Fuzed: My name is Fuzed, or at least my pen name. I'm an eighteen-year-old writer who loves putting his ideas on paper and sharing them with others. Even though I have no training in writing, I still enjoy it from the bottom of my heart.

Q1: When did you get the idea for your series?

Fuzed: Occidendum started as a 500 word long reply to a writing prompt on Reddit.

I have written many short stories on Reddit but this one really felt... unique. I felt that there was a lot of potential in that idea, so I kept it in my head.

After fleshing it out for more than a year, I finally decided to start writing the actual story earlier this year.

Q2: What inspired you to turn it into a novel rather than a comic?

Fuzed: Good question. The answer is actually rather simple--I wouldn't be able to draw to save my life.

I never once considered making this into a comic myself. However, there is a comic coming. Hopefully the pilot episode will be out before this year ends. I'm working with an amazing artist who's eager to start creating the comic. But since we're both very self-critical and we want the episodes to be perfect, we're taking our time.

For anyone interested, here is how the comic would look right now. Hopefully the quality will improve even more in the near future! (This isn't a character from the novel)

Q3: How long do you think your story will be?

Fuzed: I can definitely say that there will be at least 3 volumes.

But since there is a lot of room for adding new characters and expanding the lore, I think that it might possibly turn into a pentalogy.

But I don't want to force it and write even when the series should've ended already. Making the story compelling and interesting is always the first priority and I will never write something that I myself don't enjoy.

Q4: Who do you take influence from?

Fuzed: There are many great series and characters that I look up to.

When it comes to writers, I'd definitely say that Robert Muchamore with his Cherub series played a huge role in me becoming a writer.

One of the more recent one's would be TurtleMe, the author of TBATE (I'm sure everyone knows that here )

As for characters, I really love intelligent characters. Even though they are exponentially harder to write than regular characters, I just love them. One of the main inspirations for my MC, Nathan, is Patrick Jane from the TV-Series The Mentalist.

Q5: What are your hopes for the future of your series?

Fuzed: Since this is my debut series, it really holds a special place in my heart. I hope that I will be able to make it into a series that people will start reading and won't be able to stop until they get through it.

There is nothing I love seeing more than people telling me: "This was a good chapter." Really makes me want to keep going.

I wish to publish the individual volumes on Amazon as soon as they're finished, and possibly rewritten slightly. But the ultimate end goal would be to have a physical copy in my hand that I will be able to read.

I also hope that the comic will become something that both me and Korez (the artist) will be proud of.

Q6: Any advice for new writers?

Fuzed: Just start writing and don't stop. I see many new writers that say something along the lines of: "I can't do it./I can't write..."

To that I always say, if you have a story that you're passionate about, then you'll be able to write it. Think about the great scenes that you're envisioning and write your way towards them.

Also, be open to criticism. I wouldn't be where I am now, if I hadn't been criticized all the time. For reference, my prologue went through 5 drafts before it became what it is now.

And last thing, just enjoy it. Write because you want to see your characters come to life. If you'll enjoy writing your series and you'll invest time into it, people will sense that and enjoy the story with you.

CM: It's been honor to interview you, anything you want to say before I end the interview Fuzed?

Fuzed: Thank you for giving me the chance.

I would like to thank all of my readers that read my series so far and I hope that they'll continue to enjoy it even in the future. To any new readers, I hope that you'll enjoy reading my series as much as I enjoy writing it and I hope to hear from you in the comments.

I wish everyone all the best and writers, keep on writing!

Once again, thank you CommanderMarty for interviewing me and I wish you and the whole team all the best!