military guard he soon finds out the myths which ancient Greeks wrote about aren’t just stories and only he can help stop the beasts which have started to break through into our world.

My agent is working extremely hard to get both these novels out as soon as possible and an incredible amount of interest has been shown both in the US and overseas, so we’ll just have to wait and see; two words which could be every writer’s credo.

People often ask me about my writing style and the most important thing I can pass on is some of the earliest advice I ever received: write something every single day. It is so important to build up a rhythm in your storyline and not break it otherwise you will need to try to piece things together during editing – an onerous task, believe me.

Another question I get asked a lot is how to deal with what is commonly termed ‘writer’s block’. The best solution I have found for a slowed storyline is to completely shake things up; kill off a character or create a new one, throw to a pertinent action scene or just have something completely out of the ordinary happen. I find most of my ‘blocks’ come from mental lethargy, where you subconsciously become bored with what you’re writing and can’t think of a way around it. By creating something new you shake up your imagination in the same way an electric jolt will shock your heart when it stops… hopefully, anyway.

In order to write I believe you need an organized world around you; quite at odds with some of the random things which tumble from my imagination. My writing area has to be very structured. There is no way to escape reality if you have the mundane actuality of everyday life cluttered all around you. My workspace is my own little corner of controlled insanity. Quite often having a separate space isn’t an option for people. I’ve had to share my writing space before and in order to close myself off I find music a great boon. Headphones are a fantastic tool you can use to step away from the distractions of other people and flee into fantasy. For those who don’t like music, earplugs are another option, or you could buy a gun.

Of course the greatest writing space is useless without the support of those around you. Let’s face it, writing is far from the easiest thing to succeed at, and if those closest to you don’t believe in you it’s yet another hurdle you need to overcome while climbing a seemingly endless mountain of obstacles. I have been very lucky to have a wife who supports me totally and who is also blatantly honest about my work. She is my greatest critic, and if my writing is not up to par she will let me know without hesitation. Plenty of people out there despise criticism, but in reality it should be taken as an opportunity to find out the weaknesses in your storyline and correct them before the harshest critics get their hands on your stuff – your readers. My wife reads everything of mine after I’ve finished my own edits and before any other editors or readers get their hands on it. She is my senior proofreader due to her incredible ability to find the smallest imperfection in the storyline and offer suggestions which work. No matter how good you are as a writer, never believe you are infallible or that your work is faultless; it can always be better. Your task is to get as close to perfection as you can without ruining it completely.

You can join me on my blog at http://www.lukeromyn.com/blog or check out my website at http://www.lukeromyn.com . For those on Twitter my handle is @LukeRomyn.

Huge thanks to Jason for allowing me to ramble on for a while on his site and thanks to all of you who have read this.

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My absolute pleasure, Luke! So glad that you found time to take part in our Behind The Words feature here at the Farthest Reaches. Be happy to have you back any time.